Fr. Jerry Pokorsky: The Bureaucracies of the Global Church

Fr. Jerry Pokorsky, Catholic Culture, Apr 28, 2025

Fr. Jerry Pokorsky is a priest of the Diocese of Arlington who has also served as a financial administrator in the Diocese of Lincoln. Trained in business and accounting, he also holds a Master of Divinity and a Master’s in moral theology. Father Pokorsky co-founded both CREDO and Adoremus, two organizations deeply engaged in authentic liturgical renewal. He writes regularly for a number of Catholic websites and magazines.

We cannot love mankind. Love is personal. Institutional pressures often neglect the hallowed organizational principle of human love: subsidiarity. The concept is simple. Small-scale institutional structures are usually preferable if they prioritize personal encounters, promote human dignity, and solve problems locally. Subsidiarity fosters church attendance. Small is beautiful.

Subsidiarity is on display in small-town life. In the 1960s, the owner of a Sylvania television shop was within walking distance of my home. He sold the finest black-and-white console TVs in the world, except for the Zenith TV shop across the street. The Sylvania shop owner called his Zenith neighbor his friendly competitor. When the Sylvania sales were strong, he directed some of his business to help his Zenith neighbor. Friendly competition did not mean crushing the opposition. A rising tide of prosperity floats all boats. …

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