January 20, 2006
Doves
Canon Edward West of St John Divine, New York, once commenting on the rather ragtag state of the clergy, said, What else can you expect considering we only have the laity from which to choose. That didn’t go over so big since his comment was made at an annual diocesan laymen’s conference.
On the other hand, it hasn’t always been like that. All the way back in 236 AD, an assembly was scruffling around in Rome trying to elect a pope. All the sudden, as the story goes, a dove flew down and lighted on the head of one Fabian, a more or less innocent Italian who just happened to be in town touring the sights and wondering what all the fuss was about.
Nobody had got around to background checks in those days. There was no College of Cardinals, no episcopal search committees, and no white smoke. So the folk decided that if a dove was good enough for Jesus, it was certainly good enough for picking a perfect stranger for pope. So without any further question they hustled Fabian through the process — aspirant, inspirant, perspirant, postulant, etceterant — and rushed him on into the episcopacy.
Well, it was probably as good a way as any. For Fabian turned out to be one of the better pontiffs up to that time. He subdivided Rome, instituted the veneration of martyrs, and condemned some heresies. It was not long before he came up against the Emperor Decius who was somewhat less than enthusiastic about his community organization and soon had him promptly and properly dispatched. Fabian got today on the calendar as his reward, not a bad deal for an altogether innocent tourist who, at least, was an Italian.
Apparently in these days, God has given up on doves and turned the whole thing over to a rather self-perpetuating system that leaves a lot to be desired. But like Eddie West said, What else can you expect?