Dedicated Orioles fans went through more seasons than we care to remember in the doldrums. Our team was near the bottom in the American League East. Attendance was down. Gone were the glory days of Cal Ripken Jr. Thoughts of winning another World Series were a mirage.
Some questioned the future of the Orioles. “Would the team stay in Baltimore?” they wondered. Attendance was down. Fans were angry and disappointed. But some fans remained as dedicated as ever, believing and hoping that better days lie ahead.
All the while, something good was happening. The team was rebuilding itself. It was attracting new players. It was making improvements to Camden Yards and investing in its future in ways different from the past. As it went through this process, there were critics and skeptics but over the last few seasons, the performance of the Orioles has improved dramatically.
A similar process is going on in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
It’s no secret that the Seek the City to Come process has left more than a few people angry and disappointed. While this two-year public process has involved thousands of people across Baltimore and its environs, many either did not know about it or perhaps did not become involved until it became apparent that decisions were about to be made.
To many, the closure of parishes looks like decline. Pundits speculate: “Is it the scandals?” Or “Chapter 11?” “Is it celibacy?” – overlooking the fact that the population of the City of Baltimore is less than half of what it was when the 61 parishes in and around Baltimore were flourishing.
Like Orioles teams in the down years, the clergy, religious and lay leaders have labored heroically to keep parishes going, often depending heavily on Catholics driving in from the suburbs on Sunday morning. Burdened with aging buildings badly in need of expensive repairs and renovations, many of these parishes found it difficult to evangelize the very neighborhoods they are in.
Yes, many see the closure of parishes as evidence that the Catholic Church is pulling out of Baltimore. Yet, not unlike the Orioles in their down seasons, something good is happening just below the surface. Rebuilding is going on. Sustainable parishes are being formed that will have what it takes to offer a full range of pastoral services and to evangelize the neighborhoods they are in, while continuing ministries of service. In the meantime, the Hispanic Catholic population in the city is burgeoning and, in some neighborhoods, the number of Catholic young adults is on the rise.
Religious orders are making fresh commitments to help staff these newly reconfigured parishes. With some 60 seminarians, a new generation of priests to serve all the parishes in the archdiocese is in the making. Catholic Charities is constructing an intergenerational center in the heart of West Baltimore. Our community schools continue to provide a high-quality Catholic education for deserving students from Baltimore’s most underserved neighborhoods.
As the Orioles were rebuilding, there were critics and skeptics while others preferred to look longingly at the past. So too, it’s tempting just to criticize Seek the City or to be nostalgic about the past. But that is not who we are as Catholic Christians. We are a people of faith, hope and love. We are bonded together by “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Our faith does not hinge on specific buildings but on the Person of Christ and on our common bond, forged by the Spirit, as members of the Body of Christ.
Now is the time to look to the future with hope. To renew our efforts to evangelize. To build up our team. And yes, to Seek the City to Come!
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