By Chris Eckl

Bishop Thomas A. Donnellan, who will be installed as Archbishop of Atlanta July 16, says he is not coming to North Georgia with fixed ideas of specific policies.

“I will need to evaluate the situation and with the help of those familiar with it, I hope to make decisions for the welfare of the Church and the community,” the bishop said in an interview with the Georgia Bulletin at his home in Ogdensburg, NY.

“It would be a mistake to come to a new position with fixed ideas or policies,” the bishop commented. “I know my own mind. I admired Archbishop Hallinan, and my present general attitude is to sit ‘light and loose’ until I get adjusted.” The bishop said he has been in Atlanta Airport once but has not visited the city.

In the interview, Bishop Donnellan discussed Church renewal, the new meditation service approved by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, ecumenism, the liturgy, vocations and changes in the seminary.

Bishop Donnellan said he was distressed by some of the crises and difficulties of the post-Vatican II Church in America, but not discouraged.

“I think it would be impossible not to be distressed, but there is a difference between being distressed and being discouraged. As a result of the council, we have had difficulties in renewal, but we are committed to it. I am optimistic that the Church will be stronger and more vital as a result of the council even though we are suffering growing pains in a period of adjustment.”

Asked if his job as bishop is more exciting since the council, Bishop Donnellan replied, “I wasn’t a bishop until the council was well under way, but my work in the Diocese of Ogdensburg has been very stimulating. The crises and disputes I hear and read about in other areas....I have not encountered them here.”

“There has been a great willingness to work for renewal, and, thank God, we have not been plagued by great controversies. In my four years in Ogdensburg, there has been a fine spirit of cooperation.”

“The hostilities between different generations don’t seem to exist here. While there are different points of view about the pace of adjustment, there does seem to exist the very, very necessary virtue of charity on the part of all concerned.”

Replying to a question about the accessibility of bishops to priest and laity, Bishop Donnellan said he thought the point could be exaggerated. “I grew up in New York and the one bishop I knew, Cardinal Spellman, was accessible to everyone. I take this for granted...there shouldn’t be any great difficulty in seeing a bishop and talking with him. I come from a background that took this matter of course and I hope it has been true in my case.”

Discussing theological growth and the great number of theological books and articles, the bishop said as an administrator he is conscious of time and limitations. “My difficulty and the difficulty of most bishops and those in administrative positions is you are conscious of the need to keep yourself informed in a variety of fields and you are conscious of time limitations.”

“My own interests to a large extent have been formed by my training and by the responsibilities that have been given to me. Whether I had an interest in a particular field or not, if I had a responsibility I tried to keep myself informed.”

“I was assigned to Catholic University after my ordination to study canon law (the bishop has a doctor’s degree in canon law), and a great deal of my work has been in this field -- chancery, marriage court. To keep myself qualified, I had to read. In addition, I served as guidance director at Cathedral Girls High School in New York so I had to read psychology and ascetical theology.”

“I have been vocations director of the Archdiocese of New York, rector of a seminary and served on the Mayor’s Committee of Religious Leaders. This takes you through a variety of fields and prevents one from becoming a scholar in any one field.”

Bishop Donnellan added it is incumbent on any priest in the light of the Second Vatican Council to do a good deal of reading in Scripture and theology. “I have difficulty in keeping informed by books. Since the new thinking changes so much, I find the only way I keep adequately informed is to keep up with periodicals and current literature.”

The bishop said he developed a real interest in the liturgy while serving as vice chairman of the Archdiocesan Liturgy Commission and as rector of St. Joseph’s Seminary. “Coming to Ogdensburg, I was anxious to implement the renewal of the liturgy and I have been pleasantly surprised at the willingness and openness.”

“However, I’m not satisfied with the progress of liturgy, but I’m not really unhappy with it. It is an ongoing thing and if I ever become dissatisfied, I’m afraid I would be finished.”

Bishop Donnellan then switched to the vocations crisis and changes in the seminary since he was a student and rector.

“When I went to seminary much of the life was based on ability to conform to rules. It was felt to conform was an indication of the ability to serve as a priest. As rector this attitude formed a large part of my thinking.”

“Since then there have been many changes. Specific regulations were reduced to build up more responsibility. There has been more involvement with community activities so students now learn things they couldn’t possibly learn in the seminary.”

“This is true of Wadhams Hall, our diocesan seminary. Our seminarians make a real contribution in a variety of areas. It is done with my approval and enthusiastic suggestion. There has been a change in rules, a change in my own attitude and a change in the Church’s attitude.”

Are the changes creating better priests? “I was satisfied with the training offered me as a seminarian. It served to create men who met the challenges of their age. This is a different age and we have different training.”

Asked about the decline in vocations, the bishop commented, “I’ll accept the fact there is a vocations crisis, but, thank God, we haven’t experienced it in the Diocese of Ogdensburg.” He said questions raised about the image of priests has created uncertainty. “The general frame of mind of young people is not toward permanent commitment. They are uncertain.”

Bishop Donnellan said the new meditation service established by the nation’s bishops hopefully will offer a means where disputes might be discussed, grievances aired and suggestions made “to prevent the hardening of positions.”

He served as chairman of the ad hoc committee which did the work on establishing the service and also served on a special bishops’ committee appointed by Rome to mediate the dispute between the Immaculate Heart of Mary Nuns and James Francis Cardinal McIntyre of Los Angeles.

As chairman of the ad hoc committee, Bishop Donnellan said he consulted with a “great many people in management and labor on the resolution of disputes.” He said directives on mediation procedures were also studied.

“The service can operate in two ways -- as an arbitration board in which the two parties involved would agree to the settling of their dispute by a panel to be named by the arbitration committee of the bishops.” “We have also arranged a means of meditation which would encourage the parties involved in a disagreement to consult with someone experienced

in the matter under discussion and accept the recommendations.”

“I am optimistic about the service, as are the bishops who approved it, but we will have to see it in practice.”

Discussing the spirit of ecumenism in the Diocese of Ogdensburg, the bishop said he had been heartened by the relations between Catholics, Protestants and Jews.

“We have worked together on community projects, have had interfaith services and meet regularly to discuss community problems. Our priests are members of the ministerial associations in their areas.”

“We have had ministers and rabbis address and teach our seminarians and there is very little hostility between the religious groups.”

Asked his reaction on being appointed Archbishop of Atlanta, the bishop replied, “It was a complete surprise. I had no expectations of moving. While I had known and liked Archbishop Hallinan and deeply regretted his death, it never entered my mind that I might be his successor.”