By Dan Sullivan
Catholic Herald

Schneider retires from diocesan tribunal

SUPERIOR -- When Sr. Rita Schneider, a member of the School Sisters of Notre Dame of Mankato, Minn., started working in the Diocese of Superior chancery office in 1981, she was a pioneer of sorts. Schneider was the first person to hold the position of procurator and advocate for the diocesan tribunal.

Schneider retired from her nearly 24-year career with the diocese June 30. "I started out with a desk and a chair," Schneider said. "It was kind of hard at first because there were no written instructions for me. It was something I had to learn on the job."

Fr. Ray Schoone, a past diocesan judicial vicar, now retired from active ministry, was instrumental in implementing the procurator and advocate position. "Fr. Schoone saw the need and he was the one who hired me," Schneider said.

Schneider, a former Catholic school teacher, became interested in tribunal work after assisting with both Marriage Encounter and Engagement Encounter weekends. These retreat experiences help couples build skills in order to strengthen their marriage.

"As a teacher, I began to realize there were a lot of broken families," Schneider said. "I said something had to be done to help strengthen marriages. These (retreats) were interesting experiences. I gained from the couples and they gained from me."

At first, Schneider was not sure if she wanted to apply for a position dealing with failed marriages. "I decided to try it and I have been here for over 23 years," she said.

In her position as procurator, Schneider represented the person petitioning for an annulment. As an advocate, she guided people through the annulment process.

Past studies and previous work as a teacher helped Schneider prepare for this job. "I took a lot of psychology courses because I enjoy psychology and that helped me in this position," she said. "My work as a teacher helped me to deal with people. It helped me to organize my work. Although I was not professionally trained to do this job, I came well prepared."

Schneider did attend workshops on tribunal procedures and in canon law, once in the position. "Although tribunals may have the basic same rules, they may operate differently from diocese to diocese, all over the world," she said.

Fr. James Tobolski, judicial vicar, who worked with Schneider for 17 years, praised the skills she brought to the job. "She's and a very good listener," Tobolski said. "In working with petitioners or respondents, she is a teacher. She helps to explain to people church law; she puts things in perspective. Some of the concepts are quite complicated and she makes it as easy as possible to understand."

The tribunal office may receive some 110 petitions a year from those looking to annul their marriages. An annulment is a decision that the apparent marriage was null from the start. "The work is getting very complicated because each party may have had a previous marriage," said Patti Holt, secretary in the tribunal office since 1996. "The whole process is complicated and misunderstood."

A number of steps are taken before an annulment is finalized. "The last one to approve an annulment is in (the Archdiocese of) Milwaukee," Schneider said. "We are the first place that people come to in the diocese. We write up the annulment as we see it and then it's sent to Milwaukee for another review. There are a lot of steps and people find it hard to wait."

Schneider received personal satisfaction from couples who completed their annulment and said the work was worth it. "It helped them to heal," she said. "It helped them to reconcile with the church. It helped them to see themself and understand what happened in their life."

Priests have told Schneider of other joys people get after receiving their annulment. "Priests tell me that I don't see the happiness of the people, once they get the annulment," she said. "We have scores of people that have come back to the church because they have gone through the annulment process. They have also been healed of the failure of their former marriage."

Holt said she would miss Schneider's compassion. "She never lost her patience with me and was more than happy to help me whenever I had any questions," she said.

Although it was not a requirement of her job, Schneider often used this same compassion in an attempt to comfort those seeking an annulment. "Divorce is very upsetting for people," Holt said. "When people came into the office they may have felt intimidated, but Sr. Rita had a way of putting people at ease. Then they opened up and told their story."

Besides her work in the chancery, Schneider has been active at St. Francis Xavier Parish during her years in Superior. "I sing in the choir and have been a song leader for many years," she said. "I've done some Bible sharing and prayer groups."

Tobolski, who also serves as pastor at St. Francis, said Schneider would be missed when she leaves town. "But there are always changes in life and I wish the very best for her," he said.

Schneider was also instrumental in reorganizing the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Superior. "I helped to get it revitalized," she said.

The oldest of eight children, Schneider and her siblings were raised in Loretto, Minn., and attended a Catholic grade school operated by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. After the eighth grade, she attended Good Counsel Academy in Mankato, Minn., and entered the convent in 1950. "I've been in quite a few things," she said. "Some of it was my own choosing because I wanted to strengthen that aspect of the church."

Schneider is not looking to slow down, but she is planing to live in community with other members of her order at a parish in Minnesota.

< Local Archives

© Superior Catholic Herald, 2005