A Little History of the Milwaukee Seminary

Wonder why the Milwaukee Seminary, (St Francis) closed? A few hints are right here in a National Catholic Reporter article dated 1997. The article compared/contrasted St Francis with Mundelein (St Mary of the Lake) seminary in Chicago.

The similarities began to dissolve in 1969. That was the year that Msgr. William Schuit became rector at St. Francis and quickly instituted a shakeup in curriculum and every other aspect of seminary life; it came to be known as the "Schuit shift."

(As you will see, the word "shift" actually has an extra letter.)

He and his associated took seriously and literally the Vatican II decrees that called for the church to immerse itself in the language, culture and concerns of the modern age.

Seminarians were no longer to be isolated from society; rather, they were to become general practitioners, well equipped to apply Christian values to modern society.

In 1970 the curriculum reflected the new emphasis. Among the new courses were: Introduction to Theology and the Personal Sciences, and Pastoral Analysis of Contemporary Social Problems.
Field education programs put students to work outside the seminary and traditional discipline was relaxed.

The most important change was the dramatic, full-scale opening of the school to lay students. "Our offerings are such that a good share of them can be of significant value to anyone interested in following the directives of the council, not just those seeking a full share of the priesthood," the rector said.

...As interest and numbers of lay students grew, the curriculum was revised to maintain at least some distinction between seminarians (working for a master of divinity degree) and the laity (earning a master's in theological studies). But lay students attended the same classes as the seminarians, mixed freely and were virtually indistinguishable (except for the women) from those destined for the priesthood

...In 1976 the Schuit shift ran into unexpected complications. By then laity accounted for 20 percent of the enrollment, and the number of seminary students had dropped from 144 to 94 in just three years

...St. Francis continued its commitment even as the enrollment shift continued. In 1985 laypersons constituted 50 percent of the student body; 28 of these were women and seven men

Oh, yah. Just like "altar girls:" the effect is to eliminate men, slowly but surely.

...St. Francis grew more troubled. In early 1985 a five-member, Vatican-appointed visitation team studied the seminary and issued a highly critical report. The still growing proportion of laity, it said, indicates "a shift in the primary purpose of the institution. ... Mixing of all students for classes or formation events may present a problem." The school respond, "We consider this to be a very favorable situation, given the kind of theological and pastoral situations encountered in the church today. It has provided us with a fine opportunity to clarify the identity and responsibilities of both the priesthood and all the baptized."

Typical Rembertian crap. Vatican says the sky is blue; Rembert says the sky is red. How'd that work out in real life?

In 1987 the school still had representatives from six dioceses; in 1997 it has none except for the five students studying for Milwaukee.

...Fr. Andrew Nelson, the present rector, acknowledged that some of the administrative decisions over the past 25 years were ill-conceived but insisted that the visitation team report "terribly misrepresented what we had done and were trying to do. ... The criticisms were deadly and gave us a negative image among bishops."

Perhaps in time seminarians will return in substantial numbers, but Nelson makes no apologies for St. Francis' present condition. "There is absolutely no future for this church without incorporating men and women together," he said. "That's how it is. I can see no other way!"

Well, Andy, you were wrong, just like you were in Green Bay.

There WAS "another way."

Close the joint.