By Tim Wenzl

Southwest Kansas Register

OLATHE - Bishop Marion F. Forst, 96, titular bishop of Leavenworth, died June 2, 2007, at Olathe Medical Center. He served as the second bishop of Dodge City from 1960 to 1976. Upon his resignation, he became auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. He retired in 1986. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living bishop in the United States. He was a priest 73 years and a bishop 47 years.

The Mass of Christian Burial took place June 7 at Noon in the chapel of Savior Pastoral Center in Kansas City, Kansas, with Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann as the main celebrant. Bishop Ronald M. Gilmore of Dodge City was the homilist. Internment was in Gate of Heaven Cemetery.

Others who joined Bishop Gilmore in representing the Diocese of Dodge City were: the Most Reverend Stanley G. Schlarman, bishop emeritus of Dodge City, now residing in Belleville, Ill., and Fathers John J. Maes and Anthony Suellentrop.

In his homily, Bishop Gilmore said that the priests of the diocese thought of Bishop Forst as the "Grandfather of the diocese."

"Those were 16 very eventful years," Bishop Gilmore said of Bishop Forst’s service in the Diocese of Dodge City, "because the council had ended and the implementation had begun. ...He did the very difficult, delicate work of implementing the changes that the council decreed."

Marion Forst was born Sept. 3, 1910, in St.. Louis, the son of Frank and Bertha (Gulath) Forst. He was ordained to the priesthood June 10, 1934, by John Cardinal Glennon, archbishop of St. Louis. His first assignment took him to Denver where he served "on loan" as assistant pastor at Blessed Sacrament Church. He returned to the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 1936, and served as an assistant at Mary, Queen of Peace, Glendale, Mo.

In 1942, Father Forst was transferred to St. Teresa’s Parish in north St. Louis. He remained there until 1943, when he entered the Navy as a chaplain. He served a three-year tour of duty as chaplain at the U.S. Amphibious Training Base in Coronado, Calif., and aboard the USS San Juan. Following his release from the Navy in 1946, he was assigned as assistant at St. Louis Cathedral. In June of 1949, he was appointed pastor at St. Mary’s Church in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Father Forst was made a Papal Chamberlain by Pope Pius XII on Dec. 31, 1954. Two years later, when the Diocese of Springfield - Cape Girardeau was erected, Bishop Charles Helmsing chose him as Vicar General of the diocese. He continued as rector of St. Mary’s, which became a Co-Cathedral. He was elevated to the rank of Right Reverend Monsignor by Pope Pius XII on Nov. 22, 1957, and made Protonotary Apostolic by Pope John XXIII on July 24, 1959. He received word of his appointment as Bishop of Dodge City on Dec. 24, 1959. He was installed April 5, 1960, in Sacred Heart Cathedral in Dodge City by Archbishop Edward J. Hunkeler.

Bishop Forst represented the Diocese of Dodge City in all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council and published his "Daily Journal of Vatican II" in 2000. During his bishopric many new ministries were initiated. Among them were: Catholic Social Service, the Office of Religious Education, Family Life Office, Religious Education for the Handicapped, the Southwest Kansas Register, Office of Mexican-American Affairs, and the Youth/Young Adults Office. Through his efforts Our Lady of Guadalupe was named patroness of the diocese.

Bishop Forst received an honorary doctorate at St. Mary of the Plains College in 1987. During other notable visits to the diocese, he attended the installation of Bishop Stanley G. Schlarman in 1983; presided at the 450th anniversary of Father Juan De Padilla’s first Mass in Kansas in 1991; attended the installation of Bishop Ronald M. Gilmore in 1998; and attended the dedication of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 2001.

He was a member of the Fourth Degree of the Knights of Columbus. He served as state chaplain in 1964 and 1965. The Fourth Degree Assembly in Ness City, chartered in 1967, is named the Bishop Marion F. Forst Assembly.

Surviors include: brothers, Monsignor Charles J. Forst, Reverend William L. Forst and Mr. Frank A. Forst, Jr., and his wife Virginia, as well as two sisters, Mrs. Mary Zinselmeyer and Mrs. Arlene Wittick and her husband, Don; 28 nieces and nephews and numerous grandnieces and nephews.

Memorials can be made to the Bishop Forst Seminary burse or Catholic Social Service, both in care of the Diocese of Dodge City, P.O. Box 137, Dodge City, KS 67801.

My years in Dodge City were blessed years. It was a wonderful place to live and work. We had fine priests and people, and the smallness of the Catholic population posed no problem in a personal way. I liked it, but after the more-than-16 years in such a close relationship with priests and people, I felt that for me, as well as for the diocese, the time had come to resign.

The most impressive event of my Dodge City years was the Second Vatican Council. Really, it was the paramount event of all my episcopal years.... As far as I am concerned, the privilege of attending and being part of Vatican Council was, and is, the most significant facet of my priestly and episcopal life.

The Second Vatican Council was a tremendous experience. I was there all four sessions, so I was fortunate. I think any of us who were there would all agree that it’s the best thing that happened to the Church in the 20th century. It was an invaluable experience.

