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People of Good Will
As the Catholic Media Convention’s three days in Brooklyn fades from view along with the Memorial Day weekend, the words from one workshop at the convention linger. Those were the words spoken by Archbishop Edwin O’Brien of the Military Archdiocese, who explained that people of good will can disagree as to whether the war in Iraq is a moral one or not.
As questions from the floor reminded attendees of the origins of the war, there was no doubt that some mistakes have been made. But Archbishop O’Brien made a noteworthy observance that he believes the intentions of the Bush Administration were noble in the beginning of the war.
Sure, it has been discovered that there were no weapons of a mass destruction in Iraq when American troops invaded, even though their alleged presence was one of the major reasons given for the venture. But the archbishop pointed out that the whole world, as represented at the United Nations, believed Saddam Hussein possessed such weapons for more than 10 years prior.
One member of the Catholic Press who responded to Archbishop O’Brien wondered aloud if our nation was only interested in securing the oil fields of the Middle East by the invasion. The prelate responded that he was not that cynical and that he believed the country was on a mission of good will when it set out to depose Saddam.
But as he said several times during his presentation, Archbishop O’Brien felt people of good will could disagree about the war.
We side with Archbishop O’Brien in our feelings that America is concerned about peace, human rights and the abolition of terrorist tendencies in the world. Yes, mistakes have been made. But we believe that America’s intents have been pure and the fact that there have been no terrorist attacks on American soil since 9/11/01 is an indication that the current strategy is bearing some good fruit.
We recently heard of one large American company which said it would not donate its product to the troops fighting in Iraq (after they had requested them) because the company was opposed to the war. We hesitate to mention the name of the company because we have not confirmed the details. But we hasten to say that regardless of where you stand on the morality of the war effort, you certainly have a responsibility to support the brave American men and women who have volunteered to defend our freedom. Memorial Day was a good time to salute the American presence around the globe.
More Vocations Needed
We welcome the eight new priests who are to be ordained this weekend to the ranks of the diocesan clergy. They are to be ordained today, Saturday, June 2, at St. James Cathedral-Basilica. We thank them for their generosity and willingness to respond to the Spirit’s call to service. We pray for their health and well-being so that their ministries in Brooklyn and Queens will be productive and inspirational.
Some things about this particular class of men should be pointed out. First, they come from various ethnic backgrounds and countries of origin. It wouldn’t be Brooklyn or Queens if it was otherwise. Fifty percent of the new priests were born in a country other than the United States.
Several of the men are older than the age at which we used to ordain new priests. They have worked in the world. They have been tested in ways unlike previous ordinands have been. Indeed, only one of the men went through the diocesan “system” of prep seminary, college residence, and major seminary on his road to the priesthood.
There is no stereotypical candidate for the priesthood, with the exception that he must be called by God to a vocation of service to the Church and he must freely respond. “Many are called” is the conventional wisdom and we still believe that to be true. There must be a genuine and generous response to that call.
Another thing should be pointed out. Although eight men are being ordained and there will be two more ordinands for our diocese before the year’s end, the numbers of ordinations, here and elsewhere in the United States, have dramatically decreased. In the next few years, the numbers of men in line for priestly ordination in our diocese are low. We’re talking about one or two per year.
As Bishop DiMarzio has pointed out many times, there is no Mass without the priest. And the Mass is the central action of the Church. More men are needed to respond to God’s call.
We are grateful for our new priests. We renew our call for more men to consider priesthood as an option in their lives. Interested? Call Father Kevin Sweeney, the diocesan vocations director, at 718-399-5900, ext. 5505.
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