Our Roles
Bishops, priests and deacons, therefore, have a serious responsibility to help all the members of the Church discover, develop and use their God-given talents and charisms for the well-being of our Church and society. Furthermore, this expansion of ministries within the Church, which ordained ministers are called to foster and promote, must not be perceived as a practical necessity imposed by the current shortage of priests nor as motivated by some kind of American desire to democratize the Church; but it must be viewed as the consequence of the rights and duties which belong to every baptized member of God's priestly people.
Religious men and women must see their vowed life not as a superior state to other ways of Christian living or as a means of withdrawing from the harsh realities of Christian living in the world but as a specific mode of consecration to Christ which seeks to offer a public witness that reminds all Christians of the radical claim that Christ makes upon them in the circumstances of their daily living.
The witness and ministry of religious, then, also must be catalytic in nature, namely, designed to help all the members of the Church to develop and then use the gifts of the spirit with which they have been endowed so that they can take their full part in advancing Christ's mission to the world.
The laity must rediscover that biblical fact of the priesthood of all the faithful and the common vocation to holiness and ministry which is theirs by virtue of baptism and confirmation. This sharing in the priestly ministry of the Church and this call to holiness and service to others must challenge the laity to see that faith is not passive and requires more than attendance at Mass. They must recognize that ministry is not something which can be left solely to the ordained and religious or to professional lay Church staff members. Rather the laity must appreciate the dignity and empowerment they have to be the Church, to be the people of God, called to exercise their gifts and talents both within the Church itself and within the wider community.
Church of ministers
If we truly believe with the Second Vatican Council that the Church exists to carry out the priestly ministry of Jesus and if we believe with the Council that the laity are joined with bishops, priests, deacons and vowed religious as enactors of that mission, then what we have is a Church of ministers: some of them bishops, some of them priests, some of them deacons, some of them vowed religious, but most of them lay men and women. Such an understanding of the Church allows for the richness of varied ministerial roles and encourages all the members of the Church to contribute the wonderful gifts each has.
This vision of a universally ministering Church was the foundation of the pastoral letter We Are His People, and it remains the sustaining vision in this updated pastoral We Are God's Priestly People. Whether expressed in terms of shared responsibility or in terms of the priestly ministry which is given to the entire people of God, it can be summarized in the following way.
Responsibility for the mission of the Church is collaborative and is shared by all the baptized - ordained and non-ordained, vowed and non-vowed, carpenter, housewife, businessman or woman, young and old, rich and poor, parent, child, single person, black, white, red, yellow and brown - all bound together by a variety of gifts and ministries and all serving the one priestly mission of our Lord Jesus Christ.
GROUPS ADDRESSED
As I did in 1978, let me address the priests, deacons, religious and laity within our Diocese and the role I envision for each as we seek to make a collaborative model of ministry a vital reality in our Diocese in the 1990's and into the third millenium.
To Priests
The priests of our Diocese serve the Church and its people with great zeal, dedication and enthusiasm. Their personal holiness, their openness to renewal and their willingness to explore new approaches to serving God's people have been a source of great blessing for our local Church. Permit me to share with you an assessment of the challenges which I believe our priests have experienced since the Second Vatican Council and the splendid manner in which they have responded to these challenges. At our annual priests' retreat I told my brothers:
There is no group within the Church which has had greater responsibility for coping with these problems and for birthing and nurturing these changes than you priests.
You, as priests, stand at the cutting edge of Church and society. You have been pained by the departure of close friends and classmates from the priesthood. You have been abused by dissatisfied liberals and recalcitrant conservatives. You have faced the challenge of working with couples who are more concerned about the place of the wedding reception than about the nature of the marital bond, and couples who unthinkingly accept a contraceptive lifestyle.
You have been disappointed by those who would abort the unseasonal or unwelcome human fetus, or by Catholics who are Republicans or Democrats before they are Catholics and who consequently reject those teachings of our Church which conflict with the tenets of their political parties.
Pioneers
You have been pioneers, blazing new pathways, forging new frontiers, developing new approaches to ministry often without role models or tested programs upon which to fall back. Many of you were prepared to serve in a Church which, in a sense, from 1965 on no longer exists; those ordained since 1965 were prepared for a Church which as yet has not arrived.
In other words, you have been the pivotal figures who have had the responsibility for learning, teaching and implementing the norms and reforms of the Second Vatican Council. While in a sense this has been very exciting, challenging and energizing, it has also at times been very discouraging, frustrating and disillusioning - especially when your best efforts have been taken for granted, gone unappreciated, been misunderstood, ignored or rejected outright.
Thus, if there is one message that I would like to share with you at this Eucharist, it is how important you and your ministry are and how grateful I am for the manifold ways in which you continue to serve the Church with fidelity and creativity, and as instruments who foster spiritual growth, healing, reconciliation and renewal among your people.
With all of the challenges which confront us as a Church and society, and all the pressing demands that are placed upon you as priests, demands which are often contradictory and unprecedented in the history of the priesthood, you have responded magnificently, and you have served with a courage, loyalty and fidelity of which you can be justifiably proud, and which, I am convinced, historians in the future will judge to be one of the outstanding accomplishments of this, or indeed, of any century.
