Originally published at National Catholic Register
This past year, several hundred thousand Catholic families in the United States lost their fathers. Indeed, my own children suffered the loss of their father this June.
No, I did not pen this article from beyond the grave — I am speaking of the transfer of our parish pastor.
Every year, with not a little trepidation, I read the “Clergy Assignments” notice to see if my spiritual father will, once again, be departing to some other parish to care for new spiritual children.
We moved to our parish in 2010. We have had three pastors.
And why? Because, in the United States, pastors are appointed by their bishops for a six-year term, although this term can be renewed for another six years. Perhaps for many of us, this is neither surprising nor shocking. This is the norm, after all, and many of us simply take for granted that the Church has proclaimed that pastors are meant to serve in short terms.
Perhaps though, if we dig a bit deeper, we can uncover the rationale behind these ecclesiastical term limits. After all, the Church rarely, if ever, proclaims a law — even those relating strictly to its juridical and administrative practices
