MASSACHUSETTS
Worcester Magazine
By Walter Bird Jr. -June 9, 2016022
He has been bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Worcester for 12 years and celebrated his 17th anniversary of being ordained as bishop in February. Late last month, he observed his 38th anniversary of being ordained as a priest. Bishop Robert McManus will turn 65 in July, and it is safe to say he has seen a lot transpire in and around the Catholic Church. The clergy sex abuse scandal would qualify as the lowest of lows during his time with the Church, and the closing of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Worcester earlier this year has generated more controversy for the Diocese – and McManus, in particular. We sat with McManus recently to talk about the state of Church, the drama surrounding Mount Carmel and more.
What is the overall health of the Catholic faith and the Catholic Church? I would say it is in a weakening position, only because as I said I was ordained as a priest 38 years ago. If you had told me the Church in New England would be in the state it is today, I would have found it very hard to believe. My first parish, there were four full-time priests. There were 120 people in what is called CYC here. There were 50-60 kids on our ski trip every winter. Every Mass was packed. There were a number of sisters of mercy teaching at school. That same parish today has one priest. The school is closed. Attendance at Mass is less than superlative. A perfect storm descended on the Church, in New England, especially. I was astounded that New England has now become one of the most un-churched areas, sections of the U.S.
Has it? When you say un-churched, you mean number of churches closed? No, the people claiming to be religious, whatever their religious denomination in terms of church practices. And I have not seen the statistic myself, but someone said to me in passing a couple weeks ago that there was a survey done of religiosity — a practice of any religion throughout the country, the 50 states — somebody told me that Massachusetts was 49th, 50th being the worst. It’s hard to believe, because New England especially, for example growing up in Rhode Island, we were 65 percent Roman Catholic. Same with Massachusetts, they used to call it Catholic Boston, it was so, so catholic.You say “perfect storm.” Talk about that. I would describe the perfect storm as radical secularism that has descended on our country, western civilization, but certainly on the United States. That scandal that happened broke out with terrible ferocity in 2002, and the effect that it had on people of the faith, those three things came together and it has weakened the position of the church in New England and here in Massachusetts and … the Catholic Diocese Worcester. However, what it has forced us to do is to commit ourselves to what Pope John Paul II, what Pope Benedict and Pope Francis now has coined: the new Evangelization. I believe that there is what is called a vestigial Catholicism. If people were trained and raised as Catholics in a real solid fashion, there is a basis there of the faith that I hope, with the grace of God, can be revitalized and brought to the floor.
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