Two thousand, five hundred bishops from around the world walked into St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday, October 11, 1962, to formally open the Second Vatican Council. I am certain that most of us simply did not know what to expect. What we did appreciate was that this event was something special, not only for us bishops, but for the Church. And so it proved to be.

The first indication of its being something special was in the variety of bishops attending. We Westerners were acquainted with the Latin Rite Church -- and little else. But to see the others -- how they looked, dressed, and from whence they came, made us appreciate what it means for the Church to be "catholic."

The development of issues like ecumenism, relations with the Jews, even with Non-Christians -- perhaps even religious liberty -- were far easier to assess under these conditions.

Another Conciliar blessing that was totally unknown to me or to the others present in 1962, was that the meetings would continue for four years. This was not to be an overnight or weekend seminar. The Council went on and on until it became part of us and enabled us actually to savor not only the conflict but the wisdom that eventually would formulate the documents of the Council.

Another blessing of the four-year life of the Council was that it provided time for the Holy Spirit to speak. At first we dealt with politics and the human factor -- so we found the curialists aligned against the non-curialists -- and time helped uncover the truth that there was not all that much difference between the two. Then, of course, Christ and His gospel and the Church and her history became the formative power and enabled the Holy Spirit to be at work.

The Holy Spirit was undoubtedly speaking when liturgy became the first thing on the agenda. No matter what our rite or background, there was not a single bishop who was not interested in liturgy or a stranger to it.

Moreover, the long, often boring, and monotonous sessions set the stage for the changes: the vernacular; new eucharistic prayers; name changes for sacraments, e.g., Extreme Unction to Anointing of the Sick; Confession to Reconciliation. These were all harbingers of the one focal point in the entire liturgy debate and that was participation. Apart from some of the friction that has developed liturgically, I believe that the Catholic people’s acceptance of the new liturgy is singular proof of the value of the Council.

One of the bright gems polished by the Council was the document on the laity. For understandable reasons -- people are different -- this document traveled a bumpy road. But it survived! Today, when people are far better educated than they were even a hundred years ago and the ideal in developing countries is for more education, the role of the laity in the Church is no longer simply to "pray and pay."

In contrast to conditions even a century ago, lay men and lay women comprise the teaching staffs in our schools and universities. Because of the shortage of priests, lay men and lay women occupy leadership positions in our parishes, hospitals, and charitable organizations. The Council not only affirmed the dignity of human nature but emphasized that the Church respects that dignity in its use of the laity: they were not only giving good example at home and in their work, but also doing so within the Church.

Much of the Council’s enthusiasm is still to be developed. We have a beginning in ecumenism, especially our relations with Orthodox and Protestant Churches.

In Sacred Scripture and theology studies we find the work of the Council showing in increased Bible studies and Scripture groups.

The Church in the Modern World has, of itself, furthered constant concern by the Church and Catholics everywhere on the issues such as capital punishment, war and peace, poverty and health problems, even international gatherings of youth.

How much has Vatican Council II influenced the future of the Roman Catholic Church in the 35 years since the Council came to a close?

An obvious response is simply to examine the 20 years John Paul II has occupied the Papacy. He was a working Council Father, so there is no question about his awareness of the Council and its agenda.

Obviously he has certainly kept active the commissions on translations, and that is an indication of his approval of the recommendations about Bible study. In Poland he was at the forefront of the laity movement in the Church and continues to further that movement.

His insistence on forbidding the ordination of women to the priesthood somewhat conceals for some the generous effort he has make in support of women and their role in the Church and in society.

Perhaps he may best be observed in his efforts for justice in support he has given of the documents of Religious Liberty and the Church in the Modern World, as well as on Ecumenism and Education.

His first encyclical, Redemptor Hominus, was an indication that his concern would be on freedom and human dignity. This encyclical was followed by others on labor, Laborem Exercens, highlighting the need for respect for workers.

His trips around the world -- he has traveled more miles than all of his predecessors combined -- to places like Mexico, Poland, and the Holy Land, nations that may not have been all that pleased with a visit from John Paul II, also marked his kind of unvarnished appeal for religious liberty and respect for human dignity. Gifted with an appeal to youth, he has often challenged young people to become leaders of the new world, dedicating their lives to respect for all human beings.

He had no hesitancy about making visits to nations which were not Catholic -- and in all instances he sought to maintain a peaceful and non-aggressive attitude toward the countries and their leaders. He sought actively to earn the respect of the Jews, and he made progress in the Catholic Church’s relations with the Orthodox, as well as promoting continuing efforts with mainline Protestant Churches.

These were all Vatican Council II inspired objectives, and perhaps as clear a response as any to the long road the Church has traveled since the close of the Council, and the effort made to develop its teachings.

It is now 35 years (in 2000) since Vatican Council II came to a close. It was the most profound experience of my life. And with that in mind I still have no hesitancy in approving of the Council and urging its continuance in the years to come.

I am delighted still to have been the Bishop of Dodge City. I thought I had done what I could for the Church in western Kansas, and that the Church would be aided with the coming of new and younger blood.