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A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church: Memoirs of a Catholic Archbishop

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Archbishop Weakland is an extraordinary man who has lived a rich and interesting life. In the beginning of the book he states that he hopes that the good of his life can be judged along side his sin and failings, and in that I think he hits the right notes. I found the book exceedingly interesting as it followed the life of a man who was intimately involved in so much that has happened in the Church for the past 50 years. At times, I felt like a fly on the wall of events taking place in Rome, Washington, DC, Milwaukee, and around the world. Archbishop Weakland's outlines well how he came to believe what he believes, including his many "liberal" views. His explanation of how the Church changed during the papacy of John Paul II will anger some, but I found it provided insight for ways that I have experienced the Church changing over the years. I hope that the people who are choosing to comment on this book will read it cover to cover before continuing to comment on it. It probably won't make sense to those who have already decided that liberal is equal to bad, but for those who are interested in hearing the story of a Catholic struggling to serve his Church through a very interesting period of Church history, this book is for you.

Archbishop Rembert Weakland sets out to give his appraisal of the Catholic Church which has been his life since birth over eighty years ago. On outset he relates his 'fall from grace' and subsequent "Resurrection". Namely his relationship with an adult gay man. The ready admission of this fall reveals a man not afraid to ready to admit failure. Of greater import, Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church portrays a man imbued with the values of the Second Vatican Council and had the courage to carry them forward both as Benedictine Abbot Primate and as Archbishop of Milwaukee. He reveals a Church governed by men often captivated by power and other men motivated and inspired by Scripture. In his last pages his appraisal of Pope John Paul II is to the point, a good man but imprisoned by personal world view which did not admit dissent and as result encouraged the emasculation of John XIII's Council by Curial officialdom.

I don't know why, but I had been under the impression that this whole book would be about Weakland's sexual scandal, from Weakland's point of view. I guess I thought that because when the scandal broke was the first time I'd heard his name. The scandal is only described in detail in the Prologue. The rest of the book is another kind of page turner - an inside look at the church hierarchy from someone who started as a normal Catholic, and after a stellar Catholic education, an appointment as abbot primate of the Benedictines, and appointment as Archbishop, had the opportunity to see a lot and meet a lot of influential people, and finally have some influence himself. It was really interesting to me to learn a little bit about how a monastery works and how they view their own mission. I was left wishing the whole church worked more like that with an "abbot" figure at the head supporting the individual members instead of a diocesan bishop who is mainly a representative of the Vatican's viewpoints. My favorite parts were when Weakland described what it was like to meet with various curial and papal officials. His perspective is one you don't get very often these days, with all the talk of "John Paul the Great" already, but for me it seemed fascinating, honest, and important. He pinpoints a lot of changes in the church. His bias is obvious, but again, it's a bias that you don't get to hear often these days. As a Catholic who has seen vicious words exchanged between "orthodox" Catholics and "dissenters" and who has wondered why so many Catholics these days are young radicals who ally themselves with the religious right, this book was very informative. Highly recommended!!!!!

Archbishop Weakland is one of the most polarising figures in American Catholic history. You either really like him or you really don't. I cannot admit to being a Weakland fan. However, he is one of those figures that you really cannot ignore, as much as you may like to.

He is hugely talented and very gifted as a writer. This book is very absorbing. It is a page-turner in other words. In reading his story, you just have to marvel at it. A young man from a poor family ends up in a monastery, goes to Rome, France, and Germany, is professed a monk, does graduate studies in New York, and ends up running the whole monastery as archabbot before he's even 40. He then went on to serve as Abbot Primate of the Order of St. Benedict, rubbing shoulders with Pope Paul VI and other very high churchmen. And then, at the age of 50, he ends up an archbishop.

Yes, Archbishop Weakland is talented. But I'm afraid that old habits do indeed die hard. The same contempt for those who do not share his point of view is still very much in evidence. His contempt for Pope John Paul II is frequently shown, despite some words of faint praise for the late Pontiff. Archbishop Weakland makes constant reference to his fear for authority, yet during his time as Archbishop of Milwaukee, he was quite authoritarian. He refused to listen to anyone to opposed his cathedral project. He complains bitterly about all those people, both clerical and lay, who wrote to the Holy Father to complain about him. Yet, they were only doing what the Second Vatican Council encouraged them to do, making known to the Church's pastors their concerns.

I'm not sure that the Archbishop Weakland who emerged following the scandals of 2002 is humbler. A number of passages in the book seem to indicate that not much has changed. If that is the case, then that is something to be lamented indeed.

Older monks often return to caves to find the God who has been with them the whole of the journey, the cave is within the heart. It is like being with an elder who shares with you the life review, the story of the personal integration of head and heart. In a way it is a model for all of us as we prepare, not for the next step of earthly life, but for birth in fact in Christ, and forever. It is a love story, shared.

