A Future History of the United States

Ron’s revelation of his actual position of authority in the Church shook Tim to the core. He had been working with, living beside, and at times even arguing with, a person second only to the Prelate in the Church hierarchy. His first reaction was disbelief. However, as Ron continued his explanation, many things that had been puzzling began to make sense.

The frequent absence of Ron and some others; their knowledge of Church rules and regulations; the access they had to high ranking members of the Church; all these could be explained only if Ron’s statement was true.

Once Tim accepted this, he understood he was not just playing a role; he actually was the Archbishop of St. Louis. It was a humbling realization. He had felt the pressure to perform before, but it was nothing to the feeling of the weight of the world on his shoulders he experienced now. The responsibility of directing the instruction of thousands of Church members by leading their bishops and priests was now his.

He sat quietly, digesting this new information. He longed for the old days, days that really were not that old, when he could finish his day at work and return to his home for a quiet evening and peaceful night. Realizing that those days were over and could never be recovered, he resolved to do the best he could with his new responsibilities. Finally, he turned to Ron, “O.K. What’s next?”

“Dinner,” was Ron’s prompt reply; “and no business discussion during meals.”

Several of the priests who had come in response to Tim’s call for a meeting the next morning were present at the meal. Ron’s admonition concerning business discussion was ignored as they were intent on bringing Tim up to date on the disturbances that had affected the community for the past week.

One observation presented by a couple of those present was that things in the city had seemed much quieter since Tim’s speech that afternoon. They wondered if it was an indication of real improvement, or simply the calm before the storm. They all agreed that time would bring the answer to this question.

At the conclusion of the meal, Tim told everyone that the days activities had left him exhausted, and he wanted to get a good night’s sleep so he could be fresh for the meeting Saturday morning. Then he added, “My staff will be meeting with me in my office for prayer and discussion of the events of the day in thirty minutes. I invite and encourage all of you to join us.”

He noticed the priests looking at each other, “That’s an invitation, not an order. I do wish you would join us, but I will not insist. If you will excuse me, I need to prepare myself for this meeting.” With that comment he stood and walked toward the office, never looking back at those present.

Mark was present at the table. Taking the hint, he hurried off to advise the rest of the staff of the upcoming meeting. The priests remained at the table for some time longer, discussing among themselves what they thought of their new spiritual leader. While their first impression was favorable, it was clear they were in a “wait and see” state of mind. The extremes of Archbishop Rand’s tenure had not been apparent in his early days in control.

The staff meeting, though short, reinforced their positive impression. Tim was clearly a humble man who held a deep felt religious belief. He gave the same attention to a comment from the church janitor as he did to one from a priest. When someone criticized a remark he had made in his afternoon speech, his response was, “I understand your concern, I will apologize publicly in church the first chance I have.”

When the discussion died down Tim said, “I truly appreciate your participation. We all must continue to learn throughout our lives. The best way for us to learn is from each other. Our only concern should always be to serve God through our service to each other and those we minister to. Let’s close this meeting with prayer. I hope to see each of you at our staff meeting at 8:00 A.M. tomorrow.

He bowed his head, said a brief prayer, and then said, “Good night, everyone.” Rising from his chair he exited the room.

Tim was surprised the next morning when all but three of the fifteen priests he had summoned were present for his 8:00 A.M. staff meeting. Obviously, some had arrived during the night. The remaining three were from the churches furthest from the Cathedral, so their absence was not unexpected.

The morning staff meeting followed much the same pattern as the one the night before. When one of the priests asked a question about how to handle a situation in his church, Tim told him it would be more appropriate to discuss that during his meeting with the full contingent of priests. Nothing else out of the ordinary occurred. The meeting ended with prayer and a reminder to the priests that they would gather in the office as soon as all fifteen were present. When he specified all fifteen he noticed the glances between those present. They were thinking, “Has he not been informed of Thomas’ disappearance?”

By 11:00 fourteen priests had arrived with Thomas being the one still missing. Ron had advised Tim that Thomas would be making a grand entrance shortly after the meeting started. With everything else having already been prepared, Tim sent Mark to call the fourteen to the church office.

