St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church

We got a phone call yesterday.

"Are you St. Barts?" said the fellow. "I'm calling from Texas. And I have some things I want to say to you."

"Can I help you?" said my adorable office manager, who is one of the most charming people you will ever meet.

"I can't believe you are doing this."

"Excuse me? We are doing something? We are having a chili cook off in July, if you are interested in competing."

"No, I'm not calling about that. How could you?"

"Is something wrong sir?" She is confused, but is always smiling and is quite an optimistic sort.

"You allowing that man to become a priest!"

"Who? We only have one woman in the discernment process."

"That man.... he's a homosexual. He is an adulterer. Look at what you are doing to this church! I need to speak to the rector."

"I think you've got us confused with the other St. Barts."

"He'll be around kids. Pedophilia! Would you trust your children around him? This is terrible! I just can't believe that a church would let him become a leader, a shepherd, a pastor of a church. This is sinful, it is blasphemous, it is satanic!"

"Sir? I think you wnat St. barts in Manhattan. If you have some ... issues, I think you might want to talk to them."

"Excuse me?"

"This is St. Bartholomew's in White Plains. We are a small church. We were named by a priest who once worked there."

"Oh. Well, still, I can't believe what's happening in your diocese. It's awful. Letting homosexual pedophiles become spiritual leaders."

"That would be a bad thing, sir, but I'm going to have to terminate this call. I'll be sure to inform the rector about your feelings."

"I just can't..."

The secretary hangs up.

The diocese sends out a press release: "we don't know what his intentions are, as he has not formally entered the process." I doubt Gov. McGreevey knows what he is in for. It's harder to become a priest in the Diocese of New York than it is to become a doctor.

Let's get the facts straight. He's changed institutions - not religions. Our institution has decided that the tradition of grace has trumped the tradition that defines sexual identity. He is now in a faith that will not judge him by his orientation. But if he thinks its a cake-walk he's in for a big surprise. Fr. Tully is a smart man, and he is demanding. The priests at St. Barts are spiritually savvy. If you want to be a priest, all you need to do is ask the priest at your church to help you discern your call. He'll help you. But sometimes the answer, after a few months of negotiation, is "no."

McGreevey has also entered seminary, but any mentally functional person with a four-year degree, reading skills, and a fat checkbook can go to General. The curriculum is not inherently demanding: excellent students from rigorous schools will find it easy; those who have gifts in other areas may find the work challenging. Seminary isn't meant to make scholars: it forms priests. As William Coffin once remarked to me, "you don't need to be sharp to be a good pastor." It's true. I think of myself as sharp, but I still get ignored.

Entering seminary does not guarantee he'll be able to start ordering clericals from Almy's anytime soon. The diocese can make another demand as the process continues ("we think you need to do some mission work in Haiti"), and if you don't agree, you're in discernment wilderness. My friend Jon H. entered med school and then did comedy for ten years after his first diocese demanded he go to Yale after his Universtiy of Chicago degree. Being rightly skeptical of that institution at the time (since then it has become a little more rigorous), he decided that if they were going to push him around, he didn't need it. Finally, after much thought, ten years, he attended General and became a priest in a diocese that appreciated his gifts.

What do you need to be a priest? Perseverence to endure the annual day long interviews; A thick skin to handle the direct questions designed to test your emotional resilience; Good political instincts to know who makes the decisions; patience, because the more eager you are, the more caution they will take.

But should McGreevey be allowed to wear the chausible, counsel the melancholy, advocate for the indigent, and absolve the sinful? I don't think anybody knows. Paul, after all, was a murderer, and Ananias the high priest really didn't want to make him a Christian.

Priests are often great politicians. Perhaps now that McGreevey can be open and honest for who he is, the streams of integrity will begin to course through his veins, using his skills to make the church a stronger institution. One thing we should believe in, as Christians, is the power of love to redeem; that we can be made whole, and that even the greatest sinners can know the healing power of the greatest savior. And then serve him in truth and in love.

If McGreevy thinks the diocese will make it easy for him to become a priest, however, he'll find that the church is one of the few institutions that can drain a man of love and hope, even before the bishop lays their sweet hands upon him to bring him into the college of presbyters. It's a long journey Jim, and God Bless You. May the church be able to see the man clearly, honestly, and use all its powers of wisdom to ensure that the church knows and can trust such a man who has lived such a life of deception.