BIDDEFORD — How do you know you have a calling? Why do you value Catholic schools? Why can’t women become priests? Those were just some of the questions asked by middle school students during a forum at the St. James Catholic School in Biddeford, when Bishop Robert Deeley visited the school on Friday.
The bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland has been on the job just three months.
Since he was formally installed as the leader of Maine’s more than 193,000 Catholics in February, he has traveled the state, performing Masses and getting to know the faithful of the church.
Along the way, Deeley has been making a point to stop at Maine’s 13 Catholic schools.
Already, he has visited most of the Catholic schools in the state, said diocese spokesman Dave Guthro, and plans to visit the rest of the schools in the fall, he said.
St. James Principal Nancy Naimey said the students were very excited about the bishop’s visit. She said they were disappointed when he was forced to cancel a scheduled visit earlier in the year.
On Friday, there was a prayer service, with some of the students performing readings and songs by the school choir. The bishop gave a brief talk, and then answered questions from middle school students during a forum; before he left, he visited each of the classrooms and spoke with the students.
“I’ve been looking forward to visiting St. James,” Deeley told the students, “I’ve heard so many good things about what happens here.”
Deeley’s open and informal style invited questions from the students, who asked quite a few.
When asked about the value of Catholic schools, he said, “I really believe in Catholic education.”
He spoke about their importance in teaching students how to live a Christian life and how to “bring Jesus’ love to the world.”
“Catholic schools take you as a whole person ”“ intelligence, spirit and physical being ”“ and integrate that into a conviction of your importance,” said Deeley.
One student asked how the bishop knew he had a calling to be a priest, and Deeley answered that he knew since he was young that it was something in which he was interested, but he didn’t make his final decision until high school.
“From a young age, I knew there was something special about what priests did,” he said, and knew he wanted to do something like that.
A female student asked why women aren’t allowed to enter the priesthood. Deeley said this was something the church had discussed, but because Jesus was a man and had never taken a woman as an apostle, the church decided it was best to have men represent Jesus on Earth.
However, he said, “In each of us, God calls a vocation.”
Some, said the bishop, will be called to be priests or sisters, but most will marry and have families.
But even those who don’t work for the church in a formal capacity ”“ as a priest or nun ”“ will be called on to “use our gift to do the work the church asks us to do.”
— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or [email protected].
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