As a very young man living in Chicago I was Director of Communcations for the National Federation of Priests' Councils; and received the blessing of talking with the new archbishop during several bishops' official gatherings. Even then he did not fit the mold. He was not the ordinary bishop, but a real and genuine person for me, who struggled to empower others in trying to build the reign of God. The first encounter I returned to the office and bombastically declared that I had met a bishop who had the mind of Christ, and way genuinely loving. (There were many others of the same ilk, but I never spoke interpersonally with them.)

If I say that Rembert (George) Weakland is a saint, it will appear to be affective hyperbole. He is not a man who has walked around with eyes cast to heaven, working miracles, or always involved in the perfection of charity, but no real saint worth imitation ever has. Those saints are the creations of writers who do not understand the pain of holiness/ wholeness in the shadow of the cross. It is a joy to know of a man, full of imperfection, who has walked among us carrying his own cross while proclaiming a resurrection to come. To miss his imperfections, to cover his faults is to not understand, the whole idea of salvation.

This book is a contemplative reflection which shares with others the fruit of that contemplation, both acquired and infused. For some, parts will be both boring and confusing. Skip those parts. Go for the whole meaning, not just the parts, but also do not miss the flow. A man, Rem, is moved by grace from living in his head to living in his heart, to an integration of the two. What else could holiness be? If we wait for perfection in a living person, we will miss the opportunity to preach the Gospel and the process of inegration of the Word into experience. St. Thomas Aquinas alerted us to that fact when he spoke about preaching in the 13th century; and Rembert Weakland seems to have understood this human fact, as well as the need to serve others even with awareness of one's own imperfection.

In the basilica of Notre Dame in Montreal, PQ, is a captivating statue of Jesus before Pilate: it is entitled "Ecce Homo."/ Behold the Man. It is Jesus being judged by leaders and people of preaching Truth, which was disturbing to all. Rembert Weakland is all-man, look at him. We tend to kill off prophets, and find a Law in which to ground our anger and outrage. This is not the first one. So I make my pun. Rembert's true self was made by God that in his failure the seed would fall the ground and die, and from it greater growth has come and will grow forever. On the night of the Resurrection, even Jesus showed his scars while proclaiming "Peace be with you." For love's sake, listen to the sage.

THOMAS PATRICK HULL/Chicago

BROKEBACK MILWAUKEE
(Review)
[A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church - Memoirs of a
Catholic Archbishop Rembert G Weakland, OSB.
Forward by Margaret O'Brien Steinfels. Wiliam B
Eerdmans, 2009. Pp. Vii - 429. Hard cover. $35.00.
ISBN 978-0-8028-6382-9]
You can tell a lot about a book by its title. No
doubt, some wag will come along and
compare this effort to the Confessions of St
Augustine, or at least to Thomas Merton's Seven
Storey Mountain. One can imagine a movie version,
in the genre of the recent homophilic masterpiece
Brokeback Mountain, with its complex web of human
relationships--mysterious, undefinable, and
unexpected.
This effort is divided into three parts. The third and
last being the hardest going, dealing with as it does
the obligations and vicissitudes of running a diocese,
being a member of a bishops' conference, and all the
ins and outs of a complex ecclesiastical structure. All
this data will serve as a window into the machinations
of a church gone haywire at the end of the 20th
century. Well enough then to leave this to the
scholars and historians who will find here a treasure
to be mined for generations to come.
The second part, and one feels the author's favorite
period, deals with his career in Rome, and his
ascendancy as a major player in the life of the
Catholic church during a time of reform, renewal, and
upheaval. Weakland shares the details of being an
abbot primate, the palace intrigues of the upper
hierarchy, the burdens and joys of friendship with a
pope, and the demands and rewards of world travel.
The first part deals of course with early life and
training, family and vocation, aspirations and growth,
fast-track career, election and promotion. We
discover the brilliant student and musician, linguist
and intellectual. An archabbot of a large and famous
Benedictine abbey in his mid-30s, an abbot primate
from age 40-50, and finally an archbishop from age
50-75.
One is tempted to deal with the final derailment in
the "wrecked by success" terms of Freud, or in the
causa sui immortality project of Ernest Becker, but
who has the time for all that, if indeed it were a valid
application in the first place? It seems better to take
this story on its own terms, and enjoy it for what it is,
the tale of a human person, searching for some
meaning and design in a life fully lived and finally
accepted.
But one is left with concerns. How would this epic
have turned out if the one lacuna that captured wide
attention had not been revealed? Would the facts as
they stand now, and as related in this story have ever
seen the light of day? Would it have mattered, finally,
if they had? Some intriguing questions still remain.
How does an individual siphon off hundreds of
thousands of corporate monies as hush payments?
Why do monks and abbots become diocesan bishops
in the first place? Would term limits on episcopal
service be to the benefit of all concerned? Etc.
Another concern is the haste at which the left
quickly abandoned, for the most part, their mentor
and darling of many years. For good or ill, Weakland
spent many decades of his life working for a more
open and modern church, an updated and viable
monasticism, an inclusive priesthood, and the
involvement and incorporation of the laity.
Autobiography is a tricky literary form. It seems
appropriate that Weakland should be the first to tell
his story, and let the rest be sifted over by future
biographers, as has been the case with the above
mentioned St Augustine and Thomas Merton, not to
mention many others.
Weakland calls his narrative A Pilgrim in a
Pilgrim Church - Memoirs of a Catholic Archbishop.
The pilgrim image is revealing, but even more so the
choice of Catholic Archbishop. He had other
identities from which to choose-priest, monk, pastor,
abbot-to mention a few.
Every bishop, priest, religious of whatever gender
or persuasion would benefit from reading this book.
One feels that the ordinary person in the street would
find it helpful as well. Here are raw insights into
success and failure, work and career, love and
friendship, vocation and mission, loneliness and
betrayal.
One need not rush to judgment on the ultimate
value of any human story. It takes a certain type of
ego to present itself in so naked a fashion. Whether it
is a question of courage or grandstanding, each reader
will decide. Ultimately this is good writing, good
reading, a fascinating tale. See you at the movie.
c.w. *Gethsemani

