Bishop reflects on events during time in diocese

By Doug Bean
Catholic Times Editor
In a final interview with The Catholic Times on Monday, Nov. 8 before his departure to lead the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York, Bishop Robert Brennan answered questions for 1 ½ hours in his office at the Chancery. The following is an edited conversation:

Question: How has your perception of the diocese and its people changed from your arrival until today?

Answer: When I first arrived, it was all new. And it was exciting. I just really felt this great desire to get to know places, the history, the people. There was something very exciting about being in such a variety of different areas. …That was sort of my wide-eyed vision, and now I would say it’s still very, very positive. I’m just impressed by the depth of faith and by the way that people live it out in the different parishes and in different ways, but also in many of the movements that are taking place here. There’s something really extraordinary here. … I detected a real openness among people, a real goodness among people, to try to adjust to realities of the day. If you go around in different parts of the diocese, the realities are very different. … So I feel a little bit more like I have an understanding of all of those realities and how they affect people in different parts of the diocese.

Q: What challenges needed to be addressed early on, and do you feel progress has been made?

A: My first challenge was to get to know the diocese. I didn’t want to jump right into Real Presence Real Future.  … Bottom line is, when I first came, we were doing some amount of strategic planning, but it wasn’t with any kind of reflection. That’s not critical of anybody. So it’s not that we’re doing anything new; we’re trying to anticipate needs and see if we can do it in the thoughtful way across the board. People needed to realize just how well they were living out the Gospel in the church here in the Diocese of Columbus. 

Q: The fall 2019 convocation with priests seemed to be pivotal. What did you take away from the meeting, and was it the genesis for Real Presence Real Future?

A: So that was right about six months after I arrived, and I had gotten to meet and know a number of priests in that period of time. But this was our first real extended time working together, relaxing together, enjoying each other’s company and praying together. I felt a connection with the priests in a very powerful way. I had been hearing about the needs of the diocese, and I would say that marked the real beginning of Real Presence Real Future. 

Q: You were very willing to work with the secular media, Catholic radio and social media. How important is media communication in advancing the faith?

A: I wish I could say that we are getting the message across to all the people at Sunday Mass. That’s just not the case. And even among the people who go to Sunday Mass, there’s something about when they read it in the paper that they say, “Oh, it’s really true.” 

Q: Just a year after you arrived, the pandemic hit, and the decision was made to close churches for two months. As you look back, how do you assess the Church’s response? 

A: I’d like to say that we did do the best that we could with what we had in front of us. One of the hardest things that I ever did in 31 years as a priest was to make that decision, along with the other bishops. The idea that we should not have public worship, or suspend public worship for a while, that just ran against every instinct. The bishops listened to the facts together, and we were dealing with something that was a real unknown, and we could see was the experience of the world around us. I trusted the recommendations that were being given to us by the state of Ohio. And we made some tough, prudent decisions. … I get a good amount of feedback, a lot of mail, and I don’t mind that. In fact, I’m glad to get it. It’s good to hear from people. … But I would say that most people are somewhere in the middle.  Many, many people understand exactly and just wanted to find that middle group to keep people safe but also allows them to live life. I was glad that I was already here just two weeks shy of a year when all of this hit, and I felt I had been able to develop a relationship with people, and they knew me and I knew them. And that helped in navigating through that. I’m deeply grateful for the means of communication that we had so that we could continue to stay connected. … Some of our social service agencies did extraordinary work and met the greater needs of the community. And our priests were extraordinary during this time. There was tremendous pressure on them, and they tried to balance the pastoral needs of the people with the grave responsibility of keeping people safe. 
 
Q: Compared with some other dioceses throughout the country, Ohio’s churches reopened relatively quickly, in about two months. How did the bishops come to that decision?

A: We were examining the data together. We were preparing for that day when we would return. … We were talking and working with the different health agencies at the different levels on a plan, and when we had that in place, on Pentecost Sunday in 2020, we were able to be back. And a year later, we had all these restrictions when we were looking at when can we put more people in church. And all of a sudden, the governor said, on June 2, everything gets dropped, and we were fortunate we already were working on a plan to be back at full capacity.

Q: Then the racial tensions swept the country in summer 2020. You supported both the protesters and law enforcement. What is your assessment of where the country and the Church is today on racial issues?

