Catholic Sensibility

I'm chiming in late on this one. Father Walter Cuenin, pastor of a highly regarded Vatican II parish in Newton, Massachusetts, was asked to resign because of financial wrongdoing netting him something around the sum of $80,000. The parish finance council signed off on what seems not to have been a big secret. Cuenin also happened to be one of Cardinal Law's most outspoken critics when revelations of Boston's clergy sex abuse and cover-up scandal eventually knocked the archbishop over three-thousand miles out of his cathedra. The diocese's media organ weighs in on the charges. Cuenin's replacement was asked to consider an assignment there four months ago. Was the diocese fishing for retribution? I'm inclined to think not. Here's my take: Great pastors are a danger to their parishes. Their followers create a cult around them, elevating them high into the Communion of Saints even before the Vatican puts in their two euros worth. Vatican II parishes should be able to operate without a flinch when a new pastor is assigned. If it was all up to Cuenin to make this place go, it was little better than a Tridentine operation dressed in a progressive chasuble. Great pastors are a danger to themselves. I'd rather be persecuted than made a cult hero. There's far more spiritual danger when you have loyal followers farther than the eye can see. It's hard not believing some of the crap you can be fed. Cuenin may have believed he was accepting honest gifts from his parishioners with the extra auto mileage and the stipend for his sabbatical. A wise man would've turned it down. All of it. And made a point, politely, in doing so. Maybe it was Cuenin's time to go. Twelve years as a pastor: that's enough. Cuenin should've realized it and begun preparing his flock a year ago. If the diocese wasn't offering, Cuenin himself could've gone to Archbishop Sean and requested a transfer. The chancery doesn't get off scot-free though. Every diocese should have a plan for transferring pastors, and ensuring a smooth transition, especially when a well-regarded guy leaves town. They owe it to the priests coming and going to make the upheaval as stress-free and smiley-faced as possible. Smart diocesan people would've downplayed the financial mismanagement charges. Cuenin would've needed to have been caught in bed with a minor to sink lower in people's eyes than the diocesan bureaucracy. (And even then, it would be close.) The archbishop and his people should've realized a quickie transfer would be hard enough on the parishioners at Our Lady's without questioning Cuenin's judgment on finances. That they asked another priest to consider the assignment before the audit revealed impropriety shows it was on their minds. Better would be to announce a transfer date at least six months ahead and given Cuenin and the people a chance to enjoy a farewell tour. Cuenin seems to be the only one on the high road, and he was the one with his hand caught in the cookie jar. The diocese shoots itself in the foot again. The parishioners haven't grown up yet. I sure hope Coyne is ready for the job.