The Oblates of the East

A Living Stories Project

WALTER BARRET AND THE WARDEN

The story that I am going to mention and was selected is about Walter Barrett who for a long period of time was involved in prison chaplaincy. Walter as we know was fired by the Bureau of prisons and on two occasions--both occasions–was ultimately reinstated. The last time he got fired was when he was chaplain up in Allenwood prison. He and the warden didn't get along because Walter was always very very pro inmate, always looking after the interests of the inmates; and lots of times these wardens did not appreciate that. They thought that Walter was a little bit too much pro-inmate.

So, anyway one time Walter was taking one of the inmates from the camp out to one of the local churches.to some sort of church meeting. So after they go to the meeting, they are on their way back to the camp and they have a little extra time, so Walter says, "We’re passing the trailer complex where I live. Let’s just stop there for a few minutes." So they pull up to the trailer complex, they go into the trailer. Walter’s sister is there who is a nun, and so it’s around lunch time and she is making lunch for Walter. So she obviously invited the inmate, too. So while she’s preparing the lunch, Walter was putting together a bookshelf in his trailer. The inmate saw it, and to occupy himself, the inmate said, "Father Barret, let me put this shelf together for you." So he did.

Also in this trailer complex was living the captain of the correctional officers of the prisons. He saw this–he didn’t like Walter–so he went over and knocked on the door. He saw that Walter had a government car there, so he wrote up Walter for misuse of government property. Then he saw the inmate working on the bookshelf, so he wrote Walter up for free inmate labor. He sent this back to the warden, and a day or two later, Walter was going to get fired for these two things.

The warden is delighted because he is getting rid of the biggest thorn in his side. He’s happy. Then about three days later, the warden gets a call from Tip O’Neill’s office who was the congressman for Walter Barrett. Walter called Tip and Tip O’Neill’s office called and said, "By the way, Father Barrett will be reporting back to work tomorrow morning at 8:00." We picked that story perhaps because it shows the tenacity, the good spirit that was exemplified by Walter and his prison chaplaincy.

The Story of Father Leo Burke omi-a Legend of the Province

Once upon a time there was an Oblate who was reputedly one of the most brilliant men in the history of our province whose name was Leo Burke. Leo never had an advanced degree; he matriculated through our institution and we did not give degrees at that time. Leo began his apostolate by teaching in the scholasticate here without a degree. Teaching was then dogma or systematics; and then he went out and worked in parishes and is still remembered today by some of the old faithfuls at the Immaculate at Lowell.

He had a great sympathy and empathy for the poor and the down trodden. After that, Leo was sent back to Washington where he became a brilliant, brilliant professor. Much of his approach to theology was influenced by his years in ministry. After he had lived here as a teacher, he went back.

Leo was asked many times to go over to Catholic University and get his degree but Leo always refused saying that he probably knew as much or more than they did and so he never did go for his degree.

But Leo, however, was invited and did in fact teach astronomy at the University, and I know he taught something else. I don't know what it was. One day he met with Joe Russo. Father Russo was the visitor general who came here to Washington. Russo held three degrees. Mike Devaney tells the story that Leo said to Joe Russo, "Let's talk about anything you want to talk about." He challenged him and I guess they talked about all sorts of things and Leo evidently came up on top pretty much.

My own relations with Leo were two-fold. When I came to Washington, Mike Devaney and I and George Kirwin we came down from the novitiate. In that first year I was assigned to the library, and somehow I received a bill for $1.20–I I don't know where it was from. Maybe a Readers Digest thing but I don't know how I got the bill with my name on it and I didn't know what in hell I was going to do . I just didn't have any money–What was I going to do, period.

We used to meet every lunch after every lunch we'd meet with the superior and ask for shoelaces, toothpaste and all those exciting things. So I went in to see Leo Burke, and at that time Leo was not superior he was taking Ray Hunt's place and the bursar was Joe OKeefe ,whom Leo affectionately called Jo Jo. So I explained my plight to Leo that I didn't have any money and I'd this bill and I didn't know what to do about it. So Leo smacked his lips as he used to and he said, "Mmm well Joycey,you can do one of two things: You can either rip the damn thing up or give the bill to Jo Jo I don't care." So that's how Leo Burke solved my problem.

