Local Priest Comments on National Crisis Question & Answer

Author: Meghan Michelson

Allegations against the Roman Catholic Church have surfaced recently regarding sexual abuse by clergy and the concealment of such incidents in specific pedophilia cases involving nearly 70 priests in the Archdiocese of Boston and the youth they were ordained to serve.
Father Peter O'Leary, a priest at Saint Mary's Catholic Church in Middlebury, was ordained last May after spending many years contemplating the direction of his life and following a calling he claims led him to a position in the parish.
Following is an interview with the local priest, who spoke candidly about his concerns regarding the national crisis and offered commentary on the role of priests in the Catholic Church.

Campus: What do you enjoy most about your job?
O'Leary: Saying Mass everyday is really the first reason that a priest is ordained. I enjoy administering sacraments reverently and teaching. I believe that education is really lacking in the faith.
Campus: What are the worst aspects of your job?
O'Leary: I have very few complaints, actually. The meetings and administrative business are not that exciting or spiritual. It is also difficult to lead a balanced life and it is easy to get bogged down by loneliness. It is important to reach out to people, talk on the phone and stay connected.

Campus: National statistics show that there are fewer men choosing to dedicate themselves to priesthood due to the drawbacks of the profession. Have you noticed a decline in the number of priests locally?
O'Leary: Actually, for the first time in a long time, the number of seminarians, that is those studying to be priests, went up slightly last year. We have 13 seminarians right now, which is the highest number we have had in a while.

Campus: How would you classify the state of the Catholic Church in America right now?
O'Leary: There are times of reform in the history of the Church, which are when the Church has to take a look at what its members are doing. The Church in Europe has gone through this many times, but in our country, up until now, we have not experienced this. The Church in America is going through that purification process right now with the scandal.

Campus: Do you believe there is any explanation for the problems the Catholic Church is dealing with? Is there a specific cause for it?
O'Leary: Now there is an aim in the Church at forming well-balanced men who can deal with the pressures of the parish life. In the past, however, that was not well understood. In the past, there was not enough knowledge about human pressures. That accounts for why this crisis has occurred. But the damage and the real betrayal is more in the covering up of the incidents. I do not know why the specific priests were not just plucked out. What is most damaging is that it was kept a secret. Some say that the cover up was to protect the reputation of the Church, but I do not see that as true.

Campus: Do you see a reasonable solution for alleviating the problems that the Church is currently dealing with?
O'Leary: There has been an oversight in the seminaries in the past. They need a reevaluation to make sure we are paying attention and to make sure that education does not end after seminaries. They need to not put men out in the middle of nowhere, living alone. We need more communities and rectories that house more than just one man.

Campus: How would you feel about permitting women to be priests?
O'Leary: This is not a solution to the problem. Besides, the Pope issued a document stating that women could not be candidates for priesthood.

Campus: What about allowing priests to marry?
O'Leary: This is not out of the question, but it also is not a solution to the problem. In fact, there are men from other denominations who became Catholic and were allowed to be ordained priests who were married.
These men reported that it was not a good idea for priests to marry. There is also the theology that priests symbolize Christ and the Church is the bride of Christ.

Campus: How prevalent is the current crisis in your daily behavior and tasks?
O'Leary: It really has not affected me too seriously. I have tried not to be too paranoid about it.
We have talked about it in Mass, and people have seemed glad that we have spoken of it. To silence it treats the issue as if it were not there. Although people here do not seem too concerned about it.

Campus: How will this affect the future of the church on a national or state level?
O'Leary: The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will have to put up some sort of review board in every diocese to put a policy in place so that bishops cannot cover up similar offenses or reassign priests.
The screening process in the Church as a whole will be better.