What an amazing life!

What an important part of Church History he is!

From simple beginnings to the highest offices of the Roman Catholic Church, this wonderful man is neither saint nor sinner, but rather a sincere and human pilgrim making his journey toward god. He falls and he gets up again. He learns and develops and uses his experiences and hard earned wisdom to do good and improve his world.

He writes beautifully and one is captivated by his story.

While I believe that anyone who enjoys autobiographies will enjoy this work as well; I think it might be of extra interest to musicians, religious and clergy persons (and especially gay religious and clergy persons or their friends/families), and Catholics trying to get a grip on what has been happening to the Church.

Blessings on you all.

Archbishop Rembert Weakland represents the kind of honesty that we see so little of today. My heart breaks for this man who made a huge mistake. Archbishop Weakland "signed up" with his Vows to live a life of Celibacy. What I would have wished for personally is that he admitted his mistake immediately and sought forgiveness. The Vatican however would probably have sat in judgment (instead of God) and removed him as Archbishop of Milwaukee and much of the talent that Archbishop Weakland brought to the Milwaukee Archdiocese would have been lost forever. It's a difficult call to make. Are we better off having had him serve those many years in Milwaukee? Yes, I believe we are. His story is one of redemption and gives hopes to millions of people who have moral failings in their lives. We pick ourselves up, ask for forgivenss, forgive ourselves and move on. By writing this book, Archibhsop Weakland does not let his own sexual peccadilloes define his life but rather they are included in a life story that is not only inspirational but downright gutsy! He is a proud product of Vatican II and stayed the course of John XXIII despite the arrogance coming out of the Vatican towards him personally and all Catholics who think like Archbishop Weakland. Well done good and faithful servant. Would that I could be as forgiving as you are.

This is an insightful, humble, honest look into the heart of man whose
memoirs lead the reader into a greater understanding of the many layers of life and of the Church. Archbishop Weakland takes the reader on a true
pilgrimage through the actions and reactions to Vatican II, the sexual abuse
scandal, and the aspirations and failures of the system and individuals, including those of the author. The book provides many insights into life
behind the scenes in the hierarchy of the Church. While it is not always an inspiring look at the organizational Church, it provides a deeper and more realistic look at the challenges within the structure. The
pilgrim's journey dispels a romantic and pietistical view of the Church in
favor of a realistic understanding of what I need to change in my own
relationship to the Church and what the institutional church needs to face
more honestly. I found that Archbishop Weakland's approach strengthens my relationship to the Catholic Church in a much more mature and critical acceptance of two basic realities: the divine origins of the Church and the humanity of the Church's members. We will always be a Church that is
graced by our realize that we are in a process of on-going conversion.

The Archbishop is indeed a controversial figure, but, taking that aside, his memoirs depict the remarkable transformation of the Catholic Church from the Great Depression to the early 21st century. As an eyewitness to history, Weakland makes this most compelling, and interjects his tales with some humor and enthusiasm, while not shying away from his own troubles. It is indeed unfortunate that the end of his career was marred by the revelation of a relationship with someone who was, basically, a blackmailer and an extortionist, but Weakland doesn't shy away from that in his prologue, either. Catholics with closed minds will undoubtedly be offended by his criticisms of the pontificate of John Paul II (the pope should be above crticism?) and its effects on the Church, but others will find his points valid.

The most difficult part of the book was his analysis of why he and the rest of the American bishops were unable to properly deal with the sexual abuse crisis as it emerged in 1985 -- in part because of the resistance of the Vatican. He does try to take responsibility, but some may find that, unlike in the rest of the book, he lets himself off a bit too easily.

Even given that, the Archbishop's story is great reading from the beginning to the end, even as his public humiliation led to a measure of God's peace for him. Very much recommended.