"But... isn't the Church a democracy after Vatican II?"

[_veritas]

dailynewstranscript.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=47940

**Josoma: Keeper of the faith at St. Susanna’s Church
**By Kit Kadlec / News Staff Writer
Monday, January 3, 2005

DEDHAM – Ask any St. Susanna parishioner why they attend church, why they still have faith in Catholicism despite recent turmoil in the Boston archdiocese stemming from the sex abuse scandal, and the Rev. Stephen Josoma is always at the center of their answer.

 And when the archdiocese announced in May it planned to close St. Susanna's Church, along with 65 other parishes in the area, once again Josoma was named by parishioners as one of the reasons they would fight to keep their church and community together.

 "Because of (Josoma), people really go to church now because they want to, not because they feel they have to," said parishioner Marilyn Weber.

 At a time when local Catholics needed something to believe in, someone to rally around, Josoma has provided that beacon of hope.

 And its for those reasons that the Daily News Transcript has chosen the Rev. Josoma as its first Man of the Year for 2004.

 In understanding who Josoma is today, a 49-year-old priest with 24 years of experience in the archdiocese often described as progressive, it takes an understanding of his past.

 He was brought up in a Catholic community in Brighton, by his mother, who was a housewife, and his father, who was a chemist/technician at MIT's Draper Laboratory.

 "We weren't rich, but we weren't poor," Josoma said of his childhood, often sheltered from the surrounding poverty in other parts of Boston. "Growing up, I thought everybody was like us."

 When he reached high school, he said his eyes were opened to his greater surroundings, and Josoma said he got swept up in the movement at the time to change the world.

 He said he looked up to world leaders at the time like Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy and Pope John XXIII.

 It was a changing time in Catholicism, Josoma said, which was one of the factors that attracted him to the priesthood. He wanted to be part of it all.

 Josoma said on June 30, 1965, he served his first Mass. He was told by his priest at the time to recite the Mass in Latin, which required the memorization of four pages of prayers in a language in which he and parishioners were not fluent.

 But on July 1, the next day, Mass was changed throughout the archdiocese to English.

 This was one of the changes to Catholicism that Josoma saw as positive, "making it more tangible." He also supported a movement of no longer studying the Bible strictly in the literal sense.

 "Once you open that door, it changes everything," he said.

 In many ways, Josoma has carried the spirit of a more approachable church and faith to his parishioners even today.

 "We're taught that the church has all the answers, but there's no room for individual growth that way," he said.

 Josoma has now structured his church to appeal more to younger people, trying to focus his sermons more on topics all his parishioners can relate to.

 "He always talks about things in a very personal, real way that I can relate to," said parishioner Sam DePhillipio, who joined the Catholic faith two years ago.

 Josoma said he wants parishioners to feel less restricted, open to finding their own faith. "You don't have to give them all the answers," Josoma said. "You encourage them to find their own answers, and to trust in their answers."

 It was this approach that began to revitalize St. Susanna when Josoma began as its priest in 2001.

 "It's because of him that we have remained the vibrant parish that we are," said parishioner Dot Winslow.

(continued…)

 

[_veritas]

(…continued)

It hasn't been an easy first three years for Josoma. First, the Boston archdiocese was hit with the sex abuse scandal involving priests throughout the commonwealth. 
 Josoma was one of 55 priests who signed a letter calling for the resignation of then Boston Archbishop Cardinal Bernard Law. 
 Then there was news that struck directly at his own parish last year, that the archdiocese planned to close St. Susanna. 
 Shocked by the news, Josoma first asked his parishioners what they wanted, letting them know one option was they could attend nearby St. Mary's Church on High Street in Dedham. 
 But nearly every one of the parishioners rallied to stay at St. Susanna, not only for the church building itself, but for the community that had been formed under Josoma's leadership. 
 Throughout the day of the closing announcement, Josoma hugged tearful parishioners, and vowed to support whatever path they chose. By the end of the day, he had determined to fight with his parishioners to keep St. Susanna open. 
 "It's not over yet," he said at the time. 
 And it still is not yet over. While many churches on the closing list are no longer open for services, likely to be sold by the archdiocese to clear its debt, St. Susanna is still open. 
 Josoma said he's even asked archdiocese officials if they would accept some of the land surrounding St. Susanna, but leave the church open. The offer was declined in the fall. 
 "(Boston archdiocese officials) say it's not about the money, but that's laughable," Josoma said. "We know it's about the money." 
 Parishioners give all the credit to Josoma, but he humbly declines the praise, passing his supporters. 
 He said it's the spirit of the St. Susanna community that has kept the church open. He specifically credits the recently formed Save St. Susanna Committee, made up of 12 parishioners, that has worked to convince the archdiocese to keep their parish open. 
 "No matter what happens in our ultimate fate, they have made it a stronger community," Josoma said. 
 That's something his parishioners can agree on, that no matter what, they've grown in the experience. 
 "Our parish has not lost a beat," said DePhillippo. "It's gotten stronger through this, and Father Steve is the reason. If the archdiocese had 300 more priests like him, there would be no crisis in this church."

I love it… Basically what we’ve got here is a parish that seems to think that Vatican II changed the structure of the Church to a democracy, and at the same time sees themselves as a church unto themselves, caring more about their own little community and spitting in the face of the universal Church.