He began the meeting by saying, “I thank you for your prompt response to my request for your presence. I have already met some of you, the rest I hope to get to know during this meeting. Before we get into any discussion, let us begin with a word of prayer.”

“Lord God, we humbly enter into your presence, asking your guidance, strength and courage in accomplishing the work you have prepared for us. We know that alone we can do nothing. It is only through trust in You that Your will can be done. We ask that You look with favor on our small attempts to further Your Kingdom on this earth. Guide and direct our every word, thought, and deed. In the name of Your Holy Son we ask these things. Amen.”

As everyone looked up, the door opened and Thomas walked into the room. By the look of shock and disbelief on the faces of most of those present, it was clear he was the last person they expected.

In a calm voice Tim greeted him, “Welcome back, Thomas. Was your mission successful?”

Thomas entered the room as if his disappearance and reappearance were everyday occurrences. Acknowledging Tim and his new office, he replied, “Very much so, Your Excellency. Everything went exactly as planned. However, I was sorry to hear of the death of Archbishop Rand while I was gone. I am pleased the Prelate selected you to be our new Archbishop.” Nodding to the other priests he walked over and sat next to Ron.

“As the first item of business,” Tim began, “you are all aware by now that I have declared a period of mourning for Archbishop Rand.I have also ordered that during this period no cases of alleged heresy are to be brought before me.

“The leader of the Church has become concerned that in some of our districts the pursuit of heretics has become more of an obsession, and a desire to enrich the Church, than a true attempt to serve the cause of Christ. Over these next two weeks I will be conducting a review of the process used in the St. Louis district to be sure it conforms to the teaching of the Holy Scripture, and the goal of the Church. That goal is the salvation of souls for the Kingdom of God.

“During this review, if I find any procedures that conflict with this goal they must, and will, be changed. The only criterion to be considered is how these procedures help or hinder us in our service to the Lord.”

At this point one of the priests interrupted, “But, your Excellency, delaying the prosecution of heretics will cause a drop in income to the Church. We rely on proceeds from the disposal of heretic’s property for a substantial portion of our financial support. Reducing this will certainly affect our ability to serve the Lord.”

Tim paused for a few moments, as if to seriously consider the objection, before responding, “If our current procedures truly serve God, a delay of a few days will have no effect on our service. If they do not serve God, two weeks delay will not be long enough.”

At this point another priest interjected, “My bishop has ordered me to have five heretics ready to bring before you when he returns to my church Monday. He said he would prefer ten, but five would be sufficient. He was quite clear than any fewer than five would be cause for disciplining me. What shall I tell him?”

“Tell him to talk to me! Don’t worry about any discipline from him. He must get my approval before taking any action against any priest. Should he violate this rule, he will receive twice the discipline he imposes.”

One of the priests, who had remained silent to this point, finally spoke up. “It seems to me you are acting in a rather high handed manner. I’m beginning to think you had some hand in Rand’s death!” Standing up he raised his voice, “I think you are an imposter! Suspending heresy trials! Limiting bishop’s right to discipline! Claiming the right to review and revise the rules we operate under!” Turning to the rest of the group he declared, “When my bishop gets here, he will take care of this upstart! Don’t pay any attention to him. Bishop Theodore should have been elevated to Archbishop.” He stopped abruptly when Ron stood up.

Without saying a word Ron walked over, stopped beside the belligerent priest, reached out, and ripped the hood off of his priest’s robe. He turned to face the rest of the group, “This man is no longer a priest. He is now a monk. He will be transported to the monastery in Elko, Nevada, where he will spend the rest of his natural life under a vow of silence.”

He addressed Thomas, “May I have the envelope from the Prelate?”

Without saying a word, Thomas handed him a large, official looking envelope. Taking it Ron carefully extracted a letter from within. He didn’t even bother to look at the letter, but held it up, “This gives me the authority to take this action.” Handing it to Thomas he commanded, “Read this aloud.”

Walking over to stand beside Tim’s desk, he turned to face the group and began reading. “It says, ’I, Prelate Titus II, do hereby delegate to Bishop Extraordinaire Ronald Wells, the authority to appoint, confirm, reassign, discipline, and depose priests, bishops, Archbishops, and all other church officials below the rank of Bishop Extraordinaire.