Please be assured, then, that you and your ministry are desperately needed and absolutely critical for the future of our Church.
Unique role
Your role is unique and indispensable. As the Second Vatican Council states:
"Priests, prudent cooperators with the episcopal order as well as its aids and instruments, are called to serve the People of God. They constitute one priesthood with their bishop, although the priesthood comprises different functions. Associated with their bishop in a spirit of trust and generosity, priests make him present in a certain sense in the individual local congregations of the faithful, and take upon themselves, as far as they are able, his duties and concerns, discharging them with daily care. As they sanctify and govern under the bishop's authority that part of the Lord's flock entrusted to them, they make the universal Church visible in their own locality and lend powerful assistance to the up-building of the whole body of Christ (cf. Eph. 4:12). Intent always upon the welfare of God's children, they must strive to lend their effort to the pastoral work of the whole diocese, and even the entire Church" (Constitution on the Church, 28).
Paradoxically, however, the Council which speaks so positively about your priestly ministry has also created a certain ambiguity about the role of the priest. For example, the Council addressed itself extensively to the role of the Bishop and the laity but offered few new insights about the role of priests.
In other words, while the Council said some fine things about the priesthood, its document, On the Ministry and Life of Priests, was definitely among the minor ones and the Council did not develop a contemporary theology of priesthood. In fact the Council fathers seemed to take the priesthood somewhat for granted and did not see the necessity to discuss the matter at great length.
Indirectly and unwittingly, however, the Council fathers may have severely undermined the traditional role you priests have played in the Church. By insisting that the Bishop is the primary minister in the Church and that the priest is the helper of the Bishop, the Council demoted the priest from an alter Christus to an alter Episcopus. And by emphasizing the priesthood of the laity and deemphasizing the sacred power which sets the priest apart from the laity, the Council deprived the priest of his traditional identity and clear self-image.
In hindsight, as Father Edward Hussey suggested in a recent Conference on "U.S. Catholic Seminaries and Their Future," and it is only in hindsight, the recent decline in the number of priests and the present straits to which we are reduced are the natural and, perhaps, even inevitable result of the documents of the Second Vatican Council. What is needed today, then, is a more fully developed theology of the priesthood in light of this Second Vatican Council's emphasis on the Church as the entire Christian community, on the priesthood of all the baptized, and on the pastoral ministry of Bishops.
Critical tasks
As that theology of the priesthood emerges, you, my brother priests are faced with the critical task of contributing from your practical pastoral experience to the development of that theology and at the same time of being leaders in fostering a collaborative model of ministry in the Church.
This I realize is not an easy challenge. Deep down in your hearts, I suspect, you are haunted by the question "Am I important?" If, for example, deacons, religious and laity can exercise roles like those of spiritual director, of leaders of scripture study groups, of liturgical planners or of pastoral administrators, areas which were previously your exclusive domain, is it any wonder that your identity may be blurred and your confidence shaken.
Yet despite this personal and ministerial ambiguity that you may experience and the natural defensiveness such can engender, you priests must be in the forefront in facilitating the development of new ministries in the Church, especially on the part of the laity and in particular on the part of women. You must seek to learn and to exercise skills of coordination, collaboration, and community building, and you must search for creative ways to try to attract, empower and support others in their various ministries on behalf of God's people.
In a special way, I look to you to help me in the critical task of preparing our people for the changes in parish life which must take place in light of the current and projected critical shortage of priests and religious. Our dwindling numbers necessitate that our Diocese develop in the immediate future different parish configurations and staffing patterns. Your leadership is key to the acceptance of what must occur.
If you deny the problem, if you become defensive because your own particular pastoral position may be threatened, or if you have not helped your people realize the rich ministerial potential they have and can develop, then your people will not be ready for the transition which must happen and consequently will suffer needless trauma.
If on the other hand, you approach this challenge in a positive and constructive manner, and if you are able to assist your people to see the current crisis not so much as a problem but as an opportunity, an opportunity indeed for collaborative ministry, then I am convinced we can develop new models and approaches to parish life and ministry which can be exciting, enriching and future-orientated.
To Religious
The religious through the living of their vowed life of poverty, chastity and obedience offer a rich treasury of spiritual gifts for the life of the church.
You women and men religious have made an enormous contribution toward promoting the renewal envisioned by the Second Vatican Council. Indeed, I would suggest that there is no group of persons within the Church that has taken more seriously the Council's call to conversion and renewal than communities of religious. You have gone back to your roots and recaptured the spirit of your founders and foundresses. You have reexamined seriously and prayerfully how the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience can be lived meaningfully in our contemporary church and society. You have reviewed your constitutions and governing structures in accordance with the principles of collegiality and servant ministry. You have reassessed your apostolates in light of the needs of the times and discerned continually how your members might best serve God's people as we prepare to enter the twenty-first century.
All this, I believe, has enabled you to become more prayerful, more spiritually alive and more deeply committed to the mission of Jesus. You have been at the forefront of liturgical renewal, of a scripture-based spirituality, of developing creative new apostolates and of linking prayer and worship to global and national issues of peace and justice.
