Jan. 25 ad limina report from Archbishop Aymond

Archbishop Gregory Aymond is in Rome for an ad limina visit with Pope Benedict XVI and Vatican officials. In a telephone interview with the Clarion Herald, he summarized his activities on Wednesday, Jan. 25, which included meetings with the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura and the Congregation for Clergy and a vespers service with the pope Wednesday night.

            Here are excerpts of the conversation:

            What is the Apostolic Signatura?

            The Apostolic Signatura is the arm of Rome that supervises the (marriage) tribunals in the world.

 There are over a thousand tribunals that they oversee. Their concern – their mission – is to make sure the tribunals are being just and charitable and to make sure that bishops are overseeing (their) tribunals in an effective way, as far as they can tell from statistics and other reports. Cardinal (Raymond) Burke, who is from the United States,  is the prefect, or the person in charge, of the Signatura.

            It was a good meeting. There was lots of discussion about the way in which we do marriage cases. We certainly know that in New Orleans we are behind, unfortunately. Justice delayed is not justice served. So I have taken some measures in the last year – and will continue to do so – to make sure we catch up on cases.

            In New Orleans we not only deal with the cases for annulments in our own archdiocese, but we are the Court of Second Instance, because every case has to go through two courts. We are the Court of Second Instance for all the other dioceses in Louisiana. So it’s quite a task.  I am very optimistic. I think we will be able to shorten the amount of time that it takes to do a case and to do them with the same thoroughness and with justice and charity.

            There was a lot of discussion about how tribunals work, that we need more personnel. I was aware of that, and I am committed to sending a priest every year to study to get a licentiate in canon law in order to staff the tribunal. I’m very grateful to the priests, religious and laity who work in the tribunal. It’s very effective. True, it’s not as quick or as swift as we would like it to be, but I’m very optimistic that that can change over the next year or two.

            You added a new judicial vicar for the tribunal (Father Peter Akpoghiran) last year. Can you give a snapshot on what the current status of marriage cases is locally?

            We had about 150 cases pending as of 2010, and, of course, (the statistics are) always a little bit behind because this was the latest report. That’s obviously too many, and we want to do them more quickly. That’s my commitment to the people of the archdiocese and to the priests and the deacons and all those who work with marriage cases to move them more quickly.

            So you’ve added a new judicial vicar and will have more priests in line to study canon law?

            We have a priest who will be coming back in August of this year who will join the tribunal and as a staff member or judge. My hope and plan is to send someone else to study this year to replace him in studies.

            Is there an ideal timeline for how long a case normally should last?

            According to (canon) law, it should be less than a year. That’s what canon law suggests.

            If people have questions about looking into a declaration of nullity, should they first call the Family Life Apostolate?

            No. If they have a question about it, the first stage would be to go to the parish, either to a priest or deacon. That person should be able to handle the initial stages and get the information that is needed. If there’s a need to get further advice, that deacon or priest could get it from the tribunal.

            According to your published ad limina schedule, there was a little gap in what you had to do today. Are there some things you filled in?

            After we went to the Signatura, we went to the Congregation for Clergy and we met with the prefect and his staff. We didn’t meet with the entire staff but with four members of his staff. That congregation is in charge of overseeing and being representative of the rights of clergy and also fostering their education and formation.

            The Congregation for Clergy certainly reminded us as bishops that the most valuable assets that we have in our dioceses are the priests. These are men who are courageous and willing to be countercultural in a world of secularism and other “isms.” They reminded us as bishops that we are a brother to the priest, and there are times that we also have to be a loving father. So, we end up serving in two roles.

            The priest is obviously the servant of God’s people, and they reminded us to be very attentive, loving and careful (in meeting) the needs of our priests and to treat them with care and respect. They also mentioned to us about not only their formation in the seminary but also their continuing formation – so that they can continue to grow intellectually, spiritually and emotionally.

            They specifically suggested (a program) that we in the United States call a mentor program, especially within the first couple of years of ordination. I’m happy to say we have that in New Orleans – we have resurrected that over the last year. In fact, we’re having a meeting while I’m away about that. So, I’m very pleased that Father Pat Williams and others are working on that.

            There are two texts that they are working on in the dicastery. One is the update of the document on the life and ministry of priests, and hopefully that will be finished in the not-too-distant future.

            There’s also another document that they discussed at some length about the closure of parishes. This is obviously not just a U.S. problem but is becoming an issue in the world because of ethnic parishes and (because) demographics are changing. There will be a protocol on the closure or merging of parishes. That is not published yet, but they have finished the text, and it is out for consultation with some of the other congregations.

            Many congregations have mentioned this as advice to bishops because this has caused a lot of consternation, as we well know in New Orleans. So we have to look at that carefully and make sure we respect the rights of the people and also the patrimony of the parish and the rights of the diocese. The prefect of the Congregation for Clergy said something that really struck me. He said we certainly do need to talk about the “church of stone,” which is a building; but we also need to talk about the “church of flesh,” which are the people of God. The people of flesh need a place of stone, but the church of stone may change because of difficulties and challenges.

            Was the evening vespers service open to the public or private?

            It was open to the public, but you had to have a ticket to get in. There were probably about 30 cardinals, many bishops who work in the Curia, and, of course, all of us bishops from our region. It was an ecumenical service, so other Christian denominations were there, as well as the Eastern rite of the Catholic Church.  The Holy Father presided. It was at (the Basilica of) St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, which means it was (located) outside the Vatican. It (lasted) about an hour and a half. The Holy Father preached. It was very nice, very well attended, very joyful.

            We will meet with him tomorrow. The bishops of the state of Louisiana will have our private audience. We’ll each have an opportunity to say hello and to meet him, and we’ll meet as a group with questions and suggestions. That will happen tomorrow morning at 11:30.

            Did anything else happen or change in the schedule?

            It was a good day. I’m still very much looking forward to doing further planning (in bringing) the John Paul exhibit (to) New Orleans, and I’ve reached out to some officials of New Orleans to work on that.

            I’m very much looking forward to our meeting on Monday with the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. That’s one of my major tasks – to find out exactly where we are in terms of (the possible beatification of) Henriette Delille, and also to get an update on (Blessed) Francis Seelos.

            Just to pass on information to you – there was another violent death in New Orleans today. A bystander was trying to stop a carjacking in Algiers Point and was shot?

            I saw that. That’s incredible.

            I think the city is going to announce further (security) measures later this afternoon or this evening.

            I have been keeping up with the news through my iPad and cell phone. I saw that on the news, and (I offer) my prayers locally.

            Nationally, my prayers are also (being offered) on the issue of religious liberty. That has been brought up by almost every congregation – their concern about religious liberty in the United States.