A Virginia paper looks at the new bishop and his theological advisor who will embark upon the interesting task, among others, of approving speakers in the diocese. Also at issue are the many diocesan commissions.

But within the bounds of orthodoxy, he said, DiLorenzo “is very broad-minded when it comes to the church. No community or activity will be marginalized as long as it’s authentically Catholic.”

DiLorenzo himself has been reviewing the membership of the 24 diocesan commissions that represent special interests such as youth, social justice, black Catholics, and people with AIDS.

Sullivan created many of the commissions to help advise him, and he met periodically with panel members. Under church regulations, the groups were automatically deactivated when he retired last September.

As it happens, many years ago, I served on the Richmond diocesan Women’s Commission for a couple of years. Good God in Heaven, what a waste of time that was – and I think at heart, this is the issue with these commissions. In my experience they do nothing and all the members should be thanked and sent off to do something that actually brings them face to face with the people they’re called to serve, instead of composing pamphlets about them.

(Which is the fruit of the two years I witnessed – two years of unending “sharing of stories” – that was what composed the morning hours of our day-long quarterly meetings – and finally, the decision that pamphlets on resources on domestic abuse issues should be compiled and placed in parish vestibules. I am not making this up.)