Evangelical witness
I am deeply grateful, therefore, for your presence among us and for your evangelical witness to the countercultural life style that all members of the Church must seek to embrace. The recent overwhelming response to our appeal for retired religious is a tangible evidence of the affection and esteem with which you are held by our entire Diocese.
As we look to the future, I envision two specific ways in which you can help develop the concept of collaborative ministry.
- FIRST, many of you have been in the vanguard of fashioning collaborative models of ministry within your own religious communities. You have developed creative patterns of participatory governance which rely less upon authoritarian dictates or majority rule and more upon consensus building. You have fashioned patterns of effective communication which allow maximum grassroots input and which facilitate sharing, understanding, ownership and empowerment. You have also developed personnel placement policies which have allowed members to explore more fully their particular gifts, talents and charisms.
All of these experiences, both positive and negative, as the recent dialogue conducted in our country between Bishops and religious revealed so well, are a rich legacy from which the entire church can benefit in our pursuit of collaborative ministry. I urge you, therefore, to share your communal experience of governance, communication and placement with us in the Diocese so that we can reap the ripe harvest which the seeds of renewal you have sown have made possible.
- SECOND, I encourage you to share with the wider Church the varied prayer experiences which are so much a part of your religious life. It is frequently stated that the crisis of our age is the crisis of spirituality. We have lost a sense of the transcendent. We have lost the art of contemplation. We have failed in our attempts to integrate liturgy and work, prayer and service, faith and action.
We are struggling to move away from the monastic spirituality which has been predominant in the Church for centuries and to develop an authentically apostolic spirituality; a spirituality which enables us to harmonize our prayer and our work; a spirituality which enables us to be doers who contemplate; a spirituality which enables us to reflect upon the wonders of the Father's creation, the beauty of the Redeemer's love and the pulsating presence of the Holy Spirit and then to translate that prayerful reflection into words and deeds which speak clearly, meaningfully and persuasively to contemporary realities.
Challenges today
The challenge for spirituality today, in other words, is to avoid the heresy of activism on the one hand and escapism on the other. You, as religious, I believe, are in a unique position to help us address that challenge. You have had the experience of integrating daily prayer with the hectic demands of your apostolates in education, health care, social work and pastoral ministry.
This blending of the active with the contemplative in a meaningful daily pattern of prayer, which is at the heart of religious life, is something the whole church needs to experience. Indeed, prayer must be the foundation and sustaining motivation of collaborative ministry.
You religious, then, can render a real service to God's priestly people by sharing with the whole Church your time-tested and time-proven apostolic approach to prayer and by helping the members of the Church develop a style and pattern of prayer applicable to the diverse circumstances in which each finds oneself.
To Permanent Deacons
The restored order of the permanent diaconate is among the greatest gifts which the Second Vatican Council has given to the Church. Our own Diocese has been blessed by the ordination of eighty-one men to this revitalized ministry. Deacons by virtue of the public and permanent character of their ordination commitment offer a shining example of that servant ministry to which every Christian is called.
You deacons, your spouses and families provide a fresh image of what ministry is and can become. While retaining your family relationships and work responsibilities, you have forged liturgical and pastoral roles which enhance the life of the Church and which bridge the gap that frequently exists between the sacred and the secular, the sanctuary and the pew.
You have done this at great personal sacrifice. Many hours away from family have been devoted both to ministerial formation and to ongoing education as well as to direct service to God's people in a wide variety of parish, diocesan and community-based apostolates.
You have been real pioneers, breaking new paths, navigating uncharted courses, learning from doing and from sharing with others. Not infrequently, however, your role has been misunderstood, ignored or rejected by priests, religious and laity alike as people's fear of the unknown, mistrust of the unfamiliar or outright resistance to newness and change have often thrown up barriers to acceptance and support of your role and ministry.
Yet you have persevered with dignity, courage and patience. You have moved forward step by step by maintaining the sense of what is possible and a sensitivity to the pace of others. In so doing you have given a dynamic witness to what servant ministry is all about.
Contributions
As we move to make the vision of a universally ministering Church a lived reality in our Diocese, I would suggest that you have several distinctive contributions to make.
- FIRST, you must be careful that you not foster a new clericalism wherein you transfer from the ranks of lay parishioners to clerical professionals and seek to carve out roles that solidify your own position, responsibility and authority in the hierarchy of the Church, but at the expense of lay initiatives and lay involvement. If this happens, the diaconate will be robbed of its fresh character and promise and will belie the concept of collaborative ministry which is so crucial for the future of our Church
As deacons, then you must see the empowerment of the laity as one of your prime responsibilities. For example, in your function as a staff member you should seek to insure that whenever possible the role of the laity is included in liturgies, programs and activities; and you should be an advocate for the laity where they mare unable to speak for themselves. Otherwise, your efforts can be very self-serving and as discriminatory towards the laity as some clergy and religious have been and still tend to be.
