A conversation with Bishop McManus

By Maria LeDoux
The Catholic Free Press

In the latest Worcester Diocese production of Conversation with Bishop McManus, titled “In the News,” Raymond L. Delisle, chancellor and director of communication for the diocese interviewed Bishop Robert J. McManus, recorded Aug. 21. According to Bishop McManus, early in the pontificate of Pope Franics, the pope talked about the “ideology of colonization,” which is when first world countries, like the United States and others in Europe, “impose on other countries an understanding of the human person that is fictitious.” He continued, “This ideology has a terrible effect of confusing young people and therefore confusing their family.”
Pope Francis also talks about the need for accompaniment, said Mr. Delisle. He asked, “How do we accompany if we do not agree?”
“Accompaniment is another word for ‘ongoing conversion,” and it seems to me that the role of the Church, the role of the Catholic family, the role of parents, is to help their children get to heaven. That’s the ultimate goal for which we are created, to have eternal beatitude with the blessed Trinity in heaven… So we accompany people, but that accompaniment has to be such that there’s time we have to call people to conversion because they may be on a path that actually is leading them away from beatitude … If your human nature is being called into question in such a profound way, it is impossible to happy. “  
He continued, “If we objectively look at the tenure of western culture, specifically the United States, there is a profound restlessness in people’s lives …”

MAINTAINING SAFE ENVIRONMENTS
Beyond the most recent policy for Catholic schools in the diocese, there was further discussion with the bishop regarding the report titled, “Maintaining Safe Environments,” an updated report on clerical sexual abuse of minors in the Diocese of Worcester. This was the first since the 2004 report, “Creating a Safe Environment,” which was, at the time, following the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the U.S. Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, (also known as the Dallas Charter) in 2002. According to Mr. Delisle, “It actually paralleled many aspects of the regular national studies that still show that abuse was at its worst in the late 1960s and the 1970s, and that since the implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, reports are almost exclusively of past abuse dating 30 to even 60 or more years ago.”
Bishop McManus said that he was “very pleased how successful” and “effective” the implementation of the charter has been. He noted that, “One of the most difficult things I have had to do as a bishop is meeting with victim survivors” and the effects it had on everyone else, such as the victim’s families and neighborhoods. “This pedophilia is so profoundly evil that it cannot just be addressed by policies alone, there has to be a change of heart. We cannot become complacent, especially as bishops. Once you let down your guard, evil is going to show its head,” he said.
Mr. Delisle asked why the Worcester Diocese has not issued a list of the names of those accused.  
In response the bishop stated, “My position is that we have made these names public when the offenses became public … There is no attempt to cover up these names,” saying that there were priests who were deceased at the time of accusation, and these men were unable to defend themselves or “have their day in civil or church court.”  
Bishop McManus noted that the lists are public record and can be accessed through the Attorney General’s Office or through bishopaccountibility.org.
 
EUCHARISTIC REVIVAL AND THE JUBILEE YEAR
In addition to these topics, the National Eucharistic Revival and the 2025 jubilee year were also discussed. With the diocese in its second year of a three-year period with the revival, Bishop McManus stated why this came about in the first place.  
He said that in a survey of self-identified Catholics, “only 1 in 3 believed in the real presence” of Jesus Christ as the Body and Blood of Christ. He continued, “We have a big catch -up, catechetically ... The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life … It is impossible to live, especially the moral demands of Catholic life, without the grace and sustenance of the Eucharist. It is impossible. You can’t do it.” He cited the need for priests to preach about it and for everyone to show reverence for the Mass, particularly from the moment a person enters the Church.
Following the Eucharistic Revival will be the Jubilee Year in 2025 for both the universal Church and the Worcester Diocese. Bishop McManus says it will be a time to rejoice for all “the good the Church has done.”

The full conversation can be viewed at
http://worcesterdiocese.org/conversation-series