Quotes of note:

*"We’re taught that the church has all the answers, but there’s no room for individual growth that way… *You don’t have to give them [churchgoers] all the answers," Josoma said. “You encourage them to find their own answers, and to trust in their answers.”

Shocked by the news, Josoma first asked his parishioners what they wanted, letting them know one option was they could attend nearby St. Mary’s Church on High Street in Dedham. But nearly every one of the parishioners rallied to stay at St. Susanna, not only for the church building itself, but for the community that had been formed under Josoma’s leadership. Throughout the day of the closing announcement, Josoma hugged tearful parishioners, and vowed to support whatever path they chose. By the end of the day, he had determined to fight with his parishioners to keep St. Susanna open.

:banghead:

+veritas+

 

[HagiaSophia]

+veritas+:

I love it… Basically what we’ve got here is a parish that seems to think that Vatican II changed the structure of the Church to a democracy, and at the same time sees themselves as a church unto themselves, caring more about their own little community and spitting in the face of the universal Church.

Actually - basically what we have here is the cult of the personality; it’s a problem charismatic pastors or preachers have faced from time immemorial - the congregation is swayed by an individual - their spiritual life is tied to him and once he goes or goes bad they follow. It’s one of the reasons the church when it had plenty of young curates used to move them around and warned against “attachments” - it’s bad news for everyone, the priest, the congregation and the church.

 

[Franze]

I want to be optimistic but these things are very sad, greetings

 

[fix]

All this is one more example of poor catechesis and moral relativism. What makes these people Catholic? From the article they could be congregationalists or Unitarians.

Indifferentism…

 

[katherine2]

fix:

All this is one more example of poor catechesis and moral relativism. What makes these people Catholic? From the article they could be congregationalists or Unitarians.

Indifferentism…

Right. Before the Council, Catholics never fought to keep their parish. More likely some poster here have a poor understanding of history.

 

[_veritas]

katherine2:

Right. Before the Council, Catholics never fought to keep their parish. More likely some poster here have a poor understanding of history.

It’s not the fighting to keep the parish open that is the problem… of course members of a parish want to keep their parish. It is their spiritual home. The desire to maintain a parish is admirable.

No, what is different now is the reasoning behind it, and the attitudes involved. Particularly the attitude towards the authority and teaching responsibility of the Church. They do things their own way, and they are proud of it. They want to keep doing it their own way, and since they live in a democracy they figure the Church should get with the times.

Nothing in the article talks about some historical, personal connection with the parish, it’s all about the ideology and personality of the pastor, and the “feel good”-ness that going to church there has given them. They don’t want to lose it, and they don’t want to lose him. That’s very different from wanting to keep the parish you grew up in alive, no matter who the pastor is.

That’s all.

+veritas+

 

[katherine2]

and all of that was there long before the Council. Get a book on “Trusteeism”.

 

[fix]

katherine2:

Right. Before the Council, Catholics never fought to keep their parish. More likely some poster here have a poor understanding of history.

You should tell the folks in the article that because they are under the impression that the Church completely changed after VII and it is now a laity run Church.

 

[Brad]

Should’ve closed the church and put Father somewhere where he can pray daily for the community he cares so much about. Somehow I have a feeling his concept of prayer is different than mine though.

 

[Brad]

+veritas+:

Nothing in the article talks about some historical, personal connection with the parish, it’s all about the ideology and personality of the pastor, and the “feel good”-ness that going to church there has given them. They don’t want to lose it, and they don’t want to lose him. That’s very different from wanting to keep the parish you grew up in alive, no matter who the pastor is.

That’s all.

+veritas+

That’s what it’s all about. Many of the dissenters are media hogs trying to win a popularity contest and they want out of any church that doesn’t pave them the red carpet because the members are actually orthodox (who would’ve thunk it? In this age of enlightment we still have orthodox thinkers? And young?). It spoils their plan.

Let’s face it. They reject the authority of the Church. They reject teachings of the Church. They are supposed to represent the Church(the Body of Christ). Thus, they don’t represent Christ. So, who else do they represent? They’re not running a lemondade stand. They must represent… themselves. Ego.

 

[adowcday]

I’m pretty disappointed that every single post criticizes this priest, who is obviously loved by his parishioners. The title of this thread implies that the priest and his parishioners think that the church is now a democracy. What the article quotes the priest as saying is: “We’re taught that the church has all the answers, but there’s no room for individual growth that way.” All that means to me is that he treats his parishioners as adults.

To suggest that the Church doesn’t have “all the answers” is to speak the truth. How do you have a happy marriage? How do you raise happy, productive, faith-filled children? What is the best music for our 11:00 Sunday liturgy? Should we spend more on refurbishing the parish hall or on caring for out-of-work parishioners? Thoughtful, faithful adults could be told what to think and do about these questions by an authoritarian pastor (and there are some of those out there in my experience) or they can reach a decision themselves with a little bit of guidance.

There is nothing in what the priest is quoted as saying that implies that he doesn’t teach the Catholic faith to his parishioners or that he or his parishioners think that the Church is a democracy when it comes to doctrinal or moral issues. Too many people here with an axe to grind. Every parish should have a priest like this one.