By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
A recent announcement by Bishop Larry Silva of a change in membership in the Roman Catholic Church in the State of Hawaii Corporation, and news of significant transitions at two Catholic schools in Hawaii, raises questions about how the Catholic Church is organized and operates in Hawaii.
In Hawaii, under the label “Catholic,” are parishes, schools, social service organizations, religious orders, and associations. All in all, the church is comprised of lots of moving parts. Some of them are closely aligned with the bishop; others are under the supervision and control of their own officers, boards and religious superiors. How do they relate to each other? How do they relate to the Diocese of Honolulu?
Let’s start there.
Portion of the people of God
A diocese is a canonical, or church, designation. The Code of Canon Law provides a definition: “The diocese is a portion of the people of God which is entrusted for pastoral care to a bishop with the cooperation of the presbyterate (priests) so that, adhering to its pastor and gathered by him in the Holy Spirit through the gospel and the Eucharist, it constitutes a particular church in which the one, holy catholic and apostolic church of Christ is truly present and operative.”
As canon law defines it, a diocese is not a civil law entity but a religious, ecclesiastical concept. Only the pope can create a diocese. Ordinarily, only a bishop can govern it.
A diocese usually corresponds with a contiguous piece of territory. (While Hawaii is physically comprised of separate islands, it is regarded as unified property.)
The Diocese of Honolulu is composed of the entire state. (Most dioceses are named after a principal city in the territory.) There was a time, around 30 years ago, when the Diocese of Honolulu included Christmas Island and other small islands south of Hawaii, which were not part of the state, or the country for that matter. That made little sense, so at the request of the Honolulu bishop, the pope changed it.
It just so happens that because Hawaii is relatively small, the Diocese of Honolulu takes in the whole state. That is not the general rule in the United States. California, for example, has 12 dioceses. Alaska has three.
As canon law states, the purposes of a diocese are spiritual and sacramental, in union with the entire church.
A diocese is divided into parishes, each with a pastor or priest administrator. Hawaii has 66. Some of these parishes have additional mission churches under their jurisdiction. Some have schools.
Living in a secular world
In order to conduct business with the secular world, there is the 501(c)(3) non-profit tax-exempt organization called the “Roman Catholic Church in the State of Hawaii Corporation.” This civil entity, first chartered in 1924 under the Territory of Hawaii, owns, administers and manages Hawaii parish and diocesan properties and finances. The primary functions of the corporation are defined as charitable, religious and educational.
The bishop is the president of the corporation. He appoints the vice-president, the secretary, the treasurer and other members of the corporation.
On Jan. 1, Bishop Silva announced the appointment of the following to the corporation’s corporate board: Msgr. Gary Secor, vice president; Father Manuel Hewe, secretary; Capuchin Franciscan Father Michel Dalton, treasurer; and additional members Father Mark Gantley and Deacon Keith Cabiles. These are the people who administer the corporation.
Some of the corporation’s parish properties include schools, but not all Catholic schools in Hawaii are parochial, belonging to parishes. Hawaii has a number of Catholic schools run by pontifical religious orders. Damien Memorial School, for example, is run by the Christian Brothers, Chaminade University and Saint Louis School by the Marianists. These are not part of the Roman Catholic Church in the State of Hawaii, but belong to civil corporations chartered by the religious priests, sisters or brothers who established the schools.
Pontifical religious orders
Just as the pope can establish a diocese, he also establishes “pontifical” religious orders that carry on ministry in the name of the Catholic Church. Both St. Damien de Veuster and St. Marianne Cope were members of such pontifical religious orders. Such religious orders are accountable to the pope — not to the local bishop — in matters such as finance, internal religious discipline and governance, and apostolic initiatives.
The religious-run schools operate in Hawaii independently of the Roman Catholic Church in the State of Hawaii. Decisions are made by their own boards and the superiors of the religious orders that operate them. For example, Bishop Silva had nothing to do with the recent decisions to close of Saint Francis School or to change Damien’s president.
This illustrates a key point often misunderstood about the church. There are nearly 30 pontifical religious orders with members ministering in Hawaii. They are all here to serve the people and help advance the faith, mission and charity of the larger church, mostly by staffing island parishes and schools. One religious order does health care, the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities. Each of these groups has its own governing body which controls personnel assignments and other internal decisions. The Diocese of Honolulu does not own or operate the assets and activities of Hawaii’s religious orders.
The Diocese of Honolulu also has “affiliate” non-profit organizations, Catholic Charities Hawaii and HOPE Services Hawaii, which perform the church’s social ministries.
There are also a number of associations of the faithful that operate in Hawaii. The church encourages people to form associations for spiritual or charitable purposes. One group might promote a particular prayer style; another might focus on concern for the poor. If an association wants to teach doctrine or exercise public worship, it must be officially established by the church’s hierarchy.
Some associations are informal and have no official status. Other associations may be a part of individual parishes. Some are a part of the diocese. Others are nationally established or even acquire pontifical status, similar to pontifical religious orders. The Filipino Catholic Clubs, for example, are included in the Roman Catholic Church in the State of Hawaii Corporation. The Knights of Columbus, on the other hand, are a separate corporation with an independent governing structure.
As a footnote, there is one Hawaii parish that does not belong to the Roman Catholic Church in the State of Hawaii. St. Patrick Parish in Kaimuki is civilly owned by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, a pontifical religious institute. This is a result of the fact that the Sacred Heart Fathers administered the Catholic mission in Hawaii for 114 years before the diocese was established in 1941.
And two parishes sit on land leased from Hawaiian Home Lands: St. Rita, Nanakuli, and Malia Puka O Kalani, Keaukaha.