Two years later–I used to wake up all the fathers for prayers in the morning in the House. I was the bell ringer and I went to Leo's room and he was just sitting in a chair about 5:30 in the morning with the violin on his lap. Leo was a great violinist, a great violinist. He hadn't played for many years and he used to play a lot. But this morning he was sitting there with the violin on his lap, and he just looked at me and I knocked on the door and said "Benedicamus Domino," and he said,"Hello, Joycey." That’s all he said. And that evening Leo Burke died.

And so that's of story of Leo Burke. We kind of remember him with great affection and great, great love. He was one of the great minds of the Province.

The Ghosts of 391

Our group centered around people mostly in this House. The two winners would be Crump ( Frank Crump) and Murph (Dick Murphy)–a little surprise there–and Murph was the one we all agreed on. I think we talked about the house in a time of change and we are going through a lot of change in the province and especially here in this House, and someone said if Murph was here, we wonder. . . . because Murph was such a powerful presence and was so much a part of this House.

Father Dick Murphy omi

When his fortieth(anniversary) came they were trying to convince him it was time to take a trip or something. He accepted the money and turned it back into the college but didn't go anywhere. He just wasn't willing to really let go, in a certain sense of things, of the house. The tractor–someone suggested we should have taken his body over to the Shrine on the tractor. He was just a part of this place and yet the humanity for me came out in talking about the life he lived here and his life–talk about a goldfish bowl– we knew what his life was like– and how much of his life we didn't know. On his walks he would visit Children's Hospital, he would work on marriage annulments. Very very pastoral and very sympathetic. There was a whole part of him we never a knew, yet we all had spent all his life with him–in fact to the very very moment that he died right here in this House. So to me it’s the mystery of Murph and how much he really is a presence in this House and in this place.

A RESTORATION STORY

In our group Joe Ferraioli surfaced in a couple of different ways and I'd like to title this a restoration story. I think it would be a restoration story. It was shortly after I became provincial maybe within the first year or so and Joe was pastor of a little black parish down in Miami in the Overtown section Saint Francis Xavier, a little church and a small school and heavily subsidized by the diocese because it is in such a poor area. Joe called me on the phone to tell me that he had just met with the diocese and they had made the decision to close the school because they could no longer afford the subsidy to maintain the school, given the demands on the diocese, in terms of inner city parishes. So Joe was heartbroken and I was heartbroken because I had lived there for seven years and knew the community and it just seemed to me to be an awful blow in that particular area.

As the story evolved the word got out that the diocese had made the decision. So the following day, or a day or two later, Joe got a call from the mayor of Miami Xavier Suarez, asking Joe if this was true what he was hearing that they were going to close the school. Joe said, "Yes, the decision was made. In June the school will be closed." So the mayor said to Joe, "It can't happen." He said it would give such a bad signal to be African American community in Miami. And he said, "I want you down here tomorrow for a meeting in my office." So Joe went down to the meeting and at that particular meeting was the mayor of Miami, Xavier Suarez, and the editor of the Miami Herald, David Lawrence, and then the a third prominent person, the president of one of the large banks in Miami.

So from that point on, they decided they would take the plight of the school to the public. Particularly through the efforts of the Miami Herald and the publicity that came from the Herald, they were able to generate something like $300,000. That came in for the school, so it became an endowment for the school and could help in trying to pay tuition expenses for the poorer students. Now that was probably four or five years ago and at this point–Jack Lau was up here earlier in the week– they have about 160 students and they have just blessed a new addition.

Particularly for Joe Ferraioli–he'll talk about the experience, and for him it was the first time that he had ever come in touch with power really being used in the name of service, in the name of restoration, for the poor. So for Joe it was a tremendous experience that he still talks about almost in complete surprise.

JACK KING

This story this is about Jack King, but it is about the first time I met him which was in Rome in 1964 when he had been appointed superior of the Studium, which was the House of studies for the priests who were doing doctorates. Being superior of the Stadium was like being superior of here–a position but not really a job. Arriving at the Studium the Council was still on and drawing towards its close. Jack had been in Rome as adviser to Cardinal .......... that's why he went there.

And now he was superior of the stadium, so I went in to the room and jack was sitting there in the room with the blinds drawn, he was sitting in a deep arm chair with a yarmulke on his head and a prayer shawl around his shoulder, a candle burning on the desk and a Hebrew Bible opened in front of him, on his lap .

So I said to him," What are you doing here?" which could have meant anything. "Well," he said, " I've been in too many fights and I've had to do a lot of change in my way of thinking and I don't know what I am moving on to next. So I am immersing myself in the peace of the Hebrew scriptures."

