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PDF versionComputer tool aims to optimize priest assignments
Jun. 23, 2009
(Pat Marrin)
Mission Management
So few priests. So many parishes. What's a bishop to do? This question may rightly belong in a Sunday New York Times' crossword puzzle, but it's real and it's at the center of long-term planning in dioceses around the country. It becomes more complicated when priests' language skills are a key factor in parish assignments. Some dioceses, for example, have parishes that are predominantly Spanish-speaking, but there are not enough Spanish-speaking priests to cover the parishes.
What's the answer to this far-reaching question?
One man had an idea. Les Maiman, then chancellor and fiscal officer for the San Angelo diocese in west Texas, asked himself: What if we built an optimization tool that could create priest assignment models in an objective manner?
With this idea in mind, Maiman called upon James Dyer, a professor he got to know while getting his master's in business administration at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. Dyer in turn engaged his colleagues, John Butler and Leon Lasdon. This brain trust created a powerful process tool called "decision-support system" (DSS).
"Jim, John and Leon provided the candlepower and did all the heavy lifting, while my contribution was to facilitate the needs and terms of the diocese's ecclesial/pastoral environment," said Maiman, who now serves as executive director of the San Angelo-based Diocesan Fiscal Management Conference.
The San Angelo diocese was used as the guinea pig for the system. The diocese encompasses almost 38,000 square miles, the approximate size of the state of Ohio. Its 72 parishes range from 7 to 2,000 families and it has a total Catholic population of 84,000. When the project began, the staffing plan projected that 40 priests would be available to provide services in these 72 parishes. Of these 40 available priests, 28 are bilingual and the remaining 12 are English-only.
The objective of DSS is to support long-range diocesan planning with a focus on the impact of a decreasing number of available priests and with changes in the mix of languages that the available priests speak, according to a technical paper written by these experts (published by Interfaces, March 2009).
The heart of the software is a mixed-integer programming optimization model. This is a complicated topic. In short, DSS analyzes a lot of data such as total number of available priests, the number of years they are available, the languages they speak, the number of Spanish-only, English-only and bilingual parishes, travel distances between parishes and the number of sacraments needed at the parishes.
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Church law and diocesan policies specify minimum and maximum number of services to be held in each parish on a weekend.
With this and other data, the system creates different scenarios about future priest assignments, who should serve what parishes or cluster of parishes, for how long and when.
According to Dyer, "My colleagues and I were interested in applying modeling techniques to a unique problem." By the way, none of the professors is even Catholic.
The popular Microsoft spreadsheet software, Excel, was used as the gateway into and out of the optimization model. Butler created the Excel interface and Lasdon wrote the optimization code.
Maiman points out "that DSS is not a policy or ecclesiology and does not mean that the priesthood is somehow reducible to sacramental optimization. Rather, DSS is an extraordinary 'what if' tool, a process that opens up different combinations."
The cost to develop this prototype software was minimal. There were no licensing fees to use the software, General Algebraic Modeling System, because the company (GAMS Development Corporation) waived the fees because of the unique nature of the project. The professors donated their research time.
San Angelo's bishop, Oblate Michael Pfeifer, and some priests were given a thorough demonstration of the optimization tool. Afterward Pfeifer wrote to the development team.
"While I doubt that many of us [the bishop and diocesan priests] fully appreciate what is going on under the hood, we clearly do see and appreciate how this tool is enhancing both our pastoral decision-making process itself and the resultant quality of such planning," said Pfeifer.
The bishop emphasized that this tool offers three key dimensions. First, it provides "a fresh and objective first look at priest deployment alternatives, [which goes a] long way towards truncating the understandable concerns of parishioners and priests alike for the interests of particular parishes." Second, "critical to our decision-making is understanding the priest supply system." Third, "knowledge, of course, immediately leads to an enhanced ability to offer an informed pastoral response," said Pfeifer.
The DSS was created with specific variables in mind, those of the San Angelo diocese. The optimization tool is not available "off the shelf." However, if a diocese wanted to use it, they could, says Maiman. "The optimization process is proven and it would still need to be adjusted to reflect specific diocesan variables," he said.
Said Dyer, "It was a rewarding experience for us and an area where we had not worked before."
Tom Gallagher is a regular contributor to NCR. Ideas for a "Mission Management" story? Contact him at tom@tomgallagheronline.com.
Online resources
For those interested in reading the research paper, visit interfaces.journal.informs.org/cgi/reprint/39/2/133. Les Maiman can be contacted at Diocesan Fiscal Management Conference at LesMaiman@dfmconf.org.
