The newspaper wrote:
Don't call me "Father", call me John: New Zealand's top Catholic leader has declared he no longer wants to be called by his title; and he encouraged other priests to do the same.
Cardinal John Dew, Archbishop of Wellington, said that dropping the traditional title of "Father" could be a way for priests to deal with the sexual abuse crisis in the Church.
He said he has received both positive and negative responses since raising the idea of dropping the honorable title in a pastoral letter.
The cardinal explained that he was inspired by an article by a French priest, Father Jean-Pierre Roche, in the Catholic newspaper Le Croix International. The author priest says he no longer wants to use the title, to help “transform” a Church “shocked and appalled” by revelations about the spread of sexual abuse.
The cardinal further remarked that calling priests by their first name instead of "Father" is a way of responding to Pope Francis' invitation, whereby "saying no" to abuse is “speak not very strongly” to clericalism.
“This is part of a master plan to change the entire attitude of the clergy,” Cardinal Dew said. “All I'm trying to do is make people understand clericalism and what attitudes need to change. As this French priest said, it's a pretty simple thing, but it can help."
Cardinal Dew said that society has become more egalitarian, and most people call him by his first name, and many other priests have had the same experience, but he knows that some people still have this attitude. The attitude that “I am the one with the right.”
Cardinal Dew's ideas may face thorns. Massey University professor of religious studies, now retired Peter Lineham, said he has spoken to a number of priests about the change and they consider it "a strange thing why Cardinal John Dew can deliver the impossible.” Lineham said Cardinal Dew is seen by many as a reformer with a habit of expressing his opinions.
It has been suggested that priests can hide their offense for years because of their high status in Catholic communities, which is what keeps victims from speaking out. “It is possible that the Cardinal was aiming for this – the high status that is potentially derived from the title 'Father' gives priests a special dispensation,” said Prof Lineham. “Too often, families protect people internally and I think Cardinal John Dew is referring to those.”
Dang Tu Do
(vietcatholic 04.06.2019/ Stuff – New Zealand)