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Head of St. Luke Institute resigns

Carol Zimmermann | Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON – Msgr. Stephen Rossetti, who spent the last 12
years at the helm of St. Luke Institute, a treatment center
in Maryland for priests and religious with addictions or
psychological problems, announced July 8 that he will be
stepping down as the institute’s president and CEO in
October.

The priest-psychologist who started working at the institute
in 1993 and became its president in 1997 described the
ministry as a “dream assignment for a priest” primarily
because of its “multiplier effect,” meaning that once a
priest or religious leaves the facility to go back to
ministry – as 80 percent of St. Luke’s clients do – they in
turn help hundreds of others.

Clients at the institute suffer substance addictions, eating
disorders, sexual behavior problems, depression or other
psychological problems. They either seek help themselves or
are referred by their religious superiors or bishops.

Msgr. Rossetti will be succeeded by Father Edward Arsenault
of the Diocese of Manchester, N.H. Father Arsenault has spent
the last 14 years in both pastoral work and diocesan
administration, most recently as moderator of the curia and
vicar for administration.

In an interview with Catholic News Service the day after
announcing he will be leaving St. Luke, Msgr. Rossetti
described the role of ministering to priests and religious as
being “at heart of the church” because of the critical work
these men and women do.

He noted that it is often difficult for priests and religious
to admit they need help “because they are so used to helping
others.”

When he announced his plans to current residents at St. Luke,
the group stood and applauded him. “It was one of the most
touching things,” the 58-year-old priest said.

It probably should not come as a surprise that clients feel
as they do about the priest who makes it a point to meet and
talk with each of the residents while also overseeing the
institute’s psychological and spiritual programs, researching
or writing books and articles, and giving talks to priests
and religious across the world on spirituality, sexuality and
mental health.

“I’ve walked side by side with them,” he said of the hundreds
of clients who come through the institute each year.

Msgr. Rossetti believes so strongly in this work that he said
he looked his successor “squarely in the eyes and said, ‘If
you love priests and religious and want to walk with them in
their woundedness, you have to be here.'” Otherwise, he
suggested, the ministry might not be for him.

Fortunately for St. Luke, Father Arsenault agreed with Msgr.
Rossetti’s challenge. Besides his other duties, the New
Hampshire priest also has served in parish ministry and has
been deeply involved in Catholic health care ministry.

Msgr. Rossetti, who spent six years in the Air Force as an
intelligence officer before becoming a priest for the Diocese
of Syracuse, N.Y., in 1984, is a licensed psychologist in
Maryland and Massachusetts and holds master’s degrees in
psychology, political science and theology and a doctorate in
psychology.

He was an associate pastor in two Syracuse-area parishes
before he began to specialize in work related to the
psychological treatment of priests, nuns and brothers.

He said he is stepping down from his work because nearly 17
years “is a long time to be at one place.”

He plans to join the faculty of The Catholic University of
America in Washington to teach in the school of theology and
religious studies. Although he said he looks forward to being
a mentor to seminarians, he also plans to discuss with his
bishop if there is other work he should do.

Above all, he indicated that he hoped his new ministry might
have a “low key” aspect to it.

That certainly would not describe his work seven years ago
when the priest was often called upon either to explain or
help the church respond to the clergy sex abuse crisis.

Looking back, he describes that time as “the most difficult
part” not only of his ministry but of U.S. church history.

But he also said the Church experienced grace during that
time.

Msgr. Rossetti served as a consultant to the U.S. Bishops’ Ad
Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse that drafted the “Charter for
the Protection of Children and Young People.”

He said the charter – requiring every diocese to have an
abuse-prevention program in place – reflects the church’s
aggressive response to abuse and has become a model for other
groups across the country.

Msgr. Rossetti stressed that he did not want to seem
“Pollyannaish” but he is convinced there are “signs of a new
springtime” for the priesthood as vocations are slightly
increasing. He said church growth after such hardship follows
the spiritual principle “Out of death comes new life.”

He is currently working on a study of priests’ wellness.
According to initial findings, he said, the average priest is
well-adjusted and happy, which does not surprise him even
though it goes against the impression often given by the
media.

The book might be ready next year with his new schedule, but
as he put it, “It depends on how fast I can write.”

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