Bishop Frank J. Dewane has been the Shepherd of the Diocese of Venice for nearly 20 years. As his pending retirement soon takes effect, he took time to reflect on his role as Bishop and Shepherd.
Leadership
A review of Bishop Dewane’s 20 years has shown that he was intimately involved in all aspects of running the Diocese. While some criticize this approach, it was not his intention to offend anyone.
“The buck stops with you when there is a decision to be made,” Bishop Dewane said. “But I was tempered by the Holy Spirit in the process. You can only please some of the people some of the time.”
“Our priests are to be complimented. We have healthy Parishes. We can all do more spiritually – always – to build an environment that people want to be part of, to come and worship the Lord.”
When it comes to making decisions, especially when there is no clear consensus among priests, Bishop Dewane said he relied upon prayer, learned consideration and consultation.
When Bishop Dewane took over the leadership of the Diocese in 2007, many Parishes and Catholic schools were burdened by crushing debt. Policy changes regarding construction and accountability for finances at every level were implemented and enabled a drastic turnaround in the Diocese of Venice. This was done with broad consultation.
“I came with a business background, and that certainly allowed me to understand the issues facing the Diocese, the Parishes and the Catholic schools, but it takes time to turn things around. What was done made certain that all entities were sharing in the costs of operating the Diocese. The consultation of lay faithful throughout my years were of great assistance in this regard.”
“That is the reality of the position. It is your responsibility, at the end of the day, a decision must be made. Understand that in doing this, not everyone is going to agree. We only need to look to Sacred Scriptures, not everybody agreed with Jesus. You have to know through your training, formation and prayer to be confident in whatever decision is made.”
Pastoral focus
Bishop Dewane said the mission of the Church is often debated and is often put into neat silos – charitable, theological, pastoral, etc.
“The mission is broad. Often people want to play one factor against the other. That isn’t how Christ did it. He looked to the issue and decided, and I think we are called to follow Christ, who sent the Apostles out. As a Successor to the Apostles, I have to act, despite criticism, that even though a teaching on an issue is seen as hard and cold, there is a reason the Church has held that over the centuries and even millennia.”
This is the reality of being a Bishop who serves in Diocese for a finite period. “As Bishop, sometimes you have to let the word of the Lord sit and allow people to see that the Holy Spirit has a role. The idea that the Bishop is doing just whatever he wants is simply not true.”
His pastoral vision enabled outreach to expand across the Diocese. This has included building affordable housing, expanding the resources for Catholic Charities which reach more of the needy, and expanded Diocesan support for Parishes. In addition, there has been implementation of new evangelization efforts: major conferences, youth rallies, marriage enrichment programs, youth-centered gatherings, and more. This also includes the expanded support of Hispanic Ministries, prison outreach, moms in need, as well as initiatives to promote adoration, praying of the rosary, going to confession and much more.
That leadership was also necessary to guide the Diocese through many crises such as being struck by multiple devastating hurricanes and working through the impacts of a global pandemic. These called for empathy and understanding by all.
“When these happened, it was people’s lives that were disrupted and members of families who died. Human beings. They have to take priority. At times like that you have to be out and about, making decisions that help in the most efficient way possible. And then helping things quickly get back to as close to normal as whenever possible. We did our best in difficult circumstances.”
Access
In any given week, month or year of his time as Bishop of Venice, Bishop Dewane has made a point to be “out and about´ in the Diocese celebrating Masses, attending events and just being available to the lay faithful.
“Weekends weren’t mine. The faithful have a right to see their Bishop. Sometimes it is an appointment, while other times it is in the Parishes. I will have morning, afternoon and evening events, going from one to the next. It is important and was confirmed to me many times when people remarked to me, ‘I have never seen or met a Bishop before.’ It wasn’t about whether it was convenient for me or not. A lot of times, I barely got out of one event to make it to the next one. That is where the of God are.”
By frequently visiting Parishes and Catholic schools and other parts of the Diocese, Bishop Dewane said it gave a clearer sense of what was truly taking place in the Diocese that he couldn’t get from sitting in his office or from merely asking questions of the Bishop.
“For example, I would see the same altar servers multiple times and give a little encouragement. I’m thankful for that opportunity to have been there. With confirmations scheduled I had the night after night, and woke the next morning and went into the office to deal with the next thing.”
After nearly 10,000 public Masses in 20 years, the Bishop, when time allowed, would stand in the back of the church and everyone could come to speak with him. “Sometimes it was to get feedback that wasn’t always really positive but necessary, but still at other times it was to rejoice that we had a common relative, or they knew somebody I knew from wherever. It was about making a connection.”
Bishop Dewane said he feels blessed to have been able to lead the Diocese of Venice for nearly 20 years.
“When I started, there was a big learning curve because there are some things that you know how to do and others that were challenging. I adapted and worked hard to ensure everything I did was for the pastoral welfare of the entire Diocese.”
Future
Looking ahead, Bishop Dewane has no clear plans for his future aside from stepping back to let Bishop Biosca lead unencumbered.
“I’m just going to wind down a little bit more prayer time, reading time and rest. Certainly, I’ll be here and be able to assist if called upon to respond to Bishop Biosca. But my life will be a little bit different. I won’t do those five events in a day. It won’t be my job.”
The Bishop will also use his time to catch up with people here in the Diocese whom he has befriended, that his schedule didn’t allow and could only say hello to once in a while. “That will be nice.”
While he won’t miss his busy schedule, he said he is going to make himself available to cover Masses for priests for vacations or emergencies.
“I’m not going away. I am just stepping back.”