ORDINATION

This is a story about ordination and it involves John Staak. John Staak's ordination was my first experience as formation director of going through the ordination process and if you know John Staak, you know that he tends to be a perfectionist. Everything John does has to be well planned well thought out and is going to work down to every last detail. That’s kind of difficult to do when the people working on the ordination are here and the ordination is going to take place in Augusta, Georgia. So in the days after John's ordination retreat when he is getting things ready, there were quite a few calls back and forth where John was concerned about many of the details: "Don’t forget to bring this and it make sure you have that, and make sure these are done, and is this working out. . . " and all kinds of things and the things that John was worried about. It was a typical," Martha, Martha, you worry about many things. . . .

And at this stage, trying to put John at ease I said, "John as far as I know, the only thing essential for Ordination is yourself and the bishop; beyond that everything else is just extra. So that's all you need yourself and the Bishop.

John was going to be ordained on the Friday. On Wednesday I get a call from John. I'm in my room and he says, "Hank, this is John." " Yes," I said," I know."

He says "Are you sitting down?" and I said, "No, but I will." So I sat down and he said, "Wait a minute, let me close some doors around here."

So at this stage, I'm wondering about what in God's name is John going to tell me? I'm expecting it to be the absolute worst–probably that he's not going to be ordained or something like that is running through my mind . What's happening at this last moment?

And he said, "Francis can't make it." Francis was the bishop. So the bottom line I had given him was now suddenly shattered. We had an ordinand but we had no bishop. As it worked out, Francis had already set up for Roger Schweitz to take care of it and it went off well. But another concern of John's was at this stage was, "Well, let's just scrap the whole program because on the very front of the program is the ordination of John Staak by Bishop Francis George, and so, from the very beginning his ordination is not accurate.

We used the program as it was.

The Difficult Ministry of Pulling out of a Parish

Our story is about the closing an Oblate establishment, and I was picked to share the closure of St. Joseph's in Dallastown.

I arrived there in September of '95 coming out of St. Williams in Tewksbury and I had knowledge that we were going to let go of the parish. I had a lot of thoughts and feelings as to how much I was going to commit myself to serve the people there, knowing that I was going to be leaving in at least a couple of years. It was a big challenge for me :How many close friends am I going to establish here? How deeply involved in the ministry ? How am I going to share myself and yet know that I am leaving them shortly?

I was living with two other priests, Mike Amesse and Fr. Casey and there was some problems there. Fr. Casey was an older priest and the parish was poor. Fr. Casey wasn't receiving the salary from the diocese, so there was a little bit of resentment from Fr. Casey because of his being a veteran Oblate. He was known as a senior priest, and he didn't like that. For Father Mike, it was his first time being a pastor and Fr. Mike really dove into it well. He really wanted to be the messiah of that church. He wanted to have all the bases covered, and it was difficult in making some choices there- how are we going to serve the church with the knowledge that we were going to pull out? Also we had a relationship with the diocese of Harrisburg. We knew that we couldn't start anything major here because we couldn't finish it.

So here we are working with the people the parish Council and we were getting suggestions and thoughts about improving the parish and yet we couldn't really give them a full commitment because they didn't know we were going. So finally it came towards the end. The provincial, Father Bill Sheehan, came down and met with the parish and informed them of our leaving and it caused some real hardship. There were good teachers and school children there in elementary school with some real strong ties there with Fr. Mike and myself and for Fr. Casey. It was hard for them to let us go away.

What was great was that Matt Casey was celebrating his fiftieth anniversary of ordination and we combined the fiftieth as well as the sending of of myself and Fr. Mike and about five hundred people turned up at the Dallastown fire fall for the biggest event in Dallastown's history, or at least in the Hall's history.

It was a difficult ministry, of how we served that people the best way we could with the knowledge of the future and we really miss them.

Forgiveness

My story goes back to when I was first ordained. I was sent first of all to Saint Williams in Tewksbury, Massachusetts and Bill Lantagne was my first pastor. He really taught me how to be a good pastor and a good priest. I had been there three years and my old Professor of Moral Theology was named pastor.

This building here in Washington has a lot of memories for me because this man who taught me moral theology, Father Garrett Barry, knew how much I knew and how little I knew. He became the pastor after Bill Lantagne.

