Diocese of New Jersey Outlines Strategy for Healing and Reconciliation
Episcopal News Service. October 17, 1997 [97-1975]
(ENS) In a report from its wellness committee released October 6 and mailed to all clergy and parishes, the Diocese of New Jersey launched what it hopes will be a plan of action for healing and reconciliation.
Among the major proposals are a support group for Bishop Joe Morris Doss, monthly mentoring visits by another retired bishop "to observe the process of healing and act as an advisor on all matters," retreats and conferences to rebuild trust with clergy, efforts to address the "hurt and frustration" of blacks, improved communication and staff structure, and increased financial accountability.
The plan builds on the May report of a consultant, the Rev. Peter Steinke, that painted a portrait of a "quiet, in-grown, parochial and conservative" diocese that is large and diverse, riddled with divisions. The report also indicated that some factions in the diocese laid much of the blame at the feet of Doss while others argued that most of the problems had deep roots going back for many years before the election of Doss in 1994.
When the attacks on Doss escalated, alleging alcohol abuse among other failures, Doss sought the help and advice of the church's chief pastor, Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning. In a letter that accompanied the wellness committee report, Browning expressed his hope that the people of the diocese would see the report as "a constructive and hopeful document" and a "new way forward."
In an October 13 letter to the diocese, Doss said that he was "personally committed to implementing the proposals for healing contained in the wellness report, especially addressing and remedying those criticisms of my own behavior, and I am asking all members of the diocese to join in the process to help me by forgiving each other, healing our wounds, and rolling up our sleeves to do the hard work of rebuilding trust in each other."
In conflict situations "a spirit of mistrust can develop very quickly," Browning noted, and "judgements can be made that exaggerate the original problems and make them all the more difficult to address." In the face of "allegations of possible misuse of alcohol and questionable financial management on Bishop Doss' part," Browning said that he agreed with the bishop's request for "a professional evaluation."
After an August evaluation at the Menninger Clinic in Kansas, Browning reported in his letter that the clinic report "notes that he does not at this time exhibit characteristic alcoholic behavior." The diocesan treasurer assured Browning that "consistent audits of diocesan funds... have shown no irregularities." Doss and Browning agreed that it would be helpful to "invite a senior bishop to serve as mentor" and announced that Bishop George Hunt, retired bishop of Rhode Island, had agreed to spend about a week each month in the diocese.
Citing Hunt's "experience, compassion and enormous good sense," Browning expressed a confidence that "he will be an objective listener to both the bishop and the diocese. I believe his presence will help to restore a spirit of mutual trust and improve communication."
Deploring a range of accusations in the press, Doss said that he has "refused to allow myself to be pulled into hurtful, unprofessional and inappropriate public argument." Instead he has "patiently trusted in the proper unfolding of events and knowledge, allowing the truth to be revealed as our time-tested judicial and ecclesiastical institutions operate systematically."
Interviews by Steinke earlier this year revealed that many found Doss "engaging, amiable, charming, a bishop who is "intelligent...warm and sensitive." Others complained that he was manipulative, arrogant, condescending and displayed a leadership style that was impatient and compulsive. The consultant said that about half the diocese occupied middle ground, conceding that the bishop had problems but expressing an eagerness to move on with the church's mission. The other half, he estimated, was split almost evenly between opposition and supporters.
A story in the Trenton Times the day after the wellness committee report was released alleged that a seminary professor had been asked by the bishop to write an unflattering letter about one of Doss's critics who was being interviewed for a call to another parish -- and that Doss lied when confronted.
The Rev. Alan French is accusing the Rev. Charles Rush, who teaches at New Brunswick Theological Seminary, of defamation for writing a letter at the urging of Doss to the search committee at St. Luke's Church in Gladstone. In a July 25 deposition Rush described a meeting with an "emotionally distraught" bishop who admitted that he had lied to others about his discussions with Rush.
The diocesan chancellor, Richard Catenacci, said in a news account that he was "astounded" that the deposition became public and that he was "ethically bound not to comment." Others said that making the lawsuit public was just another example of how desperate the bishop's critics were to oust him.
The bishop's promise to cooperate "was well received but may not be enough to quell rampant mistrust," said the Rev. Peter Stimpson, chair of the wellness committee, in an interview. Even those who have expressed support for the bishop are discouraged by his apparent inability to acknowledge his own role in the hurt that many are expressing -- and find a way to respond, he observed. He said that it was dangerous to assume that the criticism was coming from "a small group of people," arguing that "a wide cross section of the diocese" is represented in the criticism.
While admitting that some of the problems identified by Steinke predate the election of Doss, "healing can't happen if the bishop doesn't see the problem and change his behavior," Stimpson said. "People are tired of words, they want to see some change in behavior." He is afraid that bringing in a mentoring bishop "may be too little, too late." And he predicted that the "financial revolt could spread," that the middle ground identified by Steinke could move to open opposition. "Even people in the center are saying enough is enough." He added that an independent audit of the bishop's discretionary funds would be a good first step and might help restore confidence.
The Rev. Roger Hamilton, president of the standing committee, shares Stimpson's frustration and pessimism. "It is a very difficult situation," he said, "and it is not getting any better." He deplores the deepening factionalism in the diocese, pitting people against each other. "People are uniting around everything but Jesus," he said.
The Rev. Walt Zelley, a rector in Metuchen who is senior warden of the diocesan council, said in an interview that he finds it "incomprehensible that a group of priests can act this way. Nothing the bishop has done warrants these attacks. How can they treat a human being and his family this way?" He is convinced that a small group, "maybe 10 percent," has launched an organized campaign to convince the vast majority in the center that the diocese is out of control and that there is no way forward.
"Let's get back to the business of reconciliation, let's talk, let's get the diocese back on track," Zelley said, adding that he was "infuriated with the character assassination by innuendo directed at the bishop." And he contended that Steinke made a serious mistake in allowing critics of the bishop anonymity. "If someone has concrete evidence against the bishop, let's see it or let's stop the faulty allegations," he said.
"The last thing I want to see is a bishop removed," Zelley said. If the critics succeed in their efforts to force a resignation, "the diocese would be in the hands of some pretty sick, malicious people. And the psychic wounds would be terrible."
Zelley said that he sees little evidence of all the "wounded souls" throughout the diocese, as alleged by the critics. Instead he sees "all kinds of hopeful signs in the diocese. Given a chance we could do wonderful things for the kingdom of God. Why don't people just forgive Doss so we can get going with our real tasks?"