Fear of change

Only 17 days have passed since Bishop Howard J. Hubbard unveiled "Called to be Church," a two-year-long effort that will involve hundreds of Catholics in planning the future of the Albany Diocese. That's a short time, but long enough for some worry-warts and nay-sayers to shoot off letters to the editor.

Their appearance is not unexpected. The Bishop, in his talk announcing the program (go to www.evangelist.org and click on "Called to be Church"), said that any suggestion of change triggers negative emotions, including fear and anxiety.

The Evangelist and other newspapers heard right off the bat from some of the most nervous. Parish dialogue groups won't form until next January to begin discussions that will then last 18 months, but one reader of The Evangelist already knows the solution: The Bishop should resign and allow someone new to take over. Daily newspapers printed other opinions that seemed to be sparked sometimes by anxiety and sometimes by anger.

Such shoot-from-the-hip reactions add nothing to the serious, in-depth discussions that lie ahead, except for this: They demonstrate that even the hint of change can make many people dig in their heels.

Ironically, the same people who oppose any change have been voluntarily changing all their lives. They have switched jobs to increase their incomes; they have stopped smoking or started exercising to improve their health. Parents stop holding their teenager's hand the way they did when he or she was two, a change that neither side finds traumatic. Older children leave home for college or marriage or jobs. Elderly people sell their homes to downsize their living arrangements.

The same factors that lead individuals, families and towns to change also impact the Church. Populations shift; expenses rise; how people practice their faith mutates. We can bemoan all of that in letters to the editor or mutterings around the dinner table; or we can do something constructive about it by participating in the dialogues, praying for their outcomes, and committing ourselves to support changes that will improve the Diocese, deepen faith and carry on the mission Jesus gave us to bring His word to the world.

(6/29/06)