During the month of July, new pastors and new priests arrive at some of our parishes. Our diocesan praxis is that a new assignment begins on July 1.
Extend to the new priest a warm loving welcome. Make him feel at home, supported and loved as a priest of Jesus Christ. A transfer is an uprooting from the known into the unknown; leaving the familiar and plunging into the unfamiliar; new faces, names, families, surroundings, staffs, cultures and neighborhoods. Moving self and possessions can be upsetting.
During my years in the priesthood, I have been through transfers. My last transfer took place at age 67, when I was assigned as your bishop. I left for good the local church for which I was ordained a priest and eventually an auxiliary bishop. I served there for more than 40 years in a variety of assignments before coming to South Jersey. That was no easy transfer for me.
For the record, a pastor is assigned for a six-year term, which can be renewed once. Twelve years are the maximum. Each priest knows the term of office rule. Some may not like it; but all know the rule. A diocesan priest is ordained for his diocese, for priestly service to the local church, which is overseen by the bishop. Among the responsibilities of the bishop are to be familiar with the ever-changing pastoral needs of the diocese and to know the ministries and abilities of each priest.
In consultation with the Priest Personnel Board – priests elected by their confreres – an assignment for a pastor is selected. That consultation involves a review by the Area Dean and the Priest Personnel Board of the various aspects of parish life where the pastor has served. The priest and representatives of the parishioners, including the parish staff, are interviewed. All of that information – including input from the diocesan offices such as Finance, Education, Religious Education and Pastoral life – are reviewed by the Priest Personnel Board, who considering the ministry of the priest and the needs of a particular parish, make recommendations to the bishop.
With the concern of a father and brother for the priest and for the people of the diocese, the bishop who sees the bigger picture of the diocese makes a decision. I like to say that as the bishop, I see the planes coming in and the planes going out.
A priest who is transferred brings his pastoral experiences to the new assignment. The majority transfer without any fuss, although most are sad to leave their parishioners with whom relationships as a Father in Christ and as a human being have developed and grown. On the day of his ordination, both as transient deacon and as priest, he is questioned publicly by the bishop, with his hands folded into the hands of the bishop: “Do you promise respect and obedience to me and my successors?”
For a transfer of assignment, that sacred promise plays out in this way: Respect means not criticizing the decision nor the person of the bishop to transfer him, and obedience means to go with priestly zeal to the new assignment and be a priest of Jesus Christ.
So, please, give the new man on the block a hearty welcome to your parish. Assure him of your prayers for him. Get to know him. Encourage his priestly ministry. Perhaps he could use your help with things like: where is the nearest pharmacy, barbershop, Wawa, etc? He needs time to adjust to his new surroundings and to the people of God whom he will serve as a priest.
Pray for priests, and pray that more young men bravely consider that God may be calling them to the diocesan priesthood for our Diocese of Camden.
Most Reverend Dennis J. Sullivan, D.D.
Bishop of Camden