Posted by Jan den Breejen Dave Kelly on December 20, 2000 at 00:29:41:
Case text:
"Father Jack"
>
> We invite you to take a look at a situation
> which confronts those in Church Personnel Ministry.
> How would you deal with it?
>
> Father Jack was a perfectionist. Those who
> knew him remember a man of GREAT ENERGY and
> organization. They find it hard to deal with what
> has been happening now. And things seem to be
> getting worse.
>
> For the five years before being appointed
> pastor, Father Jack worked in six different
> parishes, but could not get along with the pastors.
> All were 'dictators who would not let him do
> anything'. Father Jack is now a pastor. One
> assistant after another leaves his parish with the
> same complaint: they simply cannot get along with
> him. His anger has been getting out of control more
> frequently, and he seems to spend more and more time
> alone. That PERFECTIONISM, which caused him to be a
> high achiever, has disappeared. He misses
> appointments, often starts Mass twenty minutes late,
> and sometimes does not appear at all.
>
> He is 'under the weather', particularly in the
> morning. He has headaches, muscle aches, shakiness,
> and lacks energy. He seems very concerned with his
> breath, and uses mouthwash at odd times of the day.
>
> Last fall a couple of classmates took him out
> for a cup of coffee to express their concern. He
> became very angry and got up and left the table. In
> January he exploded at the Priest's Senate meeting,
> told off the bishop and then didn't speak to anyone
> for the rest of the day.
>
> Last week the sexton was carrying out the
> trash and saw an odd looking package in the
> dumpster. It was wrapped so neatly that it looked
> like mail that had been thrown away by mistake. He
> checked it and found sixteen empty bottles: eight
> whiskey, six vodka, and two wine. He mentioned this
> to Father Jack who flew into a rage, accused him of
> lying, and threatened to fire him. Then Father Jack
> go into his car and drove off....
>
> Father Jack is in the progressive process of
> alcoholism, which is robbing him of his energy, his
> motivation, his spirit. It has also robbed him of
> his ability to understand himself and to observe his
> own behavior. Over time, untreated, it will rob him
> of his life.
>
> Have you ever encountered this situation? What
> worked? What didn't?
>
> Help for "Father Jack"
>
> In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul
> captures a destructive, compulsive experience which
> is well known to the alcoholic:
>
> I do not understand my own actions. For I do
> not do what I want, but I do the very thing that I
> hate.. I can will what is right, but I cannot do
> it.. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I
> do not want is what I do.. Wretched man that I am!
> Who will deliver me from this body of death? (Romans
> 7:15-24)
>
> The DSM-IV defines substance abuse as a
> "maladaptive pattern of substance use leading to
> clinically significant impairment or distress,
> manifested in failure to fulfill major role
> obligations at work, school, or home, and/or in
> situations in which it is physically hazardous,
> where it results in legal problems or in which it
> results in persistent or recurrent social or
> interpersonal problems."
>
> With the exception of legal problems, our
> "Father Jack" was a perfect match. This makes him
> clinically diagnosable as an alcoholic. In
> practical terms that means that he has totally lost
> control of his life and his behavior. He has been
> overtaken by "this body of death".
>
> When you are dealing with a "Father Jack" in
> your own diocese or community it is important to
> remember this image. Such people are no longer in
> control of their actions and given enough time they
> will be overtaken by death. Watching someone slowly
> die from alcohol induced liver failure,
> hypertension, or esophageal bleeding is not pretty.
> It is literally to see what it means to be overtaken
> by the body of death.
>
> So, what to do? "Father Jack" cannot make this
> call. You must force him into treatment. A problem
> many superiors or friends have is that they remember
> how "Father Jack" used to be. They remember the
> rational and reasonable person who could act on his
> own behalf. You look at him and assume that he still
> is; he is not. He is in no position to know what is
> good for him and is not able to deal with his
> problem on his own.
>
> In all likelihood he will fight you, curse
> you, refuse your orders, and try to find some way
> out. In the face of all of this you must remain
> resolute even though it is very difficult. This is
> not the old "Father Jack" that you are hearing. It
> is the voice of death coming from the body of a man
> who knows the right thing to do but has completely
> lost the ability to do it. He can learn to regain
> his ability to choose the right and to do it, but at
> this point he needs help - he needs your help. He
> needs what is called an intervention.
>
> Remember two points:
>
>
>
> a.. You do not have to do it alone. Someone
> in your diocese or community can help you set up an
> intervention.
>
> b.. Your alcoholic needs treatment, and by
> intervening you are initiating a process which will
> probably result in incredible anger. But consider
> this fact about recovery: there is no difference in
> the recovery rate of a person who goes to treatment
> voluntarily and the person who is forced to go.
> Every treatment center tells the same story -that
> anger is great fuel for recovery.
>
>
> If you have a "Father Jack" in your life, I
> feel for you. I have known many of them and felt
> the strain of dealing with them. I have also seen
> them come back to life, but never because they
> solved the problem themselves. Four friends of a
> crippled man sought to bring him to Jesus to the
> point that they climbed up on the roof and lowered
> him through it so he could get the help he needed.
> With your "Father Jack" you must do no less.
+++ Dave & Jan's analysis
Sounds very much like the
Conscientious/obsessive-compulsive type. For one
thing, the Serious/depressive type doesn't give the
appearance of "great energy." Just the opposite. This
thought of St. Paul is often used in talking about the
obsessive-compulsive. There is often a link between Conscientious Style and Serious Style. Alcoholics and depression correlate strongly too.
Dave/Jan