Milwaukee Archdiocese Priest Alliance
Minutes of the Meeting of the Convening Board
February 25, 2004
Members present: Steve Amann, Bill Burkert, Dave Cooper, Mike Erwin, Joe Hornacek, John Lukaszewicz, Brian Mason, Ken Mich
Member excused: Alan Jurkus
Also in attendance: Allan Sommer
The meeting was held at St. Roman Parish and was called to order at 1:30 PM. Dave Cooper led an opening prayer.
The following were discerned as officers of the Alliance for a one-year term:
Dave Cooper – Chair
Bill Burkert – Co-Chair
Brian Mason – Secretary/Treasurer
Dave Cooper went over the financial report and highlighted the cost of mailing for the February 5th meeting to those priests who do not have email. The cost was $231. 96.
Discussion was also held regarding Br. Paul’s fees. His travel expenses have been paid. His normal fee for facilitating meetings is $100.00 per hour. However, he has agreed to accept whatever the Alliance is able to offer for his services. Dave had made a suggestion of $300.00 for Br. Paul’s leading the February 5th meeting and Br. Paul had responded favorably. All agreed to pay him $300.00 for the February 5th meeting.
Brian Mason asked if it was OK to reimburse St. Mary Parish in Waukesha for the mailing of the Alliance letter to the Planning Commission and members of the Council of Priests. That request was approved.
Dave also mentioned that the officers should be authorized signers for the Alliance checking account.
A considerable amount of discussion took place regarding the feelings of a few priests at the February 5th meeting that the Vicar for Clergy should not be a member of the Convening Board. Pat O’Loughlin had sent a letter to Allan Sommer regarding this issue and Mike Erwin reported that about a half dozen priests who attended the breakout group regarding the rights of priests had raised this concern. Ken Mich also reported receiving some phone calls and having conversations with a few priests who also raised this concern. All were reminded that at the September 18th meeting all priests in attendance were given the opportunity to become part of the Steering Committee that would in turn take over the leadership of the Alliance for the first year.
Joe Hornacek said he did not have any personal need to be a member of the Convening Board and that he did not want to be a detriment to the success of the Alliance.
The Convening Board members agreed that Joe has the right to be a member of the Alliance, as does every other priest of the Archdiocese. We felt he brought a balance to the group and that in talking about priest’s right, Joe brought an expertise from the work of his office. We also unanimously affirmed his membership on the Convening Board.
Mike Erwin asked if the Convening Board members were really understanding the feelings of priests who were in irregular situations – some of which center around Joe as the Vicar. Bill Burkert responded that it is not Joe who is blocking the rights of priests, but the bigger Church structures that are currently in place. We should be fighting the structures and not an individual.
After much discussion, the following clarifications were agreed upon:
Discussion on this issue occurred at the Council of Priests meeting. Only one of the deans raised the issue by asking a question about the procedure followed for determining the percentage of the annual salary increase. The Archbishop had consulted with the executive Committee of the Council of Priest before making the decision to go with a 2.5% increase in salary. The Archbishop had the right to make the decision on his own, but chose to consult before making his decision. It was felt that a 5% increase was too high in light of the level of salary increases that would be offered to other parish staff members. The consensus of the Council of Priests was an agreement with the 2.5% increase.
Ken Mich said this was not an issue about the Archbishop’s authority, but rather concern over the system that was put in place to bring us up to parity with people with comparable responsibilities and positions.
Allen Sommer said that this was the first time that the consulting firm’s suggestion was not accepted. The consulting firm we have been using will no longer be doing the work of suggesting appropriate salary increases.
In order for the salary issue to become an issue for the Alliance, a group of priests would need to surface it as an issue so that it could be presented to the entire Alliance. Since no one has done this to this point, it was decided that it would be best to put our energy into the issues raised on February 5th.
The question was then raised about who constitutes the membership of the Alliance. We need to know who the members are. Dave said he currently has a list of 102 names. It was felt the easiest way for people to make a commitment to membership was through an email survey.
The discussion them moved on to the pension issue, which was another last-minute issue that did not seem to be raised on February 5th. The pension has been frozen for this year. The retired priests receive $1250.00 per month in pension. In the past, the priest, the parish and the Archdiocese made equal contributions to the pension fund. The Archdiocese is withdrawing its portion of the contribution. The pension board has not made a decision yet as to whether or not the priests will pay a higher amount. There is also a consideration before the pension board to require 30 years of service in priesthood to collect full pension. Joe Hornacek said that all of this information has been in the Chancery newsletter and the Cincture.
Bishop Sklba sent a response letter to the Alliance via Dave Cooper and it was discussed. It was agreed to attach this letter to the summary of the February 5th meeting. Joe Hornacek will check with Bishop Sklba to make sure he has no opposition to this.
We must broadcast the issues and organize groups to work on them. Members of the Convening Board will contact those who were present in the groups on February 5th.
The issues as they were ranked on February 5th were:
1. Overworked Priests. Bill Burkert and Brian Mason will oversee this issue.
2. Ecclesiology – John Lukaszewicz will oversee this issue.
3. Morale of Priests – Steve Amman and Joe Hornacek will oversee this issue.
4. Vocations – Alan Jurkus will be asked to oversee this issue.
5. Rights of Priests – Mike Erwin will oversee this issue.
6. Voice for the Voiceless – Dave Cooper will oversee this issue
The question was raised as to whether or not these six issues reflected the issues raised in September. It was agreed that all of the September issues are reflected in these six.
Another question was raised as to whether we focus on the top 3 or 4 issues or whether we work on all of them at once. It was felt that the membership will decide which issues will be worked on by whether or not they attend the meetings begin working on the issues.
How do we get minutes out to membership? Via email? A website? Could we create a website with a chat room like BAAM? How do we communicate with the larger presbyterate?
Dues and membership: We need to know the names of those who will stand with us and we need to establish appropriate dues to support the work of the Alliance.
We need to get a summary of the February of the February 5th meeting out to the bishops and to all who attended. Mike Erwin will edit his summary.
Next meeting will be Wednesday, March 24th at 1:30 PM at St. Matthias.
Issues to be discussed: The work of the six focus/issue groups
Developing a method for responding to hot or new issues
Building membership
Establishing Dues
Report on the possibility of developing a website
Respectfully submitted,
Brian Mason
Secretary/Treasurer