Wide support is more than ‘honeymoon’ effect

    It’s the the “white knight” syndrome, and Archbishop Gregory Aymond, even while dressed in his black clerics, has been like Roy Rogers galloping Trigger at full speed along mostly happy trails since returning home to the Archdiocese of New Orleans in June 2009.
    He arrived well after the devastation of Katrina and in the midst of the initial flowering of city and church recovery.
    As the first native son to become archbishop of New Orleans, he found himself buoyed by a jet stream of support from the priests he either knew as his mentors or those he had trained in his 14 years as rector of Notre Dame Seminary.
    Thus, it was no surprise, really, that when the organizers of a three-day priests’ convocation, “Cultivating Unity,” asked more than 350 diocesan and religious order priests to assess their relationship with Archbishop Aymond and rate his leadership style, the results would be extremely positive.
    But when the facilitators from the National Organization for Continuing Education of Roman Catholic Clergy (NOCERCC) tabulated the actual survey results, they were astounded.
    In response to the question of whether or not the archbishop “understands and supports” his priests, 97 percent either agreed or strongly agreed. In the cold statistical world of sociologists, said Father Stephen Fichter of Newark, N.J., who works with NOCERCC, that level of support was “off the charts.”
    In question after question – “I feel I can speak openly with him” or “the archbishop supports me in my ministry” – Archbishop Aymond was 25 to 30 points above the national average compiled in the 20 dioceses where the unity convocation has been held in recent years.
    “Sociologically, we call you guys ‘out-liers,’” Father Fichter told the priests who attended the convocation. “That’s out-’liers,’ not ‘liars.’ It floors me that only 1 percent of you thought that unity with the archbishop was very weak. The average across the nation has been 20 percent. There is something very significant going on here. The unity between you and Greg is very strong, and you want to build on that.”
    Dominic Perri, a professional facilitator who does work for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said there are factors at work here beyond the “honeymoon” period or Archbishop Aymond being a native son.
    “Clearly, the homegrown son thing is a factor, but I think you also have to look at the fact that he has some great leadership qualities,” Perri said. “He is accessible. He really does care about what his priests are doing. He’s got a vision for where he wants to go. He’s a natural leader, and people resonate with that. If he was a hometown son who was not a good leader, that honeymoon would have worn off already.”
    Father Fichter, who is a grand nephew of Jesuit Father Joseph Fichter, the pioneering civil rights sociologist, said one example of that open leadership style was Archbishop Aymond’s decision to give every priest his private cell phone number.
    “That’s huge,” Father Fichter said. “I’m sure if you took a survey of bishops around the country, he would be one of the few who does that.”
    To amplify his point, Father Fichter recalled a priests’ meeting in Newark many years ago when Archbishop Peter Gerety stressed the importance of priests always being available by phone to their parishioners, day or night, through a private line in the rectory.
    “Father Beck, may he rest in peace, got up and said, ‘I’ll be very happy to do that. Archbishop, would you please give us the direct number to your room?’” Father Fichter said, smiling. “Archbishop Gerety shook his head and moved on to the next topic.”
    The candid dialogue over the three days included talk about the tensions that existed especially in the immediate aftermath of Katrina. To his credit, former Archbishop Alfred Hughes attended the priests’ meeting and heard every word. At times, it could not have been easy to hear – but it also showed him once again to be a person of quiet grace, humility and inner, spiritual strength.
    The decisions Archbishop Hughes made in closing parishes after Katrina were emotionally and spiritually draining, but he chose not to drop those problems in the lap of his successor. By deciding not to punt, Archbishop Hughes, the “outsider” from the Northeast, created a smoother trail for the native son.
    There will come a time when the native son will have to make difficult decisions of his own regarding schools or parishes. If the “Cultivating Unity” convocation is any indication, he has a full well of fraternal support from which to draw.
    Peter Finney Jr. can be reached at [email protected].