Interview with Bishop Michael Burbidge

0:06K. So this afternoon, I'm here with Bishop Michael Burbage, who is the Bishop of the Diocese of Arlington, which is the, I guess you'd say, the seat diocese for Divine Mercy University. And, first, just wanna thank you, Bishop Burbage, for your time to be with us today and, talk a little bit about DMU's mission. Sure. Sure. Thank you, father Sikorsky. As I often say, you've heard me say it many times in public, Divine Mercy University is a is a crown jewels, a treasure, within our diocese. I'm so grateful, for the beautiful work being carried out, Divine Mercy University. And I'm so glad, so happy, that the Diocese of Arlington is is a place you call home. Well, thank you to Crown Jewel. We really appreciate your encouragement.

0:51And, you know, you've been with us for some significant events. You've been to our graduation. You've been we inaugurated our, Grotto To The Blessed Virgin Mary. And then you were recently with us, for a mass with the students Right. Not too long ago. And the blessing of the new office or the new university. Yeah. He blessed he blessed. He had the blessing of the new of the new university when he first moved in and made sure he blessed the fundraising office twice. Yes. Yes. Reproduction of holy water there. Yeah. This is not a this is not a fundraising video, but, you know, he was gracious to do that. Absolutely. So, Bishop, another diocese recently finished its strategic plan, and one of the priorities that was marked out in that strategic plan was mental health.

1:35Could you talk a little bit about what what made the diocese put that in there as as a priority, mental health, you know, for for the the mission of the diocese? Sure. It was the people of God. It was the people of God because in formulating our strategic plan, we did, close to a 100 listening sessions, as well as surveys, because we wanted the strategic plan not to come from the diocesan offices down, but to come from the people, that we are so privileged to serve as we strive to meet their pastoral and their spiritual needs. And so over and over again, we heard from, the faithful that the need to address mental health issues would be one of the greatest ways the diocese could support families and family life.

2:33Because people would often say if it's not our immediate family, there's someone in our extended family who is dealing with a mental health issue. And if the church is desiring to be present, with an issue that is impacting, so many lives, then this is an issue that we have to become more involved in, as we decide how we're going to use our resources to help others. So it really came from the people. So that's interesting. So the people themselves are asking the church or asking the diocese here in Arlington for more mental health services, which is kind of interesting. They didn't go to the state, Right. They didn't go to the county. They decided they went to the church. And, so you must see something connected to mental health that where faith and and the Catholic approach to it would make a difference.

3:29What are your thoughts on that? That that, you know, if you go for mental health services, the need for integrating that with the Catholic faith. And that was also, father, a message that was repeated, over and over again For a long period of time, the diocese has been involved in mental health, work, especially through our Catholic charities and making sure that counseling was available. And yet, the awareness of what the service provided, by the Catholic church is out there. That we are not dealing only with experts in mental health and clinical issues, but we are coming from a perspective, rooted in Catholic anthropology, the Catholic view of the human person. And our pastors, including the faithful, have also repeated this need.

4:22We need more Catholic counselors, therapists, or those who understand the human person from a Catholic perspective, to whom we can refer our parishioners. Because sadly, many of our parishioners are, involving themselves or seeking help for their children, through other counseling services. Where when that Catholic anthropology understand human person is lacking, it's not helping. In fact, it's it's somewhat detrimental at times. And so this is why there is this plea, and I I would say literally a plea, for us as a Catholic church, as the Diocese of Arlington, to be more involved in this ministry. I've heard I've heard that there are many wonderful priests here in the diocese and talking to them as well, I've gotten that same sense that they really are looking for people, for therapists and counselors who who understand not only the faith, but but the Catholic perspective on life, on happiness, on flourishing.

5:23As a bishop, what ways or what kinds of situations, if you could give an example or two, where you really see that that can make a big difference in a person's life? Sure. And just a word or a comment about our priests, in understanding that, they have been trained philosophically, theologically, and have been given, you know, some courses, in counseling. But the key and and they understand as well is that as certain situations, we've reached a point where that's beyond my expertise. And so they'll be able to say that, that at this point, what you need is someone who has the training, in this work, who is an expert matched with this this Catholic, theology, that would accompany, the counseling.

6:14And so, you know, the the need surfaces, on on many levels. The need for counseling in, you know, people dealing, with addictions, all kinds of addictions, whether it's, drugs, alcohol, pornography, the list continues. People are being, in this in this day and age with so many temptations, so many, things that get control of people. How do you how do you help people, with addiction, spiritual affliction, of course, those who are have been victims of, sexual abuse, whether it be by clergy or, coaches or volunteers or or or whatever. And these are areas where, we have reached a level where someone with, the the training is is so necessary and the priests want to be able to have a confidence when they refer people, to counselors.

