by Bishop Raymond A. Lucker
Diocese of New Ulm

This has been a tough year for me. In many ways it has been the hardest year since I was appointed Bishop of New Ulm in 1975. At the same time, these difficulties and burdens have brought me closer to the presence of God. God is shown to me as one who cares for me every day of my life. God is always present with love and support.

Health Worries

One year ago I was diagnosed as having cancer. It hit me with quite a shock. I have metastatic melanoma. I know that once this disease reaches a vital organ there is no cure. So, I took it at first as a death sentence. During my surgery and immediately after, however, I felt the power of prayer and the support of thousands of people. I came to experience God’s close, loving presence.

Every three months I go back to the Mayo Clinic for blood tests, CAT scans, and a physical exam. My recent report was that everything was clear. God is good. I feel fine, but each time I go back to the clinic for a three month check-up I worry about the return of the disease. And each time I offer my life and my death to God.

Age

I am now in my 74th year. I find that I need more sleep and that I don’t have the resilience of youth after long meetings and strenuous ceremonies. Various things have reminded me of creeping old age: hearing loss, problems with my eyes, backaches. All of this is part of life. It is also scary. My body is telling me that my sojourn here on earth is brief. At the same time, moved by grace, I frequently find myself turning to God in faith. I am reminded of my own Episcopal motto, "Lord, I do believe; help my lack of trust."

Staff Concerns

Throughout this past year I have been without two key staff persons; a Coordinator of Staff, and a Director of Ministry Formation. Both of these positions are key and so important to me in the overall direction of the diocese. This year much more work fell on me and on other staff persons. They responded beautifully, filling in where necessary. Nevertheless, many things simply did not get done. This causes me concern.

Thank God we have been able to hire a Coordinator of Staff who has all of the qualifications that I believe are required for this important position. Mr. Mark Kemmeter will be joining us on July 1. I have also hired a new Director of the Office of Finance. Mr. Duane Koble will be taking over for Mr. Ray McClellan who will be retiring this year after ten years of outstanding service.

So, while the year was filled with tensions over staff responsibilities, I have a new confidence as we begin a new year.

Assignment of Priests

The assignment of priests is always a tension filled time for the priests themselves, for the parish communities they serve, and for me. This year has been especially difficult because of the shortage of priests and the need for an emergency meeting of all of the pastoral leaders to deal with the need for clustering a few more parishes.

Thanks to Fr. Dennis Labat and the Priest Personnel Board, and the cooperation of everyone concerned, the assignment process has been completed for this year. Yes, we have a crisis. Nevertheless, this same problem faces almost every other diocese in the country. Yes, we have a shortage of priests. This shortage is felt around the whole world. Yes, we have a shortage of seminarians. However, what comes through to me is the need to respond the best we can with the gifts we have and rely on the grace of God.

It is important also to keep this all in perspective. Actually in relationship to our Catholic population we have a larger number of priests than many other dioceses. We have more seminarians in proportion to Catholic population than any other diocese in the state of Minnesota.

Nevertheless, we used to have a priest in every one of our parishes. It is hard for us to adjust to new realities. We will continue with our pastoral planning, trying to provide the best pastoral leadership we can given our resources.

Again I thank God for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Everyone has been so cooperative and understanding. I am grateful that so many lay people in the diocese have responded to their call to participate in the life and ministry of the church and in the transformation of society. I thank God for our pastoral administrators. They have provided excellent leadership in the parishes which they serve. I am buoyed up by the loving support and generosity of the priests.

Retirement

I am getting closer each week to my own retirement as Bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm. It used to be that bishops stayed on until they died. Since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, we must now send in our resignation when we reach the age of 75. This too is a reminder of my mortality.

My plan for some time has been to send in my resignation to the Holy Father this year. I know it will take a couple of months for him to respond to my request. I will receive a letter from him accepting my retirement with the Latin phrase, "nunc pro tunc". This means that the Holy Father accepts my resignation now (nunc), but I am to stay on until then (tunc), when the new bishop is assigned. After I receive the Holy Father’s letter, an inquiry for a new bishop will be conducted under the direction of the Apostolic Nuncio in Washington. It will take nine months to a year until the new bishop is appointed. It will take another two months or so for him to pack up and be ready to come to New Ulm. The whole process can take a year or a year and one half.

I plan, therefore, to send my letter for retirement at the beginning of July this year with the thought that a new bishop will be installed probably in the fall of 2001, shortly before my 75th birthday.

All of these - health worries, age, staff concerns, assignment of priests, retirement - involve a letting go. They are a source of anxiety. They have also led me to a closer dependence on God.

Whatever gifts I have come from God. I give them back to God with thanks. In all of these concerns God has been vividly present to me. I have felt the love of God and the support of the pastoral leaders and the people of the diocese. I am grateful.

  June, 2000