Bishop David Zubik set the course before he left the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay six months ago, and his administrators see it as their role to continue it until a new bishop is installed."Bishop Zubik was the captain of our ship … it's our responsibility to keep steering it," said Deacon Tim Reilly, the diocesan director of administration.
Since Zubik's departure in September for the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Reilly and the Rev. John Doerfler, the diocesan chancellor, have overseen the day-to-day operations of the diocese.
They operate under the guidance of Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee, who was appointed apostolic administrator by Pope Benedict XVI and Bishop Robert Morneau, the auxiliary bishop of the diocese and pastor of Resurrection Parish in Allouez.
Because the Roman Catholic Church law places limitations on each role, the four are needed to fill the void. Diocesan officials don't know when a new bishop will be named, but little has changed since Zubik's departure in keeping with his wishes and church law, Reilly and Doerfler said.
"We've been discussing new things that we'll be ready to talk about with a new bishop," Reilly said.
"In the meantime, our role is to respond to the needs of the people and we'll do that on an as-needed basis."
The process of naming a bishop rests outside local control.
The Congregation of Bishops in Rome vets potential candidates, and the apostolic nuncio — a diplomatic papal representative — of the United States weighs in.
At dioceses across the country, there are nine vacancies and 11 bishops serving who are older than 75.
Church law dictates that bishops submit a letter of resignation when they reach that age.
A great deal of secrecy surrounds the process, and the announcement of the appointment — both who it will be and when it will happen — is as much news to the diocese as it is the public, Doerfler said.
"We really have absolutely no idea," Reilly said. "That's the way the process works."
Because the Green Bay diocese covers 16 counties with a Catholic population of about 380,000, the wants of the 160 parishes are varied. And many are taken care of at the local level.
"The center of the Catholic church is the parish — that's where the centers of our faith lies and our outreach," Doerfler said.
Although Doerfler and Reilly both work to push the overall mission of the church and address sweeping administrative issues, Reilly is responsible for operations, while Doerfler works mainly in his expertise of church law.
They meet once a week, touch base with the archbishop and collaborate on decisions made by the diocese.
"Archbishop Dolan has been very generous to make himself available to us," Doerfler said.
The two-month gap between Zubik's announcement and his departure offered a natural transition period.
"All of the work that Zubik has done — lots of things were already in place that we've merely just continued," Reilly said.
"Transition really hasn't been that difficult."
For example, Zubik's Faith Alive initiative, which replaced the Green Bay Regional Association of Catholic Education, is a broad-based approach to diocesan education that has continued.
Likewise the Advancing the Mission campaign, a fundraising initiative begun under Zubik's tenure to help revitalize parishes, has also progressed, Doerfler said.
Of course, an unanticipated community debate over a homeless shelter in Green Bay did put the diocese in the middle of a controversy.
The diocese opened the shelter at 411 St. John St. in November in defiance of city zoning requirements after the city failed to approve an alternative plan to the Churches Offering Temporary Shelter program, which previously operated the shelter at St. John's.
Zubik had been supportive of the shelter prior to leaving but thought another agency would take up the cause.
"Ultimately an awful lot of time was spent to try to work with the people involved and with the community in such a fashion that we were true to the ministry," said Reilly, who said he's satisfied with the outcome. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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