Q&A with new bishop on where he plans to take Catholic Diocese of Belleville
The Rev. Michael G. McGovern knows he will face a “learning curve” after being installed as the Catholic Diocese of Belleville’s ninth bishop on Wednesday.
The 56-year-old priest has never been a seminary rector, vicar general or auxiliary bishop. For the past 26 years, he’s served as a pastor at Catholic churches in northern Illinois, most recently at St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic Church in Old Mill Creek, a small town near the Wisconsin border. His parishioners call him “Father Mike.”
“I’ve had administrative experience in the Archdiocese of Chicago, but I would say I think the key (to being a good bishop) is to be pastoral, to love the Lord and through loving the Lord to love other people,” McGovern said.
“I think in the end, that’s what people will remember. It’s not that you wrote the best Christmas letter. It’s, ‘How did you make people feel?’ It’s looking for what has a good impact on a person’s life and how to be a shepherd to people, to really help them feel loved.”
McGovern recently sat down for an interview with the Belleville News-Democrat. His answers to questions about issues facing the Catholic church provide a hint of how he will lead the Belleville diocese, which includes about 70,000 Catholics in more than 100 parishes in 28 counties of Southern Illinois.
The interview took place in the conference room at the Cathedral of St. Peter rectory. McGovern initially wore a blue and orange University of Illinois mask, adhering to coronavirus-related health guidelines. He noted that it been given to him as a gift.
The bishop-elect then joked that some metro-east residents seem particularly interested in media reports that he’s a Chicago White Sox fan. It’s true, he said. After all, he and his seven siblings grew up on the south side of Chicago, and most of them still live there.
How are you settling into your new life?
McGovern isn’t yet occupying the Belleville bishop’s residence and doesn’t expect to be until after the installation. He’s allowing time for outgoing Bishop Edward K. Braxton to move and for maintenance men to make needed home repairs. The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have slowed down the transition at every turn.
McGovern owns hundred of books, and he’s given away some of them in recent weeks. He and Monsignor John T. Myler have discussed setting up a lending library at the cathedral when health concerns have subsided.
“People could borrow (books) for three weeks, maybe a month, and then return them,” McGovern said. “It would bring people to the cathedral, and it would also bring people to learning about their faith.”
McGovern said he will miss being able to get together easily with friends and family members in the Chicago area, but he’s looking forward to immersing himself in the culture of Southern Illinois, a less transient place, where many people have deep roots and some families have been involved in parishes for generations.
“I certainly want first of all to thank people for welcoming me, and I have felt very welcome coming here,” he said.
Will people see a change in leadership style?
McGovern will replace Braxton, 76, who is retiring after 50 years as a priest and 25 years as a bishop. His 15 years in the Belleville diocese have been marked with controversy over his formal style and strict adherence to rules.
When asked about possible leadership changes, McGovern answered in two parts. First, he said, he’s committed to continuity, and that’s why he asked Braxton to be a co-consecrator at his installation.
“I want people to see that ... the Pope sent Archbishop Keleher here, the Pope sent Archbishop Gregory here, a Pope assigned Bishop Braxton here and Pope Francis is now sending me here, and that sense of the continuity of it’s one Lord, one faith, one baptism,” McGovern said.
“So it’s not Mike McGovern’s church. It’s Jesus Christ’s church being handed on. ... Many things will continue because of who we are as Catholic people, and tradition is a very big part of our life together.”
On the other hand, McGovern expects to be more “on the move,” visiting parishes and schools throughout the diocese and getting to know communities. He pointed out that Braxton did the same thing in his early years as Belleville bishop.
McGovern describes the next 12 months as his “rookie year,” a time when he will “learn how to be a bishop” with help from priests and parishioners.
“I have to buy into your world before I can ask you to buy into my world,” he said. “And so these months ahead are very much about my effort to buy into the world of the people here in St. Clair County and all the other counties that make up the diocese. And the other thing I’d say is that I think it’s important to see the priests and the people in the parish settings and to go out and be visible, to be present.”
What can be done to promote healing?
McGovern likened the Catholic church to a family and noted that all families have histories and those histories are built on relationships. He said he will work to develop good relationships with not only Catholics but all residents of Southern Illinois.
On Monday and Tuesday, McGovern is meeting with priests in the diocese, as well as civic, ecumenical and interfaith leaders.
“I would say being available to people is always good, to be present and also to listen,” he said. “A lot of this, coming in as a bishop, is going to be about listening. ... I think it’s important for me to consult with people before making decisions. You could say, ‘ACBD — Always consult before deciding.’ ... That’s an important part of life and leadership, any kind of leadership, I think, especially in the church.”
“So I would like to be someone who listens, who consults, and I think sometimes that helps with forging good relationships. I can’t read your mind. You can’t read my mind. But if we communicate with one another, and we’re willing, even if we kind of fumble at it, to keep trying, then I think you can have good relationships with people.”
How will you handle sexual-abuse allegations?
