Kairos and the Rhetoric of Diocesan Administration Craig Maier

Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fall 2008 Seizing the Catholic Moment: Kairos and the Rhetoric of Diocesan Administration Craig Maier Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Maier, C. (2008). Seizing the Catholic Moment: Kairos and the Rhetoric of Diocesan Administration (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/857 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SEIZING THE CATHOLIC MOMENT: KAIROS AND THE RHETORIC OF DIOCESAN ADMINISTRATION A Dissertation Submitted to the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Craig T. Maier April 23, 2008 Copyright by Craig T. Maier April 23, 2008 Craig Maier “Seizing the Catholic Moment: Kairos and the Rhetoric of Diocesan Administration” Ph.D. in Rhetoric April 23, 2008 APPROVED ____________________________________________________ Dr. Ronald C. Arnett, Dissertation Director Chair and Professor Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies APPROVED ____________________________________________________ Dr. Janie Harden Fritz, First Reader Associate Professor Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies APPROVED ____________________________________________________ Dr. Calvin L. Troup, Second Reader Associate Professor Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies APPROVED ____________________________________________________ Dr. Francesco Cesareo, Consultant President, Assumption College APPROVED ____________________________________________________ Dr. Ronald C. Arnett, Chair Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies APPROVED ____________________________________________________ Dr. Albert Labriola, Acting Dean McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts iii ABSTRACT SEIZING THE CATHOLIC MOMENT: KAIROS AND THE RHETORIC OF DIOCESAN ADMINISTRATION By Craig T. Maier April 23, 2008 Dissertation Supervised by Ronald C. Arnett No. of Pages in Text: 247 What can Roman Catholic diocesan administrations in the United States learn from rhetorical studies in the postmodern moment? This dissertation attempts to help American dioceses to respond to a postmodern moment of increasing secularization, changing human resources, and declining institutional trust. In this moment of challenge and uncertainty, it finds Richard Neuhaus’s (1987) metaphor of the Catholic Moment to be particularly powerful for diocesan administration because it finds within the tensions of postmodernity a new sense of possibility that both the Christian and rhetorical traditions have understood through the metaphor of kairos . The rhetoric of diocesan administration is best understood not as the implementation of communicative or managerial “techniques” but as a form of playful engagement that flows out of the pastoral acknowledgement of the call of a homeless world. “Part I: The Call of the Catholic Moment” describes the challenges that American dioceses currently face, frames the rhetorical dimensions of diocesan life, and seeks to ground the rhetoric of diocesan administration in the institutional roots that give it a iv human face: the stewardship of the gift of the Catholic faith and the pastoral care of persons. In the moment of postmodernity, dioceses that fail to attend to these roots compromise their identity and their ability to respond to the Catholic Moment. In the Catholic Moment, diocesan administrations are constantly invited and challenged to learn how to become better dioceses—more confident, more competent, more caring, and more self-consciously Catholic—than ever before. “Part II: The Response of Diocesan Administration” approaches the rhetorical challenges of postmodernity in a constantly constructive fashion. Building on the notion of interpretive play so important to Hans-Georg Gadamer’s (1960/2004) philosophical hermeneutics, it will propose an understanding of diocesan rhetoric framed by the metaphor of administrative play that transforms diocesan administration from a bureaucratic structure into a communicative home . By allowing Catholic dioceses to see the historical moment of postmodernity in ways conducive to administrative play, Neuhaus’s metaphor of the Catholic Moment transforms postmodernity into an occasion of kairos —as long as dioceses are open and willing to seize it. v DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to all those who work in Roman Catholic diocesan administration in the United States, whose humble, unsung labors provide the foundation for the American Catholic Church. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT While scholarly writing is a solitary activity, no one writes a dissertation alone. There are always those who are willing to take the journey alongside you, offer support, and set an example to follow. First and foremost, I would like to thank my parents, Thomas and June Maier, whose support—and dinners—were invaluable throughout this time, as well as my sister and brother-and-law, Gretchen and Jeffry Pattison. I am grateful for your love and willingness to listen as I struggled to think through my ideas. Second, I would like to thank those who work with me at the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh and who have taught me—a Presbyterian no less!—so much about the practice of corporate communication within the Roman Catholic Church. In particular, I would like to thank my co-workers in the Department for Communications—Robert Lockwood, William Hill, and Darlene Peterson—as well as John Flaherty, Associate General Secretary of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Third, I would like to thank the assistance and insights of my dissertation director, Dr. Ronald C. Arnett, as well as my committee, Dr. Calvin L. Troup, Dr. Janie Harden Fritz of the Department for Communication and Rhetorical Studies, and Dr. Francesco C. Cesareo, President of Assumption College. Both Dr. Arnett and Dr. Troup have contributed to my scholarly approach in immeasurable ways. In particular, though, I would like to recognize Dr. Fritz, whose interest in me as an undergraduate and constant encouragement started me on the path to graduate study in communication and rhetoric in the first place. vii And finally, I would like to thank the numerous bishops, clergy, and religious who have taught me the blessings and challenges of diocesan administration. Though there are too many to name each individually, five have been most important to me: Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, DC, whose constant and courageous example impressed upon me the need to do the right thing at the right time, even though those actions may be controversial; Bishop David A. Zubik of Pittsburgh, who constantly demonstrates the importance of blending administration with a pastor’s heart; Fr. Ronald P. Lengwin, who demonstrates the necessity of communicating with charity and grace; Fr. Lawrence A. DiNardo, whose realistic practicality and wit constantly grounded my reflections on diocesan life; and Sister Margaret Hannan, RSM, who always encouraged me to keep smiling. I am grateful for all of you. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract..........................................................................................................................iv Dedication......................................................................................................................vi Acknowledgement.........................................................................................................vii Part I: The Call of the Catholic Moment......................................................................1 1 The Challenge of Diocesan Administration ...............................................................2 1.1 Introduction....................................................................................................2 1.2 Responsiveness, Challenge, and the Rhetoric of Diocesan Administration......4 1.3 Postmodernity and the Catholic Moment ......................................................10 1.4 The Invitation of the Catholic Moment.........................................................31 2 The Rhetorical Possibilities of Diocesan Administration ........................................37 2.1 Introduction..................................................................................................38 2.2 Diocesan Administration as a Rhetorical Phenomenon .................................39 2.3 Diocesan Administration as a Nexus of Permanence and Change .................50 2.4 The Topoi of Diocesan Administration.........................................................59 2.5 Learning from the Rhetoric of Diocesan Administration...............................67 2.6 The Rhetorical Praxis of Diocesan Administration .......................................79 3 The Roots of Diocesan Administration ....................................................................82 3.1 Introduction..................................................................................................83 3.2 Diocesan Administration and Theological Stewardship ................................84 3.3 Diocesan Administration and the Care of Persons.........................................94 3.4 Diocesan Administration and the Crisis of Modernity.................................103

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