- SECOND, you must seek to be sensitive to the growing pains clergy and religious may experience coming to grips with our expanded concept of ministry. Priests and religious can tend to resent the intrusion both of deacons and laity in those roles which traditionally and historically have been reserved exclusively to themselves. In light of these new opportunities it may seem that their role in the Church is blurred and that their ministry has been downgraded or has lost some of its luster.
You, I believe, because of your unique relationship with the clergy and religious on the one hand, and with the laity on the other, can help bridge this gap by enabling priests and religious to see these new ministerial opportunities for laity not as a competition, nor as an usurpation of their power or as a threat to their authority, but as an opportunity to explore the interrelatedness of all the gifts and ministries God has shared with His People and to facilitate the development of such.
Specifically, you might discuss with priests and religious ways in which you or the laity might free them from some of the responsibilities nonessential to their specific ministry, but with which they have become burdened, so that their time for prayer, study, planning and direct pastoral ministry can be maximized.
Furthermore, as deacons you can discuss with the laity the reluctance they often manifest in assuming new roles in the parish or in the Christian community because "that's not my place"; and you can interpret for them the true sense of the call, empowerment and responsibility they have as baptized Christians so that the laity's gifts might be fully galvanized and utilized.
- THIRD, you deacons and your families have a special contribution to make toward strengthening family life and toward assisting the family itself to be a ministering community.
In your homilies, for example, by drawing from your own family experience, you have a unique opportunity to relate the Scriptures to the challenges of married life and to the demands of daily living in a way that can be stimulus for the whole community. Along with your spouse you can also be leaders in the development of family-life ministry within the Church, a ministry which foremost and essentially should be a ministry of the laity, a ministry exercised by families.
The key to family-life ministry, in other words, is to be found in the family's becoming aware of its Christian mission. The family must foster caring and sharing attitudes among its own members which then should stimulate the same type of loving care and concern within the wider community. You deacons, your wives, and children, then, can be examples par excellence of how family, work and community responsibilities can be blended in a deep commitment to the mission of the Church and service to the world.
To the Laity
The laity of our Diocese constitute a splended mosaic of God's priestly people in action.
Your enthusiastic commitment to the life of your parish as lectors, extraordinary ministers of the eucharist; catechists; evangelists; music ministers; ushers; and ministers of service to the poor, sick, developmentally disabled, elderly, youth, hospitalized and imprisoned--as well as your caring involvement in the host of activities related to your family, neighborhood, workplace, and community--are a never-ending source of inspiration and edification.
Your loyalty to the Church, your participation in our new lay ministry formation program and your sacrificial generosity in response to financial appeals from the parochial, diocesan, national and universal Church have been nothing short of extraordinary.
Your openness to change, your life of prayer, your eagerness to learn and grow in the ways of the Lord are daily reminders of God's presence in our midst and of your zealous responsiveness to that presence.
You are the most numerous members of God's priestly people. As the Bishops of the United States stated in our 1980 Pastoral Reflection on the American Catholic Laity, you are truly "Called and Gifted." Each of you by virtue of baptism is incorporated into the people of God and each of you has a vocation to serve God's people in a way that is characterized by adulthood, holiness, ministry and community.
Laity's role
As you look to how you might collaborate with bishops, priests, deacons and religious in fulfilling your priestly call, I would suggest that you consider how we Bishops organized the ministerial section of Called and Gifted.
After stating that baptism and confirmation empower all believers to share in some form of ministry, we go on to speak first about the laity's call to ministry in the world:
"The whole Church faces unprecedented situations in the contemporary world, and lay people are at the cutting edge of these new challenges. It is they who engage directly in the tasks of relating Christian values and practices to complex questions such as those of business ethics, political choice, economic security, quality of life, cultural development, and family planning...in those areas of life in which they are uniquely present and with which they have special competency because of their particular talents, education and experience, they are an extension of the Church's redeeming presence in the world."
It is not until after your normative secular ministry is affirmed that we bishops speak about the call 0f laity to ecclesial or Church ministry. Here the ministry of catechist, parish and diocesan councillor, eucharistic minister, spiritual director as well as of full-time professional minister is acknowledged with gratitude. What Called and Gifted offers then is an inclusive view of lay ministry. As laity, your Church service is ministry, but so also is your everyday life and work, and preeminently so.
Reversing the order
Indeed, in Bishop Raymond Lucker's address to the assembled National Catholic Conference of Bishops at Collegeville in June 1986, entitled "Linking Church and World" and related to the vocation of the laity, the pointed out that we have reversed the order. We have tended to call you the laity first to ministries within the Church and then secondarily, or at least with far less emphasis, to ministries for the transformation of society.
It is important, therefore, that you, the laity, take responsibility for correcting this imbalance. Not that you should downplay or ignore in any way the creative new Church or ecclesial ministries which have been available to you in recent years. These have been vitally enriching for the whole Church and must continue to flourish and expand. However, you must give equal attention to developing your ministries to the world, in the marketplace, in the area of work, family, leisure and in all your ministries for the transformation of society.
It is especially in the family and society, in marriage and work, in human sexuality, and in economics that this transformation takes place. Consequently, it is vitally important that lay men and women appreciate the call you have in the home, on the job, in the neighborhood or community to be about the transformation of society; to make the message of the Gospel real in your family, social life, business transactions and world of politics.