“’All official actions he takes in fulfilling his duties as Bishop Extraordinaire are to be received and acted upon as if I had personally taken such action.

“‘Anyone who questions or attempts to overthrow any decision or action of Bishop Extraordinaire Ronald Wells may, at his discretion, be sentenced to serve in a monastery, be placed in prison, or excommunicated from the fellowship of the Church.’ It is signed, Titus II, Prelate of The Conservative Universal Church of the United States of America. His seal is imprinted in wax above his signature.”

Thomas returned to his seat. Ron looked at the group of priests, “Any questions?”

The group sat in stunned silence. They knew the Church had only two officials known as Bishop Extraordinaire. These two officials ranked between the Archbishops and the Prelate. They had never expected to even see one in person, let alone be in a small meeting such as this with such a high ranking official present.

The silence was broken when the offending ex-priest fell on his knees in front of Ron and began sobbing. “I did not know, Your Excellency, I truly did not know. Please forgive me. My remarks were made in the passion of the moment. I meant only to support my bishop. Please forgive me.” The sounds of his sobbing filled the room.

Ron stood before him, unmoved by his pleading. “There are very few offenses that the Church deems sufficient to defrock a priest. To openly question the authority of an Archbishop is one of those few. It cannot be ignored. Once the words are spoken they cannot be brought back into your mouth and swallowed.

“Your punishment cannot be rescinded but it can be mitigated. If, after seven years, the Head Master of the Monastery finds that you have faithfully obeyed the vow of silence, he may release you from that vow.

“If, after an additional five years, you have performed all duties assigned you by the officials of the Monastery, you may be released to serve as an assistant to a priest in a church to be determined by the Head Master.

“If, after yet an additional five years, your conduct is deemed appropriate, you may be restored to the priesthood.”

Walking to the door he opened it and motioned to Mark to enter. “I had you waiting in case we needed your assistance. Please escort this man to the Cathedral. You will find two men waiting beside the altar. Turn him over to them. They will know what they are to do. When they have custody of him, you are to return here and come into the office.”

Turning back to the priests, “If any of you feel the same way he did, I advise you to speak up. If you feel you cannot completely endorse all actions taken by your new Archbishop, let me know now. Any of you who feel that way and say so will be relieved of their priestly duties, but will receive no further punishment. However, should we find later that you have worked to undermine the actions of your new Archbishop, or spoken against him in any way, your punishment will be worse than what you have just seen meted out.

“This is not meant to undermine the free exchange of ideas during meetings such as this. While an issue is under discussion, all points of view should be considered. In many cases your experience with those in your priestly care will give you a perspective that may not have been fully taken into account.

“Once a decision is made, you must abide by that decision. If you find that the decision is working to the detriment of the Church or the people, you may bring your objections up at a future meeting where, I assure you, it will be received in a Christian manner and given full and appropriate consideration.

“I must also request that you tell no one, and that includes your bishops, what you have learned about my official position in the Church. Unauthorized disclosure of this information is one of the other offenses which can lead to defrocking.”

The door opened and Mark entered. Turning to him Ron said, “Mark, you have faithfully served the Archbishop for many years. I know your official schooling was directed toward a career as a Church official. I am also aware that you have continued to study the Bible and the Church doctrine on your own time.”

Mark looked surprised but Ron continued without giving him a chance to speak. “Don’t bother to ask how I know all this. I wouldn’t tell you anyway.

“As you well know, having just escorted him out, we are now one priest short in this region. If you will accept it, I am prepared to offer you that position. Don’t say you are not qualified. You are. Will you accept?”

Mark was stunned by this unexpected offer. “Must I give you an answer right now? If possible I would like to pray about this, and give you my answer tomorrow.”

“That will be fine. But since I am confident you will accept, please stay in here for the remainder of this meeting.”

The rest of the meeting was uneventful. Routine matters were discussed until Tim finally said, “I think that’s enough for today. We will have these meetings regularly. I will also try to have priests from our outlying areas attend when possible. For now, let’s close with prayer.”

After the others had departed Tim turned to Ron, “Well, that got rather interesting.”

Ron replied, “You think so? Just wait until you see what happens at the bishop’s meeting.”