A: What I tried to do, whether it was effective or not, is really to rise above it. It wasn’t so much a matter of supporting the protest, but really to try to rise above that and to recognize what was going on at its deepest level. Even before that, I remember here among the staff we viewed that film Emanuel together about the attack at the church in South Carolina. And it hit me – I remember watching that film, and then we had a discussion – seeing the pain within the African American community stayed with me. And so when the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis happened, what came back to me were those prior discussions, the things I learned that this is a very painful moment for a lot of people. … It was not about making statements or the protests. It’s understanding how people are viewing this. … In those days when the protests were taking place, I was a little discerning about what was happening. I wasn’t ready to attach myself to every little thing that’s going on. And I was rather cautious, because, quite honestly, living here downtown, I saw a lot of it up front. And I saw some pretty bad behavior, the level of destruction, the amount of violence, the disrespect for the police, who were just really trying to protect and maintain order, was appalling. But that does not change the fact that a broad spectrum of people were indeed still hurting by this.
We have a young adult community, the Toltonites, and they represent various minority communities. They put together a prayer service (at Columbus St. Matthias Church). I trust them. And I was thrilled that they came together in prayer. I think they did a wonderful job, and I was proud to stand with them and to be with them. Our own Ethic Ministries office also did a great job of fostering conversations. And I was very glad that conversations were happening in our Catholic schools – what can we learn from one another and understand the pain and suffering that’s going on.

Also, I had already developed a relationship with Bishop Timothy Clarke, pastor of the First Church of God, and that enabled me to connect with the larger African American churches. So we began a little bit of work together so that we could continue those conversations and develop other things such as the Coalition for the Common Good. Our different Catholic agencies were meeting with community leaders. The other piece to this is how it affected our police officers. It’s another community that I feel very, very close with and respect tremendously. I have a lot of law enforcement in my family. And after the George Floyd incident, most law enforcement people I know were very concerned about what happened in Minneapolis. … And then six months later, we had two very troubling situations here in Columbus. And, again, I tried to rise above it, and I called for an examination to get to the answers of that. I think we need to be honest about where something’s wrong.

Q: Catholic schools reopened in fall 2020 for in-person instruction. How important was getting students back in the classroom?

A: Very important. I give a lot of credit to certainly the schools office here at the diocese, but to all of the school administrators and representatives of the faculty who really worked through the summer of 2020 to examine every possibility, and they came up with different contingency plans. And when it came to opening up, people are really creative and able to set up our schools so that they could be safe. There are things that we can only do together, and so it was important to return but  in a way that kept everybody safe. Even though there were some COVID cases, we didn’t have outbreaks, super spreaders.  And we could not have done it if the parents weren’t so committed to work together. This year, we did have to use masks in a number of places because when school started the delta variant was strong.

Q: On the topic of education and young people, why do you think so many young people, including significant numbers who received Catholic education, have fallen away from the practice of the faith? How does the Church stop that migration?

A: The very point of Catholic schools is the transmission of the faith to the next generation.. … Religious education programs in the parishes I find are such a varied experience here. They’re very different from parish to parish. The suburban models here would be closer to what I would have experienced back on Long Island, but what we realized is that we could do some things with some partnerships with groups and by using online tools.

Q: The Church and the world are facing many contentious issues. One is immigration. How should Catholics balance the need for charity and to be welcoming against the illegality of entry, particularly at the southern border?

A: Many who are in positions of political responsibility seem not to be focused on issues or solving some of the problems. The fact is, we do need some kind of comprehensive immigration reform. The Church has been quite clear on that. … I think we need to have very clear and effective border security. Having said that, you have to be ready to address those other problems. During the last administration in Washington, there was a chance to work together, to solve border security and then solve the issues involving DACA for the dreamers, which I think is the right thing to do. … Six months before I came here, I actually visited the border, and border security would be a good thing. There are a lot of very unscrupulous people who are misleading folks. My hat is off to border security because they’re saving lives and helping people. They’re very much maligned. There’s also a fair amount of human trafficking, and so we do need to have an orderly process but be generous.  

Q: You have sought to bolster the presence of Hispanics and Latino religious here. How important is it to have the presence of these orders?

A: There are two sides to that. Obviously, you want to be able to minister and relate to people. But there’s also the evangelical point that we have such incredibly good news to bring to God’s people wherever they are. So part of the reason was, I want to be able to provide for the pastoral needs of people and serve them. We have Hispanic communities, and we also have some different African communities, Filipino community, Haitian community, all of these are something that the rest of the Church can learn. That was my experience in learning Spanish. All of a sudden, now I find myself going to Masses where there are lots of families, lots of children, lots of joy in proclaiming the Gospel.

Q: We see a cancel culture today where people are discouraged from speaking the hard truths of the Catholic faith. Why is that, and what can be done to support those who speak the hard truths?

A: There’s the expression “speak the truth.” And we look to Jesus Himself. So the first step for any of us as a Catholic is to know and understand what the Church teaches and why the Church teaches it, but it teaches to get to the heart of human dignity of every person created in the image and likeness of God.Begin with that. In the public square, say this is what I believe and that the truth actually has been revealed about the human person, about marriage. You might end up having to say sometimes you may not agree with me, but please understand where I’m coming from. And so it’s not unreasonable to disagree, but treat people with respect.

