The New Sheriff

The new sheriff came to town and, apparently, had several agenda items already packed in his briefcase even before he arrived. I’d have thought he would scope out the area and see what needed to be done, what could be put off and what could not wait. Not so.

Right off, he identified four trouble spots (in his mind and nobody else’s) which he felt needed to be put on notice. Everybody’s reaction was, basically, “Are you crazy? You don’t even know what’s happening here and you are shooting from the hip at things you know nothing about.”

His mind was made up. He never investigated, never talked to the owners; his gut feeling was “something’s gotta be wrong here and let’s take action.”

The row officers under him never saw the guy again. He stayed in a separate office and communicated only through notes – which became increasingly strident and indicated he had spies everywhere in his jurisdiction. If you held a meeting, he would then barge in, announce only he was in charge, yell at you and stomp out.

Thus did our new bishop act toward our four Catholic universities, the diocesan priests, the media and everyone who tried to talk with him. Six years into his appointment, and twelve years before retirement age, he was dismissed from his post. Our dysfunctional diocese can now begin to heal.