What a novel approach! Just
What a novel approach!
Just the concentrated thinking required in determining the variables & criteria for prioritizing them will be of benefit to the whole process overall.
Why doesn't the diocese release a brief article on these points as a guide for educating other bishops (and the laity on the receiving end)?
My, how very clinical! One of
My, how very clinical!
One of the greatest difficulties associated with the current shortage of ordained celibate men is that the priest has devolved from pastor to functionary: come in, say Mass, perform a few baptisms, rearrange a schedule to preside at a funeral or two, and on to the next parish. This computer program seems only to exacerbate the problem. It might seem wonderful to be able to make assignments based on "job qualifications" and traveling distance; however, where does the personality and character of the men being assigned fit into the picture?
Right now, we are in midst of the annual "June changeover," and our church is hoping to get a real pastor this time -- someone who (1) has some inkling of how to interact with children in the parish school; (2) is not the usual 40-something case of delayed adolescence; (3) truly values the parish elderly who, without fanfare, manage all the parish outreach to the poor and marginalized; (4) understands that the Liturgy is worship, not a stage on which he is to prance about dramatically and act as if he is in a mystical trance; (5) knows how to deliver a sound, theologically-based homily without the magical superstitious claptrap of the old devotionalisms.
Yes, we continue to hope, but given the guys out there, we doubt that even one of the above desirable traits will be found in the next one assigned. If it were a case of "any functionary will do," the computer program would work well. But the human element, the personality and individual character traits are so much more important.
Further, instead of fashioning computer programs, why not redirect that energy into an organization to stand up to Rome and petition the re-instatement of the married clergy and the acknowledgment of Womenpriests?
We cannot go much longer skirting the real issue of the shortage of available priests, but a computer program -- no matter how efficient it is -- will never be the answer or even approximate a solution.
Christa: When will you learn!
Christa:
When will you learn! The preservation of mandatory celibacy is infinitely more important than attracting and retaining pastoral priests.
Thank you, Christa. You are
Thank you, Christa. You are right on target with your comments. As a former member of a diocesan priests' personnel board, I can tell you that there is no computer program that could possibly take into consideration all the vagaries of human nature (over and above the technical/canonical qualification for the pastorate), that need to be taken into account when considering a priest for a particular parish. Even God's Grace is sometimes thwarted in the process currently used by most dioceses.
I was wondering if this
I was wondering if this concept was brought up at the Bishops' meeting in San Antonio. . .it would certainly have been more creative than some of the topics.
Christa, My first reaction
Christa,
My first reaction upon reading your first paragraph, was "no, you don't understand; it's only a tool, not an end in itself." But then I read the rest of your comment, and I can see that you have not had good experiences, which may have colored your comment.
My first thought still stands, however. I don't believe anyone is suggesting that this modeling tool be used INSTEAD OF the current system. It is only a tool, but it can do some of the work, and offer fresh perspectives, to those who do make the decisions.
I have seen what appears to me to be "here's a priest, here's vacancy, voila!," without any (seeming) thought to fit, meaning looking at the man's skills and personality as meeting the need (or not) of the parish's needs and culture. That doesn't work, either.
Having said all that, I do agree that rethinking who might lead a parish, even former clergy or married clergy, and being open to the Holy Spirit's work in this rethinking, is critical.
Ordain married men and sell
Ordain married men and sell the software at a garage sale.
Do bishops care about
Do bishops care about pastoring? They emphasize the "larger church" at the expense of the vitality of the cells of the Body of Christ, the parishes. They should stay home for a year, passing up the chances to be "potted palms" in alien sanctuaries and petty meetings. Preserve the cultic (not the shepherding) priesthood, especially control access to blessings and graces. The model of imperial governance has been well-honed at the Vatican and the chanceries. It now is being implemented in parishes, like sheep without a shepherd. The needs of the faithful are of no concern, just keep money flowing to offices. People are perceiving their donations aren't given to God at all, only to fearful, toady prelates who fear Vatican notice for failing to maintain the system. Hence, no chance of "promotion" or "elevation".
I prefer prayer of discerment
I prefer prayer of discerment in the Holy Spirit. Just call me old-fashioned and Christ centered...
hello, this is my first time
hello, this is my first time i visit here. I found so many interesting in your blog especially on how to determine the topic. keep up the good work.
Sulumits Retsambew
Computer Terms
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