ELB 2.0

Insofar as many have inquired as to the happenings here among us last week concerning all that has occurred at the extraordinary session of the Extended Leadership Board, it seemed fitting for me as well to blog it for you, most excellent Theophagus.

Well, OK, Father Mike Duggan, regional in the U.S., was gracious enough to fill me in over lunch yesterday so that I may masticate and regurgitate it to you in bite-size, easily digestible, if not easy-to-swallow morsels.

So here is it. ELB dealt with four topics: Communication, Mission, Retirement, the relationship between ELB and the General Council, and morale of members. (OK, that’s actually five, but the first four directly impact the last, n’est pas?)

MISSION It was heartening to hear that, for all the problems facing our leaders, the future of Maryknoll mission work is still a priority. Clearly we can’t be in as many countries as we are now, but do we concentrate on putting all our mission eggs in just one overseas basket? Or do we maintain our multicultural interests by having at least two Regions?

Someone opined that the best gift we “old timers” can give the 12 men currently in formation and, God willing, to more men who will enter formation in the coming years, is to “get out of their way.” New wine! New skins!

COMMUNICATION It comes as no surprise that this was identified as THE most serious challenge facing our members as we try to discern what leadership is thinking, what they did, and why they did it. Indeed, the reason for ELB 2.0 was to give the Regionals another chance to come together and talk with one another and the Council and brainstorm, as well as express their opinions on the state of the Society and define just what the nature and purpose of ELB is.

RETIREMENT Let’s face it, the big wave is already crashing over our heads. But what is the right time to retire? And who decides? And how do you convince a man to give up the only life he’s known? What does “retirement” even mean? Some men think it means that, absent a formal Maryknoll assignment, they are free to do whatever they want. (So then, what’s the difference between that and what Maryknollers usually do?) The retirement age may be raised to 70 sometime in the future, but this is way too complex an issue to decide right now. More discussion in needed. [In journalistic parlance, this is what is known as “burying the lead”, but I like to reward those of you who plod through my other paragraphs with a solid nugget of news.]

Mike Duggan says there was ample time for him and each of the other Regionals (Fr. Alfonso Kim-Asia; Fr. Jim Lynch-Latin America, Fr. Dave Smith/Fr. Lance Nadeau-Africa and Fr. Tom McDonnell-Retirement) to speak what was on their minds.

But were they heard? And what positive changes will be made? Log in for future developments!

ELB 2.1 is scheduled for a week before and after June 4, 2011, when N’ShaAllah, we will celebrate the ordination of the Rev. Mr. Rodrigo Ulloa-Chavarry to the Maryknoll mission priesthood!

Laundry list (Don't shoot the messenger...or the laundry lady)

Well, folks, ELB is midway through their extraordinary session, but halfway is not all the way so keep those prayers and intersessions coming. Amongst many important presentations about aging, retirement, what is the right time and when can you tell if a member should start to consider coming "home" to Maryknoll and why so many members avoid Mission Central like vampires avoid daylight (my words), it seems that this time around there will be adequate time for input from ELB members, N'Sha'Allah.

Two themes are certainly bubbling (or simmering) not so far below the surface here at Mother Knoll and from a surprising wide range of members, age, Region and theology-wise.

One is what seems to be a total breakdown in communications between leadership and both individual members as well as regions and departments.Odd—and sad—as the last Chapter was supposed to herald in a new age of openness and transparency.

The second is more subtle if not insidious. With all the necessary, indeed urgent, hiring of lay employees in top managerial positions and with the emergence of our able stable of lawyers and insurers calling the shots, guys have the distinct impression Maryknoll and Maryknollers are no longer in charge of their own actions and lives.

Let me hasten to add that this is NOT the fault of the employees, who are doing the jobs for which they were hired. The fault, dear Hamlet, is not in the stars but in ourselves. It isn't enough to have an M.M. nominally at the top of the food chain. He must be proactive. It needn't be a full-time assignment, either. But when decisions are made that effect the quality of life here at the Knoll (and I assume at other centers), a Maryknoller should put the final stamp of approval or disapproval on the action or decision.

For too long we have witnessed an abdication on the part of Maryknollers who hide behind what our lawyers, insurers, internet auditors, external financial auditors, health services, safety committee, and yes, even the all-important food committee says about how we are to live.

Now, lest you think this is "washing our dirty laundry in public," as one member expressed his uneasiness to me with this much appreciated yet far too candid blog, because—and this is a direct quote—"anybody can read it. Even Jesuits and Franciscans." Let me hasten to back up the contention of one of my defenders that other groups face the exact same issues and maybe we can help one another find a solution expressly by shining some daylight on it. To wit, the following link to a Cappuchin blog that makes my paltry effort seem positively Pollyannish by comparison.

I refer you to some Franciscan dirty habits:

http://whispers-in-the-woods.blogspot.com