Another thing that’s important for us as Catholics is mutual support. Very often we’re made to feel as if we’re marginalized, we’re on the fringe for believing what we believe, there’s something wrong with us. But then that’s why we need to be together with other Catholics. That’s why some of these great movements here in the diocese are so important. At critical times, we need to support one another. And third, when it comes to people, it’s not just a matter of disagreeing, but people who are really in tough situations, this is where Jesus comes in, to walk patiently, to listen. Jesus never backed down on the teachings; He patiently walked with them to help them get where they needed to be.

Q: Another issue that has become highly politicized is the Eucharist and public reception of Christ’s Body and Blood, especially by politicians or others who are not following the teachings of the Church on abortion, non-traditional marriage and religious freedom. Where do you stand on that?

A: Don’t tell the Church to bend to the political parties; get the political parties to hear the truth that the Gospel proclaims. I’ve said this very publicly, that we need Catholics in the Democratic Party, we need Catholics in the Republican Party. But what we really need are Catholics to bring the pro-life and the whole of the Catholic teaching to the political sphere. 
Now, when you get to the question of the Eucharist, there are people on both sides who want to score political points but not for the good of the Church. Having said that, I also know there are many, many people legitimately scandalized by politicians taking these very public stances and then go to communion. 

Meanwhile, there are people who are refraining from receiving Holy Communion because of an irregular marriage situation or a personal situation, and then they see somebody who promotes abortion, just flaunting it. …

The Church does teach that when you do something, like actively promote abortion, you’re not living in communion with the Church, and I should not be going to communion. I think we need to start putting the burden on that person and say to the politicians, please, if you’re not going to accept what the Church teaches, at least have the integrity and the honesty to say that and to live in accord with it and show respect. What I really would like to say is, pray for conversions and try to encourage the conversion of politicians who are so adamant in these abortion mentalities. … The sad thing is, it seems to me that the pro-abortion lobby is moving toward not only the acceptance of abortion but to pushing it on people and pushing Catholic physicians and hospitals to do things that would violate their conscience. 

Q: With some of the things that have been said in the Church in the past few years, people feel somewhat confused about Catholic teaching, whether the Church is headed in a new direction on key issues.

A: I’ve been in Pope Francis’ presence, and I’ve heard him talk about some of these things. And he’s very much trying to teach what the Church teaches. There are a lot of complexities to it, and one of the things he’s always calling on us to do as a priest is to accompany. And the other thing is for people to get to know Jesus Christ, to have an encounter with Jesus Christ. Sometimes he’ll change the emphasis, and sometimes everything is not always said. You see this desire to make the Catholic faith the real engine to everything else that we do. A lot of his call is to rise up above the political fray and to see the human dimension. He did tell the bishops that abortion is what we call the pre-eminent issue There are those who misuse or twist Pope Francis’ statements rather liberally. But what he’s trying to do is to draw us deeper, to take this all the way. I think he acts in such a way that he knows he can achieve more by bringing the tenderness of Jesus Christ into the world than by swinging swords and condemnation.

Q: The pope’s motu proprio in July regarding the Traditional Latin Mass has created  controversy and confusion. Some bishops, including yourself, have allowed the Traditional Latin Mass to continue. Others have restricted it. Why was his document necessary, and doesn’t it single out a specific group of Catholics?

A: First of all, I very much welcome what Pope Francis said about restoring much of the responsibility to approving the Latin Mass in a diocese to the local bishop. … I’m glad we have the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest here (at Columbus St. Leo Oratory). Things need to be sorted out, but I think that the way they function meets some of many concerns that Pope Francis raised. It’s very clear to me that, by and large, the people at the oratory and working with the institute, they absolutely respect the teachings of the Second Vatican Council. I was able to be with them on Sunday (Nov. 7) for confirmation. Some of them are members of other parishes but travel to St. Leo to find something that edifies them. And the priests connect with the larger community. The second thing is that they take care of broader pastoral needs of people, which is something else that Pope Francis seemed to mention in the motu proprio. It’s not just you go to this Mass celebration. They care for souls.I do understand where some of the language in the report might offend some people. But I think what we want to really do is, again, is focus on our shared love of Jesus Christ.

Q: What is your hope for the future of the Columbus diocese?

A: I have great hope and confidence in this diocese. I think there’s a deep faith, and so I want to see that continue to grow. Before I found out that I was moving, through this process of Real Presence Real Future my hope was to be able to understand the needs of the world and the Church in the 21st century and be able to respond to that with eternal truths of Jesus Christ in the Gospel and the sacraments.

Q: What would you like the people of the diocese to remember about your time here?

A: I had a priest say to me, “You know what you did? You held up a mirror to us and let us see what God was doing for us.” If that’s something that I was able to do, great. The other thing is, when I came in, I often put together the two encyclicals The Joy of the Gospel and The Splendor of Truth. I think the feedback I get is, people did see the joy of the Gospel and the truth in my own ministry, in my preaching. I get a lot of credit for showing up at things, but I just enjoy it.