This is not a ‘he said-she said’ thing
Ruth Kolpack has said plenty and continues to. Bishop Robert Morlino has said enough and is showing restraint.
Dissent sometimes has consequences. Though in this particular reporting, you won’t hear the word ‘dissent’.
Ruth Kolpack, pastoral associate since 1995 at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Beloit, Wis., was fired earlier this month after a brief meeting with Madison Bishop Robert Morlino.
No specific accusations supporting the dismissal have been publicly made.
You don’t see the word ‘dissent’ because the reporter is operating from a news release issued by Kolpack.
According to the release, the investigation shifted to a thesis Kolpack had written for her master of divinity degree that was granted from St. Francis seminary…Kolpack’s main theme is on inclusiveness, and what she sees as a patriarchal tone in the church’s liturgy, with an implicit exclusion of women from key roles, such as the priesthood.
There are a lot of women in key roles in the Church who hold these views and express them regularly and emphatically. The views and expressions are in dissent of Church teaching, often with no consequences. What happened in Kolpack’s case?Â
Brent M. King, director of communications of the Diocese of Madison Mar. 17, in response to an NCR query, issued a statement. It said, in part that, “It is out of respect for the dignity and good reputation of every person involved, in this and all personnel matters, that specifics cannot and will not be discussed. You can be assured that the canonical and civil rights of each individual have been upheld absolutely. The Church takes this very seriously. I cannot make statements regarding Ms. Kolpack, as they could injure her good reputation.”
The statement went on to say that church personnel “must uphold the faith and morals of the church” … through what they publicly teach and claim to believe, what they associate themselves with, and by their actions.”
That actually says a lot.
But because Kolpack enjoys popularity with many parishioners, she’s airing her grievances in public. Which is pretty much why she’s in this position in the first place…
And in spite of Kolpack and protestors confronting Morlino…
All he would say was that the action was a “personnel matter†and that the thesis wasn’t the only issue; that a “certain mentality†on Kolpack’s part was “troublesome.†He stressed that he respects her good work at St. Thomas and didn’t want to “hurt her good name.â€
Which is more than she has said of him.
If Kolpack has some extra time on her hands, I recommend Sr. Sara Butler’s book. Nobody knew the issue of activism for changes in Church teaching on women in the priesthood better than Sr. Butler. And few know it as well now. Which is only one reason why she sits on the International Theological Commission, one of the only two women to do so.
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I remember Ruth from way back in the days when I worked at St. Jude Parish on the west side of Beloit. I remember well studying in courses on this exact issue, namely, how the patriarchal structure of the church does not represent Jesus Christ so much as it represents culture. Thus, there is an issue here with Christ and culture theology, and the all male power structure of the Roman Catholic Church have opted for culture over Christ.
I, following a pathway somewhat like Luther, moved on and followed my call into ordained ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
In so many ways, Roman Catholicism has been stalled by its present power structure. What we have seen in the larger culture and world is the rise of fundamentalism, and from Rome, a return to legalism. Thus, it is no surprise to me that Ruth encounters the opposition of this culture – namely patriarchy.
It might have been Michael Crosby who was the most prophetic on this whole matter when he wrote the book “The Dysfunctional Church: Addiction and Codependency in the Family of Catholicism.” As I reflect on that title now – and this recent episode – I conclude that we are not called to be a family – we are called to koinonia – a community of partners (women and men) in Christ. The Roman hierarchy is still in its culture of a dysfunctional family system. Ruth is likewise being prophetic in naming this, and calling for reform – and for a ministry in Jesus Christ.