The Catholic church has been rocked with sexual-abuse allegations against priests and other clergymen in the past 30 years all over the world.
Last month, Braxton updated Belleville’s list of clergymen credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors or serious sexual misconduct with adults to include 18 priests and one deacon from the diocese, most of them removed from ministry in the 1990s, and 10 clergymen from elsewhere who worked in Southern Illinois parishes or schools.
“I’m very committed to learning about the history of the issues in the Diocese of Belleville,” McGovern said. “I’m very much willing to do whatever I can do to address issues from the past. We also (should) look at the present. What do we need to do to keep people safe?
“I also feel, as allegations come forward, (they) should be properly pursued with a presumption of innocence. ... It’s very difficult when a priest is deceased, and for the first time someone comes forward and says, ‘Here’s what happened,’ and the man is not alive to defend himself.
“(Getting to the truth) is something we always have to be vigilant about, you know, and I’m willing to be vigilant with the help of many people, and there’s a number of people here at the diocese who have worked very hard to create a safe environment.”
McGovern is mentioned in a 2013 book, “Acts of Recovery,” written by Michael D. Hoffman, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse by a priest at the Church of St. Mary in Lake Forest, a Chicago suburb, who was removed from ministry in the 1990s. Hoffman later returned to St. Mary, where McGovern served as pastor from 2004 to 2016.
“Michael Hoffman came as part of his recovery as a victim-survivor,” McGovern said. “He wanted to walk back into that rectory where he had been harmed. ... We sat in the parlor. He told me his story. We prayed together.”
McGovern said Hoffman helped him put “a name and a face to the reality,” adding that, “Abuse robs people on multiple levels. It robs them of so much.”
What are your top priorities as bishop?
McGovern said he doesn’t want come up with a list of priorities until after he’s spent more time in the diocese and discovered what parishioners have on their minds.
He plans to focus at least some attention on “vocation promotion,” asking young men to consider entering the priesthood. Catholic churches across the United States have for years faced a priest shortage and struggled to replace those at retirement age.
Braxton worked to alleviate this problem in the Belleville diocese by recruiting priests from other countries to take over parishes.
“We need to talk about calling,” McGovern said. “God calls us, and how do we respond? We have dreams for our own lives. Our parents have plans for our lives. But God has a plan, too, and I would really like to encourage young people to develop the skills they need to listen to the Lord and the Lord’s voice calling them.”
McGovern noted that he attended DePaul University College of Law and planned to become a real-estate attorney before switching to Mundelein Seminary. He was ordained a priest in 1994 in the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago.
“Now I look at being a priest as something I wouldn’t exchange for anything else,” he said. “And I would like to invite young men, young Catholic men, to consider that possibility for their own lives in service of the Lord.”
Talking about vocations reminded McGovern of advice he often gives parishioners who are trying to make decisions on how to proceed with careers, relationships or other plans and that he tries to follow himself. He asks three questions: “Does God want me to do this? Do I want to do this? And can I do this?”
Will church properties remain intact?
Some Catholic dioceses in the United States have sold churches, homes and other properties in recent years to consolidate, downsize or help with budget problems.
McGovern said he really can’t speak on that topic as it relates to the Belleville diocese because he’s not that familiar with its buildings, but he spoke in general terms about tough decisions that church leaders sometimes have to make.
“We have to look at reality (and ask), ‘Who are the people being served? What do they need?’” he said. “Sometimes institutions that were created at a time in history ... They serve a purpose, and at a certain point, they go out of existence because the needs have changed.”
McGovern gave the example of hospitals, orphanages or universities that are built with the donations of generous people to fill a void in society at a given time. Then things change, and decades later, they end up vacant.
“I think a good rule of thumb is, if you have to close something, try and also begin something at the same time, so that there’s signs of life and hope,” he said.
How did your upbringing help mold you?
McGovern grew up in a large family, the youngest of eight children. He said his parents “sacrificed enormously” to send all of them to Catholic grade schools and high schools and encouraged them to earn college degrees. They emphasized that education and using one’s talents were key to a successful future.
McGovern’s mother was an elementary school teacher who taught adult night classes in sewing. His father also was an elementary school teacher, but then he joined the staff of a public school for inmates at the Cook County Jail in Chicago.
“One of the things I remember is how often he commented that people who are incarcerated are often at maybe a third-grade reading level,” McGovern said. “... That just impressed upon me even more that education is so important to help people, that their lives can go in a good direction.
“So I know we have four prisons here in the diocese, some very large prisons, and I would like to address that issue of ministry to the incarcerated, you know, in consultation with people who are already doing that work.”
McGovern said he also plans to explore ways to improve programs at the 26 Catholic grade schools and three Catholic high schools in Southern Illinois.
“Schools are a big part of a child’s life,” he said. “And I think education is something the Catholic church has done very well with over the years, and I’m fully committed to strengthening Catholic education even more here in the diocese.”
