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Settling into a new job
(by Kara Krekeler - September 02, 2009)
Over the last few months, one of the Central West End’s newest residents hasn’t been able to relax much.
When Archbishop Robert Carlson wasn’t traveling to Rome this summer, he was meeting with local elected officials and trying to get the feel for his new job as the head of the Catholic Church in St. Louis. He was installed to the position in early June, leaving his post as bishop of the diocese of Saginaw, Mich., and replacing former Archbishop Raymond Burke, who now has a post in Vatican City.
But recently, Carlson’s taken advantage of the mild summer weather — something he claims to have brought with him from Michigan — by walking his dogs around the CWE, getting to know the neighborhood and those who live around him.
“I used to tell people I looked long and hard for something to do in life where I could talk and drink coffee, and this job is perfectly suited for that,” Carlson said. “That’s what I find walking around the neighborhood — it gives me a great chance to meet people.”
The new neighborhood has also been a source of controversy in these early days of Carlson’s tenure as archbishop. The archdiocese-owned San Luis building, which sits at the intersection of Lindell and Taylor, has been a source of contention for over a year, since the archdiocese announced its intention to tear down the mid-century building to create a surface parking lot that would serve the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica and Rosati-Kain High School.
Just weeks after Carlson’s installation Mass, the Preservation Board for the city of St. Louis gave the archdiocese the go-ahead on its plans and in July began demolition on the building. One group, Friends of San Luis, plans to appeal that decision, while other neighbors are complaining about the dust that is being created during demolition.
“You can’t necessarily unravel people’s feelings and you can’t change what is,” Carlson said of the controversy, pointing out that plans for the lot were in place well before he became archbishop. “I believe what the church has in mind will be a positive for the community once it’s finished. And I’ve noticed people from the area who live here and want this to be a nice part of the community have some suggestions about green space. I’ve asked to see the plans and that seems to be addressed.”
At this point in his tenure, Carlson is reluctant to say much about what may be coming down the line for St. Louis Catholics.
“Being here two and a half months, I’m not really in a position to chart a course for the future, and at this point I’m more involved in seeing what’s here and assessing it so that I know areas of potential growth, areas of challenge, areas of concern. So at this point it’s more intake than any plan or any action that we would anticipate,” Carlson said, adding that he’s focusing on measuring how well the archdiocese is handling its responsibility to its parishioners, the community and the poor.
“Those people who have gone before me — Archbishop [Justin] Rigali, Archbishop Burke — seemed to be very sensitive to all three communities,” he continued. “At this point I would say that it looks good, but we’re still evaluating and trying to understand and comprehend.”
Carlson said he’s been particularly impressed by the work done for the poor by Catholic Charities, noting that “given the resources, we’re doing a pretty good job reaching out.” He’s also enthusiastic about the archdiocese’s strong seminary and its outreach to kids through parochial schools, its athletics program and its youth ministry.
“Here in the archdiocese, unlike other dioceses around the country, we have a huge youth ministry program,” he said. “Some dioceses are playing catch-up with the young church, but if you look at the fact that we had some 4,000 high school students at the Steubenville conference [held earlier this summer in Springfield, Mo.] … it tells us that our youth ministry is doing something right.”
Carlson said he hopes to keep a strong Catholic school presence in the city, despite competition from the ever-increasing number of charter schools. “As families become smaller, obviously we have to look at ways we can provide Catholic education in a reasonable way. But what that means today, I can’t tell you,” he said, adding that it may take a partnership with civic organizations and the business community to maintain that level of education.
While he’s been evaluating and settling in, Carlson has also been building his support team, including appointing Nancy Werner as a chancellor to the archdiocese. She is the first woman to hold that position, and joins Monsignor Jerome Billing, who was appointed chancellor in 2005 and has been the archdiocese’s sole chancellor for the last four years.
“I suppose I see the office of chancellor as a bit wider than some,” he said about the groundbreaking appointment.
Carlson said that Billing will continue to fulfill the canonical, or legal, side of the church by handling decrees, documents and archives and serving as a representative to the Metropolitan Tribunal of St. Louis, the archdiocese’s church court. Meanwhile, Werner will take on some of the roles of the priest secretary, scheduling major events, serving as a liaison between Carlson and those who wish to meet with him and eventually handling women’s issues within the archdiocese.
“She’s somebody I’ve worked with before, so she knows my style and hopefully can facilitate for people the ability to meet with me if that’s what’s needed, or to help provide the process for things on down the road that I may want to implement,” Carlson said. “I think it’s important to hear from my priests — and Monsignor Billing provides that — and also to hear from the pew, if you will. [Appointing a woman to this position] gives me a whole avenue of consultation and information that I think is important. I’ve always tried to have an administrative team that was representative of the church.”
But Carlson’s goals as an archbishop are quite simple.
“I hope I’m seen as a good pastor. Because then you’re hearing from people” and trying to respond to their needs and being with them “whether it’s a moment of great joy or a moment of great sorrow, and everything in between,” he said.
“What I see in St. Louis is great faith and very friendly people, and that’s something that you can build on.”
• For information about the storied history of the archbishop's CWE residence visit: www.westendword.com/NC/0/1241.html
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