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The National Herald - September 23-29, 2017

     EDITORIALS

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Where the Buck Should Stop

It is more than obvious that the emergency meeting of the Executive Committee of the Archdiocesan Council and Archbishop Demetrios had only one purpose: to render the Council co-responsible for the tragic economic situation the Archdiocese faces.

By taking this crafty action, Demetrios can claim that he is not the only one responsible for running the Archdiocese. That there are decisions made by the Clergy-Laity Congresses, which more than doubled the Archdiocese’s budget from day he took over, and that there are Archdiocesan committees entrusted with the control of the finances.

Therefore, he can argue that they too bear responsibility.

The sophists in Ancient Greece also used those types of tricks.

The reality is that for decades now the laity, amazingly, gave the power of Church administration to the Archdiocese and on the local level to the clergy, retaining for themselves, in the majority of communities, only a ceremonial role.

Not realizing that this situation is not to the benefit of any one, especially the clergy.

Accordingly, they bear serious responsibility, considering they have accepted serving in a symbolic manner that lacks real power, and in exchange for the honor of being selected for such recognition, allowing themselves to be used as a pretext for decisions made by hierarchs and clergy.

We believe this needs to change.

The present crisis should afford us the opportunity to change the balance between clergy and laity. The laity should play an essential role in Church administration, rather than a subservient one.

The Archbishop tries, as much as possible, to avoid accepting responsibility for bankrupting the Archdiocese. Instead, he tries to share it with the Archdiocesan Council. That is a good maneuver on his part indeed.

However, as President Truman said: “the buck stops here.”

Demetrios is the boss. He is the Archbishop. And so, he bears the ultimate responsibility.

In any organization faced with a similar situation, the board of directors would terminate the CEO, and possibly others.

In this specific case, that certainly cannot be done. The Archdiocesan Council does not have such authority; only the Ecumenical Patriarchate does.

However, instead of the Archbishop accepting responsibility and resigning, as one would expect from a spiritual man, he has engaged in a maneuver meant to obfuscate responsibilities.

Finally, it would be a major mistake if the bill for the Archdiocese’s deficit were passed to our communities. It would cause a justifiably angry reaction and constitute a great challenge, thereby adding insult to injury.

But let’s end these thoughts in a positive tone: Lately serious, sophisticated people are taking a deep look at the finances of the Archdioceses, with the consent of the Archbishop, and coming up with solutions.

Given time, and a strong leader, they will make a difference.

[ The National Herald - September 23-29, 2017 - p. 10 ]