For me as a young priest, if it wasn't for-forever running the scene, like running the C. C. D. and soft ball team and the drill team that we had there, and all those things that occupied my mind, I think I would have lost the priesthood. It was a situation where there was jealousy and smallness and misunderstanding a lot of times. I had my instructions sometimes at 10 at night, and I would go upstairs to the rec hall, and by that time Father Garrett had something to say to me. I'd sit and he'd go up one side of me and down the other. It got to the point that I didn't watch television in the evenings for 7 or 8 years.

The reason I am telling this story is because I'm sometimes wondering, you know, how much hurt there is among Oblates with the things that go on.

But in order to make a long story short, the day that I was transferred from St. Williams to Buffalo, New York, to the mission, one non Catholic lady met me at the door of the soft ball field and she told me my obedience. When I got home, Garrett Barry said to me he had nothing to do with it. I said "Well that doesn't trouble me because I'd given my six years, and I'd done the best I can."

Those three years were so hurtful to me, so when I left it, I left with real bitterness. Then the scene changed where I was sent to Florida. Down in Florida for 15 years, they asked me to start a parish down there in West Palm Beach, Mary Immaculate, and I was there by myself for five years. Then suddenly, the provincial said "You shouldn't live by yourself. It would be better if we sent a man down there." So they sent Joe Pucci and a lot of times, Joe Pucci and myself would sit up all night and talk and joke. He's a very jovial and very happy man. He had polio and all kinds of diseases and illnesses and what not.

I told him the story about myself and Garrett. So he said" Well gheez, Mike, if that really bothers you that much (and we were in the midst of this building project and all the other things,) he said," You'd better lay the old harrod down and get on a plane and go up and visit him."

So I said "Okay." Joe called NorthEastern Airlines which was running then, and booked a flight to Boston. I left about nine o'clock in the morning and Roy L. picked me up. Roy said " We can't get into the hospital till afternoon." While we had lunch, I told him some of the stories and he said, "Yes, you know Garrett Barrett was loved and honored in Tewksbury as the greatest priest among the people." I said, "I didn't have that same experience and that's why I'm here."
He said "Well, you know that he's very seriously ill with a brain cancer and maybe we'll get in, but maybe he can't see us."

We made our way to the hospital. It was the Baptist hospital, I think, and up to the fifth floor. I remember that well because I started to get a little cold feet. I thought, "Geez, I wonder if I should go into the room or not." The minute I walked into the room, he said, "What the hell are you doing here?" and I said," Garrett, I'm here because there's a lot of things that we've got to get straightened out right now, things that stuck in my craw, and I 'm sure stuck in yours, and I want to take care of everything right now."

He said, "Jesus, I cant do that without a drink." I looked at Roy and pleaded,"I can't talk to the guy unless he says he has a drink." Poor Roy went to a nearby bar and tried to walk out with two Manhattans. This cop says, "If you walk out with that, I'll have to arrest you." This other guy says, "If you want, there's a store door right up the street, a block so, where you can buy the mixers."

After 2 or 3 drinks of truth serum, we really got to the nitty gritty of affairs and you know, we straightened it out in a hour and a half. The experience for me, with the encouragement of Joe Pucci, really taught me a lot because I really live in peace with people. I have no smallness or hatred towards anybody and I realize how much my priesthood would have been diminished if I wasn't big enough to say," I'm sorry," and straighten it out. But I think theres so much smallness and hurt among Oblates that sometimes, you have to sit down and figure out what's going wrong? What do you have to do to straighten it out. And you cant be afraid to take it by the horns, and do it.

It was a very tearful session. The healing has taken place but not the forgetting of the memories. I'd think a lot of times how easily we can talk about human beings and working together.
You know when I asked him, 'What did you dislike about me?" he said,
"Gheez, everybody loved you and they didn't love me."
I said, "Garrett, for God's sake, will you forget that."

" The real thing that ticked me off," he said,"was when the Provincial asked you do start a new mission in West Palm Beach. I should have been the one to be asked that."
I said, "If I knew that was your desire, I would have given you the job."

We really got down to it and got it straightened out, and as I said before, I am very much at peace with my self and my priesthood and with my brother Oblates.

Now the end of this success story was when I said," Garrett you taught us in moral theology that if you were administering the last rites, be sure to give the last blessing and that's what I give you."

[ The Final Redaction ] [ Washington, DC ] [ Florida ]