Furthermore, your must strive to make the connection between faith and work, between weekend liturgy and weekday responsibilities, between seeing God's presence at the altar and at the desk, the sink, the farm, the labor union hall, the P.T.A. meeting, the political caucus and the legislative chamber.
In the past, in other words, the Church encouraged or seemed to have encouraged you to find holiness by leaving the world instead of finding holiness in the world. Now you must take the initiative to recapture and to develop practical ways to implement that sterling insight of the Council that your unique role as laity is to make Christ present in society and to transform political, economic and social institutions in light of the Gospel.
Involvement
Needed more than anything else on the part of you, the laity, I believe, are not only your participation and involvement in the life of our church and society, but a participation and involvement which flow from your keen awareness and appreciation of the dignity you have as baptized members of God's priestly people and from a firm conviction about the indispensable ministry you exercise both in Church and society.
It is only where your priestly mission and ministry are fully understood and appreciated that your life as a Christian can be transformed from a rather dull, routine and perfunctory fulfillment of specific tasks and burdensome obligations to an exciting, challenging and spirit-filled adventure which will deepen your relationship with the Lord and which will redound in loving and selfless service to God's people.
THE PARISH
The second major theme of the 1978 pastoral letter We Are His People is that the parish is the center of the Church's life, the place where Christians gather to hear the Word, to celebrate the Eucharist and other sacramental rites of the Church, to support one another in faith and in the face of personal and social challenges and to become energized for mission both to the Church community and to the wider society and world.
Furthermore, the letter stressed that the mission of the parish is the same as the mission of Jesus, namely to bring the Good News of God's unconditional love to His people and to enable the members of the parish community to witness to a common faith, love and service which they share in union with Jesus and with one another.
Finally, the letter expressed the conviction that the parish council is a vehicle which best enables the members of the parish to become a community of collaborative ministry.
Parish Councils
The parish council is that coordinating and unifying body which seeks to harmonize the efforts of the parish with those of the Church universal and the diocesan Church and which strives to empower the members of the parish to exercise their gifts and talents so that the parish itself is a truly vibrant expression of God's loving, healing, liberating and redemptive presence among us.
The parish council is a practical means of achieving the full participation of the whole parish in its mission. It does this by giving all a voice and by encouraging, guiding and enabling the various aspects of the parish's life.
The parish council, then, is both a ministry and a sign of what an authentic Christian community is all about.
The parish council, in other words, is meant to be a partnership on the part of the pastor, the parish staff and the parish representatives which gives witness not only to what the parish is, but especially to what the parish is called to be.
The parish council shares in the critical task of setting directions and of calling people to walk in the ways of the risen Lord Jesus.
That is why in 1978, when We Are His People was issued, I asked each parish to establish or to revitalize a parish council, because, I believe, an effective parish council is the best way to insure that the parish becomes a community of collaborative ministry. At that time, less then half of our parishes had functioning parish councils. Presently, however, 90% of our parishes have a parish council or some form of effective advisory group which embodies a participatory or collaborative model of parish life. This, indeed, is testimony to the leadership of our pastors and parish staff and to the enthusiastic and cooperative response of our people.
Four observations
In assessing our experience with the parish councils in the Diocese of Albany I would make four general observations.
1, The very existence of the councils is a testimony to the flexibility, determination and faith of all the people in our Diocese. Any change comes about with a certain wrenching, a certain resistance, a certain pulling away from the comfortable, the tried and the true. So it takes great risk and trust to launch forth into the unknown. Yet the people of our Diocese have done this boldly and enthusiastically.
2. The growth and development of councils have demonstrated a deep willingness to become involved by learning a seemingly "radical way of being church," a style of functioning as a parish that necessitates more self-initiative, more creativity, more independence, more discernment and greater personal investment.
3. We have had our casualties as a result of this new experience. There have been misunderstandings and hurts, frustrations and disappointments, false starts and failures. There have been evenings, I am sure, when pastors, staff and council members alike have wondered why in the world they had chosen to be a part of this so-called shared responsibility or collaborative ministry.
Obstacles to councils
Before stating my fourth general observation, I call your attention to some of the problems encountered in efforts to encourage growth in effectiveness of the parish council.
As Bishop in the Diocese, I am well aware (both from surveys and personal interaction), of the problems which have arisen in initiating or revitalizing our parish councils. From the pastor's perspective or that of the parish staff there are the problems of getting people who will be active, enthusiastic contributing members.
There are the problems of motivating council members to assume or to fulfill responsibilities without having to be present themselves at every committee meeting or every parish function. There is the ongoing problem of orientating the ever-rotating council membership to a sense of where the parish as a community has been, is, and is going to be. There is the problem of avoiding narrow parochialism and of envisioning the parish community within the context of the Diocesan, national and universal Church. And there are the frustrating problems associated with collegial decision-making when it might be easier, quicker, and perhaps more effective to do things oneself.