7:17Right. The priests need confidence. You know, something Saint John Paul the second wrote once. He was speaking to a group of psychiatrists and psychologists, and he mentioned that in the confessional, the priest has to be careful not to cross into areas where he it's none of his expertise and vice versa. Right? And the professionals shouldn't get into spiritual or things as well. So that working together with priest, priest and therapists collaborating and and sometimes that can be very helpful, where you have the priest talking to the therapist to try to help someone through a very difficult situation. Excellent. That combination. And then again, that's our understanding of the human person too.

7:57Spiritual, emotional, you know, bodily. It's the whole person that we try to help. And, of course, this is the mission of Divine Mercy University is to is to give that training. There are courses in theology and philosophy, philosophical anthropology. Would there be a need in the Catholic schools if someone's aspiring to study, say, at Divine Mercy University and they wanna work as a school counselor? Do you see that as something that would be helpful for the diocese? I'm smiling, as you speak, because last night, and yesterday afternoon, I were at two events in our diocese. One was at a Catholic school, a visit I had, and the other was a Catholic charities event. And on both occasions, as of yesterday, that plea was made to me, bishop.

8:52And it was directly referred to Divine Mercy University. I was going to tell you after our interview here today, but we might as well share it now. Is Bishop, is there any way Divine Mercy University could consider, training people to be school counselors? Because we know with regulations and things like that, for someone to go into the school as a counselor, not just as a social worker or or whatever. I'm sure there's that training that needs to be given. And, Divine Mercy University surfaced in our conversations and said, our schools, across the board, post COVID, and the toll that that has taken, on certainly faculty and parents, but in a, you know, in a powerful way, sadly, on students is very significant.

9:44And the students the number of students seeking counseling in the school community, has increased, many times related to, stress and anxiety, sometimes despair, and also with relationships. But our schools, we don't have enough school counselors. And of course, in our Catholic schools, we want those who are Catholic school counselors. So I think there is a, a new wing, might be considered there at Divine Mercy. Well, so I'm happy you said that, you know, we're not as fast as the diocese in getting our strategic plan finished, but that's one of the things that we've been talking about. And it'd be interesting to follow-up on that. Yeah. And I know my team would be very happy to work with you on that.

10:31Yeah. As a bishop and you're a former rector of a seminary. Right. To what degree and how do you see psychology helping in things like priestly formation and then later on priestly life, just helping priests be persevere in a vocation? And is there for someone who might aspire to to help and help serve priests? Do you have any thoughts on on that? Sure. It's really a blessing in what has evolved or has developed in seminary formation. There was a time, certainly when I was in the seminary, but also when I was an administrator seminary, where there was not a real appreciation for the role of psychology, psychotherapy, counseling. There wasn't the understanding, that was necessary. It was almost a necessary evil, rather than something that should have been integrated into the life of the young man preparing for priesthood and one day God willing something he would need as a priest.

11:40Fortunately, thank the good Lord, we are way beyond that right now. When you talk about psychology, psychotherapy, counseling in seminaries now, it's seen as a very valuable tool, a very valuable resource. One reason is because many of the young men studying for priesthood right now, have been recipients of that ministry in their own lives, where fortunately, there has been a shift in people being able to acknowledge, the need for help, the need, the understanding of how important it is to be transparent, to admit one's struggles and say, I can't do this myself. And so now, these are the same men preparing for priesthood to say, I wanna be able, to, in a sense, give back what I have received.

12:28So please incorporate within our seminary formation, some of these tools on a basic level because they're there, of course, as you know. The curriculum is very heavy on theology and, philosophy and and all the things that are necessary, but please give us some training. And I'm I'm so pleased to see this shift. Yes. You know, and and I think there was a lot of skepticism in the church over the, you know, over the decades, almost a century or so, maybe from the time of Freud where you have a sort of hardcore, almost atheistic approach to psychology where it was seen as a way in some ways as a replacement for faith. Right. But I think there are a lot of good things that have been happening. The trends are pointing in the right direction.

13:15There's one there's an area called positive psychology, which stresses, virtues. Mhmm. There's also a new thing, the narrative psychology, more of like telling the story of a person's life and putting fitting everything together Right. Into one and it's on a secular level, but you can kinda square that with, hey, God has a plan for your life and that you can learn from your faults and even your sins can can help you become better longer term. And so it goes very well with faith. So there are some really good things happening in the field. And and that's that's part of what we're trying to do in in Divine Mercy University is take take all the good that's there, and and give it the right orientation so that more people can, can benefit from it and actually can be a tool that helps to evangelize and helps to strengthen the kingdom to build the kingdom of Christ and strengthen the church.

14:06So you've had quite a bit of interaction so far with Divine Mercy Universe. What would you say is do you what is the thing that strikes you the most about our students and and and what we're doing that that can be of help to the church? Sure. I certainly it's very easy to sense the culture in which the students are learning. It's a very professional, and there's definitely, the spiritual pervades the the whole atmosphere there. So that's noticeable from the moment you walk into the doors. And then when you begin in on my visits to engage the students, you see a real love of God, love of the church, a desire to be faithful, a desire to be faithful, wanting to understand how we counsel and guide people in the truth and in love because that's ultimately the only way we're going to bring about healing is is in the truth.

