Growing into a vocation

At a time when the Catholic priesthood is under fire, one young man eagerly anticipates his ordination as the most recent step toward the life of service he always desired.

By SHARON TUBBS, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 18, 2002

ST. PETERSBURG -- When Bill Wilson Jr. was a child of about 8, idealism framed his whimsical notions of what he might be when he grew up:

A firefighter?

A police officer?

A Roman Catholic priest?

Today, firefighters and police officers are celebrated as heroes. But the national scandal over the Catholic Church's handling of priests accused of sexual misconduct has tainted the once wholesome image of men in Roman collars.

Still, Wilson says he will stand proudly today as he is ordained into the priesthood during an 11 a.m. service at the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle in St. Petersburg. Deacons James Ruhlin, who grew up in St. Petersburg, and Anthony Coppola, originally from New Jersey, will also be ordained in the Diocese of St. Petersburg's first ordination ceremony for priests this year.

Amid the crisis of confidence that has engulfed the Catholic Church, stepping into the vocation brings its challenges for an idealistic beginner like 27-year-old Wilson.

"It certainly makes me extremely conscious of boundaries, about the need to have very, very, very defined boundaries," Wilson said. "You don't do anything that can be misinterpreted."

Wilson says he has been somewhat frustrated by the image of the priesthood in the media in recent months. "A lot of the good stories about the good priests aren't being told," he said.

Wilson says he himself has some good stories to tell -- like how the Rev. Stephen Dambrauskas inspired him to enter the priesthood.

Dambrauskas was pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church in Land O'Lakes where Wilson lived with his parents, Bill Sr. and Gladys. In the rural community where many, like the Wilsons, still don't bother with answering machines and cell phones, the parish priest was the one to call on whenever there was a problem or need for advice.

A child in grammar school then, Wilson mostly observed Dambrauskas during Mass and other parish events: the way Dambrauskas carried himself, his smile, his friendliness, the respect he carried in the community.

"Wow, maybe this could be something that I could do with my life," Wilson thought.

It was a big decision, though. Wilson remained intrigued by a religious calling as he grew older, but not quite certain.

He attended Jesuit High School in Tampa, where theology teachers impressed him with their open-mindedness. They didn't push students into particular ways of thinking but "were willing to just accompany us on the journey," Wilson said.

But even Jesuit High has been touched by scandal. The Rev. Vincent Orlando was fired from Jesuit in late April after officials there learned the computer and math teacher had been accused of sexual misconduct with a minor 17 years ago in Houston. The Rev. Thomas Naughton, Jesuit's principal from 1969 to 1972, was removed as a Catholic priest in Orange County, Calif., after being accused of sexual misconduct with a youth at Jesuit College Preparatory School in Dallas in 1978.

And last week, the New Orleans Province of the Society of Jesus announced that a former Jesuit High student had lodged a complaint of sexual abuse against Thomas J. Hidding. The student claimed the abuse occurred in the early 1980s when Hidding was teaching at the school.

Wilson, who was busy packing and moving his belongings earlier this week, said he had not heard of the reports about Jesuit teachers and was surprised. "From my own experience in high school, the priests were outstanding," he said.

Wilson went away to Loyola University in New Orleans, where he earned a bachelor's degree in accounting. After graduation he asked himself a crucial question:

"What does God want me to do?"

Before, Wilson said, he had factored in his own feelings, trying to decide what he wanted for himself. Adding God's plan into the equation answered the question of his future that he had pondered since childhood. "All of it was just confirmed," Wilson said.

He contacted the diocese and began laying the foundation to live out his calling. After nearly six years of preparation at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Wilson graduated this month with master's degrees in divinity and theology, with special emphasis on church history.

Dambrauskas fondly remembers long talks with Wilson when he came home for visits.

"It makes me feel wonderful to think that someone I love very much is able to become a priest," said Dambrauskas, who baptized Wilson. "He'll make a fabulous priest. He's got a very pleasant personality, very affable."

Wilson, who is fluent in Spanish, will begin his first assignment in mid-June as a priest at St. Paul Catholic in Tampa, a sizable congregation in the midst of a significant Hispanic community.

"I'm extremely excited," he said. "This is the start of a new step in a lifelong journey."

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.