On the other hand, from the laity's point of view, parish councils are often perceived as an exercise in futility. Some councils are looked upon as paper tigers which meet infrequently, if at all, and then only to ratify or to confirm what the pastor and parish staff have already decided. Others are perceived as debating societies where various factions air their complaints and grievances, hoping to win a favorable hearing for their pet projects or their vision of the Church, but showing little interest in fostering an authentic Christian community.
Still other councils are viewed as dull, stodgy groups devoid of any purpose beyond insuring that the parking lot is paved, the annual fundraising events are established and staffed and the budget is balanced.
Finally, there is the problem created when a new pastor has an entirely different vision of Church or differing expectations of council members than those of his predecessor.
For pastor, staff, and council members alike, moreover, there is often the tension over power, authority and control which depletes people's energies and enthusiasm and creates only frustration, cynicism, bitterness and disillusionment.
However, all these problems and many more which are frequently associated with the establishment and development of parish councils are, I believe, part of the pain associated with any change or transition. But people can grow only if they are given the chance. I am convinced that if we strive to promote, affirm and support parish councils, then, even in our failures we will grow; and, in the final analysis, we will have stronger, healthier, more spiritually alive parishes because of the struggle and pain experienced in such growth.
4. That brings me to my fourth and final observation, namely, that we do indeed have many outstanding parish council models throughout the Church at Albany to substantiate my optimistic convictions about parish councils.
As I indicated previously, there are presently some 90% of our parishes which have some kind of active advisory body whether or not it be termed a parish council. This is not to say that every council is functioning to its full potential, but the vast majority are doing well and some are serving exceptionally well.
As our councils have matured, I have seen exciting movement and growth from a strictly business board to a community of servant leaders; from a decision-making group that happens to pray to prayerful communities that have to make decisions; from crisis management to long-range planning and stewardship of gifts and resources; from parochialism to outreach; from rule by an elite group to participation and ownership for decisions by many parishioners; from "we have always done it that way" to creative recentering; from damaging conflict situations to a recognition of the need for healing; from a dualism that assigns spiritual matters to the priests, deacons, and religious and the temporalities to the laity toward a shared responsibility for the total mission of the Church by all.
Some our councils have begun to assimilate these concepts and others, quite frankly, are backsliding; but when our councils are trying to root themselves in the message and mission of Jesus, they are devoting as much time and effort to being, as they are to doing--with the result that the doing is so much more effective and the council experience itself so much more enriched.
Vibrant parishes
In reflecting upon those parishes which are most vibrant and most successful, I believe there are certain ingredients which are common to them all be they in larger or smaller parishes, in low, moderate or high-income parishes or in urban, suburban or rural communities. They are, in fact, the very qualities or characteristics identified by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops Parish Project as contributing to healthy, mature, spiritually alive parish communities. These characteristics are four in number:
- FIRST, parishioners enjoy good liturgy and preaching. People earnestly desire worship services which help them to pray well and preaching which gives meaning to their faith lives.
- SECOND, they value the ability of the parish to help people deal practically with their life concerns, such as those of alcohol and drug abuse, poor schools, crime and safety issues, unemployment versus job stability, and especially their life concerns about family and children.
- THIRD, parishioners need a feeling of ownership on their part; a feeling that they belong, that their concerns are being listened to and that they can have the opportunity to affect parish policy and practice.
- FOURTH, the people appreciate an active quality in the parish, a sense that something is going on and that there is something happening for everyone.
I would like to propose that these four characteristics be the realistic goals for which the parish councils in our diocese strive in order to facilitate and enable further growth and vitality in their respective parishes.
Tense relations
Lastly, regarding parish councils, I would note that both in our diocese and throughout our nation and world the greatest single problem that has arisen with councils is in the realm of the tension which frequently develops in the relationship between the pastor and the council membership.
The tension arises, I believe, from two very important theological principles which coexist in our Vatican II Church. On the one hand, the Second Vatican Council emphasizes the common dignity and the equality that exists among all of God's priestly people. All, therefore, are called to the same holiness of life and all are entitled to become actively engaged in exercising the Church's mission in the world.
On the other hand, the council also highlights the hierarchical nature of the Church. We live as believers within a Church that has an appointed structure with predetermined ranks of authority.
These two notions so evident in the documents of the Council and of the revised Code of Canon Law are not contradictory, but they do create a tension when it comes to such practical things as how decisions get made in the Church. This tension is real at the level of the universal Church and it also affects our local Church or Diocese and our parish communities.
We are faced, therefore, with the challenge of living with this tension, with these two differing principles. One stresses our unity with Christ Jesus and with one another. The other stresses the need for organizaion, structure and authority. One acknowledges the gifts of God which exist within individual believers; the other stresses the diversity of functions and roles which must be lived out within the Christian community. Somewhere between them we are expected to govern and to be governed; to minister and to be ministered to.
The challenge, then, is to recognize the authority of those who hold pastoral office within the Church without diminishing the value of those who recognize their call to shared leadership responsibility arising from baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist.
Pastor's role
More specifically, the pastor, by Church law, has ultimate responsibility for the spiritual care of the parish. He is directly accountable to the Diocesan Bishop for all parish matters. However, it is neither wise nor based upon sound Church teaching if the pastor operates without consultation from others.
