“…I Stab at Thee”

Forty-one days ago, we learned that our parish of Holy Rosary was to be suppressed. Twenty-five days ago, we celebrated our last Confirmations as Holy Rosary ceased to be a parish in the Archdiocese of Seattle. Eleven days ago, Archbishop Etienne celebrated the final Mass for Holy Rosary parish.

And then, six days ago, we received this in the mail.

It’s dated eleven days after the date that our parish was suppressed.

I was utterly furious when I read this. How dare they? How dare they abolish my parish and then ask me for money to help support it?

We’ll leave aside for now that they used several photos without permission, and that at least one of these is under protected copyright.

Upon further reflection, I realize that this mailing was probably prepared months ago, and that sending it out was your typical bureaucratic SNAFU.

However, my heart aches for all of the former parishioners who received this in the mail and, like me, fumed at the absolute cruelty of it: “we refused to listen to you for years, we’ve condemned your parish church, and now we’ve abolished you, but send us money anyway”.

I wish this were an isolated case, but it’s not. I still bear the wounds of being mocked and scolded by archdiocesan officials, once on the very day of Father Wagner’s funeral (just minutes before the entrance procession, in fact), and again a few weeks later at a transition meeting. In the latter case, a chancery official literally wagged her finger at me for the crime of following the instructions of my pastor.

Is the cruelty inadvertent? Probably. One of my mottoes is “never presume malice when simple ignorance (or incompetence) will suffice as an explanation”. However, at some point the preponderance of evidence tips the balance. With this, has that moment arrived? I don’t know.

I’m no longer angry – these things pass quickly, and Confession certainly helps! But I’m certainly bearing another scar, inflicted by the beancounters and bureaucrats.