This post is very long and informative if you are curious about what the vigil and bishop thing was all about. I wouldn’t look down on you though if you just skipped this post because it is not about anything else other than that topic.
Here is some info about the Bishop and the vigil that I mentioned I took part in.
In the Catholic Church the Pope appoints the Bishop who appoints the priests in his particular Diesis (region). Clergy are ordained priests and deacons who lead churches. They sometimes can feel prideful and feel that their office is a place of power. In the male dominated clergy of Catholic tradition it is sometimes a status symbol. There have been tensions in Orvieto between the lay people and clergy over these recent issues with the Bishop. Umbria (this region of Italy) has often been a hotbed of anti-clerical sentiments. In Dante’s Disquisition on problems with clergy he talks about internal factions that have been a part of Italian culture for centuries. So that paints the Catholic Church in a negative light and it is not meant to, but simply to give you background. The American church has just as much dissent and unrest. Bishop Padre Giovanni Scaveno(not sure on spelling of his last name) became the bishop in Orvieto 7 years ago and was appointed by the ex Pope. He used to be a monk and was from the north of Italy and so he was not likely to be entangled in internal tensions. He immediately became a “pastor” and was said to be a great “shepherd” of his flock here in Orvieto. During the vigil a former prisoner stood up and told how the bishop had visited him every week in prison and frequently met with the prisoners. I told you I went to a charismatic church last week and went to their preghiera(praise and worship session on Wednesday night) and kind of described that they are not really like what you think of charismatic in the states. It is pretty much like the majority of our American churches. Alright, so the previous bishop was suspicious of charismatics and did not even permit San Bernadino’s body to meet in this diesis because they were upsetting the way the traditional Catholicism is played out (making their faith their own). They actually had to drive away somewhere else to meet. The previous bishop wanted everything to be done through the clergy and was very to the book. Padre Giovanni appointed a priest for the San Bernadino group and allowed them to meet and use a church for their services. He was very welcoming to us protestant students and would even visit to this program. He was not liberal, but loved the people and the people loved him. The offense and jealousy came from the other clergy around here. He was doing things like visiting the prisons, which was “beneath” the other clergy in the area. Last summer it became evident that some underhanded clergy of the diesis complained about him and they had an investigation, but of course he came up clean. A lot of people who were devoted to the Bishop breathed a sigh of relief, but then this tragic story took place. A young fellow who was in the process of becoming a priest (currently was a deacon) named Don Luca was also the bishop’s secretary. Don Luca was involved with the youth of the diesis and people loved him. He was turned down to become a priest though and committed suicide by jumping off a cliff here in Orvieto. It came as a huge shock to the community. He was not psychologically whole evidently because he committed suicide and so that was probably what the higher ups had sensed and so that is why they denied him priesthood. The Bishop was crushed. He gave a big service in the Duomo. It made national news. No one blamed the bishop for this, but it ended up being enough of a reason for the jealous clergymen in the area to appeal to the Vatican for the bishop to be removed. It was just a smokescreen of sorts though. Padre Giovanni was very humble and respectful and told the Pope that he would stay out of the situation and simply leave the decision up to the Pope. They have been waiting two months for a decision to be reached and a letter was received about a week ago and it looked bad, but the outcome was not revealed to the public until this past Saturday. He was dismissed. No reason given for anything scandalous. He did nothing wrong. It looks like the Pop also did not blame him in any morally culpable way, but there were references that there was a “cancer” or divisions among the clergy. The Pope said that he was on such bad terms with some of his clergy (ie. Them jealous that the people actually liked him so much) that it was supposedly impossible for him to perform some of his duties. This was not all of the clergy, because several priests in the area loved the Bishop. The clergy were in disagreement with each other. The clergy that was responsible for having him dismissed won a “victory” in having him dismissed, but angry that they were called a “cancer” by the pope. A temporary administrator is now in place until the Pope appoints a new bishop. The bishop remains an Augustinian monk, but will probably go to a nearby monastery. He was a high-ranking Augustinian monk in the order and so they will be glad to have him back. He was asked to leave his position of leadership within the Augustinian order and since coming to Orvieto 7 years ago he has been devoted to his flock and has loved his people. He was very gracious at the vigil and never said a single vindictive word. He even mentioned Manueli and Simone’s(friends of the program with whom some of the students ate dinner at their house a few nights ago) daughter who is pretty much blind. He was involved with his people and truly cared for them. This is a very sad time for the community of Orvieto. If another bishop is appointed who is anti-charismatic then he might not allow the charismatic church to meet here. Alessandro (my Italian teacher) and several other people we know in the community attend this church so it would not be a good thing. If you are still reading, then I am impressed because it was a ton of information, but I found it very interesting and so just thought I would share.
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