That is why, in accord with Canon 536 of the revised Code of Canon Law, I have asked that each parish have a parish council. It is interesting to note that the Code calls this body a Pastoral Council. The idea behind the term employed contains a subtle hint: pastoral parish councils should be dealing with comprehensive pastoral ministry in the parish and not just the finances or temporalities.
The pastoral or parish council, however, according to the code, is of a consultative or advisory nature. But do not let these terms diminish or dilute the important, and indeed indispensable, role of the council. The real purpose of any consultative or advisory body is the pooling of the gifts of the group so as to influence the decisions to be made. The decision itself may lie ultimately with another (e.g. the pastor), but the really controlling element of the decision is the group's influencing the decision by having done their homework and by having shared their combined wisdom. In this way the persons consulted in many respects determine what the decision will be.
In very pragmatic terms, then, the pastor continues to bear the final responsibility for the total parish ministry. For sake of accountability to the Diocesan Bishop whom he represents and to the people of God whom he serves, the pastor must ratify the recommendations of the parish council before they can be implemented.
Likewise the pastor must guard against the parish council's endorsing proposals which would be contrary to universal church law, diocesan policy or civil law.
On the other hand, the pastor is expected to exercise his pastoral responsibility not as the only minister of the parish, but as the presider over the variety of ministries that the people have, and as a sharer with the people in those ministries. Rarely, therefore, would it be envisioned that the pastor override or veto the advice of the parish council; or if such be the case, then normally an explanation of his decision would be in order. Hopefully, too, the advice given the pastor from the council would not be by majority rule but by consensus among the group.
In the final analysis, councils will work better once pastor, staff and council members realize that there will probably always be some creative tension between the executive function and the wisdom or advisory function. Each has its own vantage point and needs to be understood in that light. The more, however, pastor and council members clarify their mutual expectations of each other and of how decision-making is formulated, the better off we will be.
It should never be forgotten, however, that the parish council is not an end in itself but a means to facilitate an end, namely the mission and priestly ministry of Jesus in the parish and to the wider Church and world.
THE MISSION AND MINISTRY OF THE PARISH
Reflecting upon the life and ministry of Jesus, I perceive four aspects of his work and mission.
First, Jesus was a herald. In His person and in His teaching, He revealed to us, in profound yet understandable ways, God's love for each of us and the nature of God's Kingdom now among us.
Second, Jesus was a servant. He was a person who came to give sight to the blind, speech to the mute, hearing to the deaf, health and wholeness to the sick and the Gospel to the poor.
Third, Christ was a sanctifier. He created and left with us sacred signs which enable people of every generation to encounter the living God. These, of course, are the sacraments, which help us become what Jesus called us to be - a loved and loving people.
Finally, Jesus was a community builder. He formed a group of people who were to live together in love and peace, to insure that the Eucharist was celebrated, and to see that the needs of the brothers and sisters were met. To achieve this, leaders were chosen, roles and responsibilities were delegated. Hence the social and institutional characteristics of the parish community as we know it today gradually took shape.
Parish mission
Local parishes can focus their own activities around the same four-fold priestly mission of Jesus through specific actions:
- 1. Prayer and Worship - Through these we fulfill the sanctifying mission of Christ.
- 2. Christian Education - Here we fulfill the mission of Christ the herald.
- 3. Christian Service - In this way we fulfill the mission of Christ the servant.
- 4. Church Administration - In this way we fulfill the role of community builder. We attend to all the material, financial and organizational concerns that enable parishes to maintain their community of faith, love and service.
These four areas represent a simple, yet comprehensive means that allows each of us to be part of Christ's mission, to extend His priestly ministry into the world and to be a part of Him today. Carrying out these areas of mission in our parish requires participation and cooperation among everyone.
Let me then offer some challenges which I would suggest parishes must address in each of these areas of mission and ministry.
1. Prayer and Worship
The whole Church, baptized in Jesus, shares His priesthood and therefore has the privileged responsibility of worshiping God by joining in the celebration of the Eucharist and other sacraments and by personal prayer.
As has already been indicated, increasingly our Catholic people have been assuming liturgical roles in the Church. Many priests, parish staff and parishioners have responded positively and creatively to my request that each parish have a liturgy committee or team which seeks to plan meaningful liturgy in which each person is well prepared for the role he or she is called to exercise.
In my 11 years as Bishop I have witnessed significant improvement in the quality of liturgical celebrations throughout our diocese. I would, however, make certain recommendations for improvement.
Recommendations
I encourage our priests and deacons to make the Sunday homily the focal point of the week and the priority in their ministry. People earnestly desire well-prepared preaching which is both scripturally based and applicable to contemporary realities. It is important, then, to read the Sunday scriptures early in the week and to pray and meditate over the readings.
As part of their preparation, some homilists have found it beneficial to meet with a group of parishioners during the week to discuss the readings from their perspective, as well as to receive constructive feedback as to how well the content and the delivery of the homily are accepted by the congregation.