15:06And that desire for them wanting not only the knowledge, excuse me, but also the tools to do so. I see a great passion. I see a great zeal, for the work at hand and and certainly commitment. I know it's hard work. I mean, what what they're being prepared for is very, very important. And so the the bar, the standards have to be high, understandably, but you understand that these are, people who are very dedicated and fully immersed in the work so that they can really excel, in a in a beautiful ministry and vocation, that God is entrusting to them. Yeah. Well, thank you. Yeah. That's that's we try to do the best. We have they have to be good. We have to be good scientifically, but also serious and good, devout in our faith and and our principles and virtues and all those kinds of things because if we wanna evangelize, it's it's not good enough just to be a good Catholic.

15:59Right. We have to be good at what we do. Exactly. I think that integration is just very evident, and, we are very, it's excellence in education, in this field of study. We want the best, and yet, you know, with the faith, that accompanies us along the way. And also, and you see this, and I've heard it in your talks and others, who have presented, an awareness that we have to depend ultimately on the grace of God. We are only instruments of the healing. That's right. The grace of God and kind of we have, one of our faculty members, doctor Paul Vitz, who's been one of the founding members. He'll be retiring this year. He's about 85 years old. He's written many books on this topic, but one of the things he said is that Saint John the Baptist should be the patron for psychologists because it's prepare the way of the Lord.

17:02That's beautiful. Our mission is to kind of prepare the way and then God can do the rest, but to kind of work through the human issues so that people can open up to receive God's grace, to receive his forgiveness, whatever whatever graces or blessings they might need to move forward. What a beautiful insight. That's a beautiful insight. One more question. Sure. So sometimes we have students who who have gone through Catholic schools, they might go to a Catholic university, and they're considering a career. They wanna do a career in mental health, and, they had the question, they struggle sometimes with this, I've gone to Catholic schools my whole life. Maybe I need to, in my professional life, go to a secular institution to get my training.

17:50That way it'll give me, you know, a better idea of what the world is like and so forth and that can be a valid concern, I say. What would you have any advice or guidance on them as to what they should what else what might they also consider before picking another Catholic school, someone like somewhere, like Divine Mercy University? This is a trade off on some of that, but Yeah. Would you say, yeah, to a person who's struggling with that decision? Sure. I would say that, you know, first of all, you don't have to go to a secular university, to understand, understand, what is being, taught, and spoken and the untruths and the deceits out there. They're around it all the time, and they see it, unfortunately.

18:35But that's the reality. My concern is that sometimes that thought of I have to since I've been in Catholic schools, and now I have to go to a secular school, so I get a fuller picture. My concern is, well, then you put yourself even at greater risk of of losing, what you've been what you've gained because there will be a a a great concentration in trying to take that away from you. Rather, you know, if you do twelve years of Catholic, schools, let's say, you're really just beginning. You're just beginning. And so, a university like Divine Mercy University is allow us now to take you to the next level, in your Catholic faith, in in your Catholic training, and especially as we go deeper in the philosophical, theological principles that you necessarily could not get in in four years of high school, for example.

19:35And so I would very much encourage, anyone who is discerning, this field, to take very, very seriously, Divine Mercy University, who is well equipped to talk about the issues of the day. We're not we're not putting people in some sort of bubble. We talk about the issues of the day at the university because these are the people we're gonna be trained to help. But in the process, we're gonna support you in an atmosphere, in a culture, with professors, who could lift you up, and and encourage you, rather than you kind of being in a position, where that is kinda diminished in your life. So I I I'm definitely, would be encouraging our, people pursuing these fields to discern Catholic education, divine including Divine Mercy University.

20:29Well, thank you and encouragement and and thank you for so much encouragement you've given to Divine Mercy University and to me as well as we move forward in this mission, which, you know, this is, like everything else with the church these days, it's it's a challenge. They sometimes they can be difficult, but, but we're on the winning side and and and Easter Sunday always follows good fight is what else. We are on a winning side. We we have the truth, and we have the desire to serve God and his people. I'm more entrusting all of our work to the Lord, to his blessed mother. We have great leadership in you, father. We have great leadership in you. We have a great faculty, and we're we're praying for all of you, because your success will continue to be a great blessing, to the church, to this diocese, and to the people of God.

21:17Well, thank you now. And before I don't wanna make myself look like a liar instead of the last question, but would it be out of the question to give a electronic blessing to Divine Mercy University? Absolutely. No. I I certainly will. I we do ask, almighty God your blessing upon, the university, its faculty, its students, and all those that we hope to serve, that we will be ever confident in your power, to heal us, to forgive us, to make us strong in mind, body, and spirit. And may we all who participate in the work of Divine Mercy University renew our commitments to be your instruments of these precious gifts that you give to us through Christ our Lord. May God bless you and all your initiatives, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

22:02Amen. Thank you, Father. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it.