PATTAYA, Thailand (UCAN) -- Archbishop Peter Fernando of Madurai of Madurai is unusual among Asia's hundreds of bishops because he has a doctorate in counseling.

The Indian prelate thus is well positioned to offer an introduction to the skills and comprehension bishops need in caring for their priests.

Archbishop Fernando, 68, did so on Aug. 29 in a 9,500-word paper he gave at the seminar on "Caring for Priests - Especially For Those with Difficulties." The event, held Aug. 27-Sept. 1 at Redemptorist Center in Pattaya, 150 kilometers southeast of Bangkok, was organized by the Office of Clergy of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences, and the archbishop is its chairman.

In the discussion that followed, some of the nearly 70 prelate participants, who had come mainly from India and from 10 other countries, indicated that the paper highlighted not only lessons from behavioral sciences, but also core theological values. When one participant remarked that a bishop has to emphasize divine intervention in dealing with priests, Archbishop Fernando acknowledged that God is indeed present in the bishop-priest relationship.

Another prelate noted that a bishop may face delicate situations in which it would be difficult to take any action, but Archbishop Fernando replied that "not taking action with our priests does not help."

Others spoke of the surprise some bishops feel about being feared by their priests, and the need for priests to talk honestly with their bishop. A bishop always must do what is right, one said, but always with "great affection."

The presentation prompted one archbishop to express regret for failing to speak directly with a priest who had been involved in a difficult situation, because the person he delegated to deal with the priest made it worse.

One participant pointed out that a bishop who responds to a problematic priest merely by sending him elsewhere for treatment could make the priest feel abandoned and thereby aggravate the problem.

Another called himself "unsuccessful" because "when things happen among the clergy, I'm usually almost the last one to know. I don't like feeling isolated and out of touch." But Archbishop Fernando responded, "You are aware of being the last to know, and this shows you are in touch with reality, successful!"

One Indian archbishop observed that most of a seminary professor's time is spent not on genuine spiritual direction but "working out problems of the seminarian concerning his family." Comparably, he said, "the same may be true of bishops in their relation with priests -- past hang-ups, projections, etc."

Archbishop Fernando said it is not uncommon for a priest to consider his bishop a father and to see his real father's attributes in the bishop -- and "how we experience father in the bishop may affect our view of the Heavenly Father." Seminary formation, he said, goes back to a seminarian's experience with his parents and often deals with early childhood's unfinished business.

Father Lawrence Pinto, who has a doctorate in psychology and is executive secretary of the Office of Clergy, remarked, "A bishop without training cannot easily change a bad perception of one's father to a better, healthy one."

One bishop asked what he should do if a priest needs counseling but does not recognize such a need. The bishop must "somehow make him go through it," the archbishop answered, explaining that this is like alcoholics who first deny they need help but eventually change after getting into it. "But do not do so by force, because that makes the whole effort futile," he cautioned.

A Malaysian bishop asked how he should react to an anonymous negative report on a priest. While confidential information is known only when someone reveals it and it is often a delicate matter to secure such information, Archbishop Fernando advised the bishop to wait, not act, if only one such report exists.

An anonymous letter, Father Pinto added, generally cannot be taken seriously, but if someone privately makes such a report, an inquiry should be undertaken.

END

(Accompanying photos available at here)