Whatever method the homilist employs, my point is that there is no more important responsibility that the ordained minister has than to break open God's word in meaningful and relevant ways to the weekend worshiping community.
I also underscore the importance of the fundamentals in liturgy, of those essential ingredients whose absence will vitiate the most creative liturgical planning. For example, there should be greeters or ushers at each weekend liturgy who truly communicate a sense of welcoming and a spirit of hospitality. This quality of welcome and hospitality should also be reflected in the attitudes and the demeanor of all the other liturgical ministers.
The liturgy itself should be well choreographed with each person knowing the role he or she has, the time to exercise that role and the way in which his or her role is coordinated with that of others. It is imperative that ordained ministers not assume or usurp liturgical roles and responsibilities which properly belong to the laity.
Good music is critically important for a meaningful participatory liturgy. This requires musicians who are well rehearsed and cantors who are well trained in leading the congregation in song. Lack of congregational participation in song remains the most glaring deficiency in the liturgies throughout our Diocese.
While this is due in some degree to people's lack of appreciation of the communal nature of our worship and of the value of song as prayer, it is more attributable, I believe, to the failure to facilitate congregational singing by choosing quality music appropriate to the congregation; to inadequate music rehearsal with the congregation before the celebration; to the lack of trained cantors to lead the congregation; and to the tendency the choir has at times to dominate, and thus discourage, congregational singing.
I believe, too, that the quality of music in parish liturgies could be improved if professional musicians were adequately compensated for their services. Just renumeration would do much to attract and retain trained musicians.
I would note further that many of our parishes have too many weekend liturgies. This unnecessary multiplication of masses often contributes to a rushed celebration and to a diminished sense of community. It is frequently the reason why there cannot be musicians and a sufficient number of trained liturgical ministers at each Eucharist. I would urge every parish, therefore, to review carefully the need for each weekend liturgy and to schedule Eucharistic celebrations in a way that will insure fuller congregations and a less hurried and more participatory observance or worship.
I am also afraid that at times we rely too much on the Eucharist as the only form of prayer in our Church, When we Catholics plan any type of communal celebration, invariably the Eucharist is the first and often the only option suggested.
Certainly, the Eucharist is the source and summit of our Christian life and always will be such. There are, however, the other rich forms of liturgical prayer and devotions which are appropriate for gatherings of the faithful. In particular, I commend the Prayer of the Hours as a magnificent treasury of prayer for the entire parish community.
Finally, I stress that our parish liturgical celebrations can be meaningful prayer only to the extent that they are nurtured and fueled by the personal prayer of each parishioner. Liturgical celebrations, in other words, are not and cannot be a substitute for the responsibility each Christian has to develop a deep, intimate personal relationship with the Lord through regular and frequent personal prayer.
The nature and style of that prayer, I believe, are relatively unimportant -- be it meditative or charismatic, be it reflecting on the sacred scripture or communing with nature, be it reciting the rosary or making a novena. What is absolutely essential, however, is that we pray frequently; otherwise our lives will be empty and our action futile.
2. Christian Education
Christians are unable to be heralds of the Good News they have received unless they reflect on that faith which is theirs and explore how that faith can be lived appropriately in their own lives as well as communicated effectively to others. This reflection and search to live out faith is an ongoing process and it requires education and formation throughout the entire life-cycle.
On the day I was appointed Bishop of Albany, in response to a reporter's inquiry, I stated that "religious education, at all levels, particularly among adults, is the greatest need we have in our Diocese."
Eleven years later, I reaffirm my assessment that there is no task which is more vital, critical, or urgent today than that of imparting religious truths and transmitting religious values not only to our children but to all. In this secularistic age where fundamental beliefs, values, and traditions are being questioned, ridiculed or rejected outright, all within the Church need updated teaching or instruction and ongoing formation which make God's living word relevant and meaningful for our everyday lives.
Unfortunately, for too long our Church religious education programs have been perceived as an activity or thrust designed primarily, if not exclusively, for the young. Yet, just as our relationship with the Lord must be an ever growing, ever evolving, ever maturing one, so too our interaction with the religious education and faith formation which nurture this relationship also must be a dynamic one, open to new information, to creative approaches and fresh insights.
Always learning
Consequently, each member of the Church has the responsibility to seize opportunities to learn and understand more about the teaching of Christ and His Church and its implications for the life situations in which we find ourselves. Otherwise our faith understanding will remain fixed largely at the catechism level of our childhood. Such a level, while sufficient for a younger age or a different time, is hardly adequate to cope maturely with the complex faith and moral problems of the present.
As a matter of fact, it may be precisely because so many adults have not kept pace with the changing ways, forms and symbols for expressing our faith in the light of contemporary realities or because we have not developed a comfortability in discussing or sharing our faith experiences with others that so many of our young today have not found in the Church meaningful answers to their probing questions or have not observed in its members spirit-filled role models who speak and witness in ways which challenge, inspire and invite emulation.
Parent's role
Parents, in particular, have a special responsibility for continued faith formation and education because children learn their fundamental faith insights and religious values in the family. That is why our religious education programs today strive to be parent-centered. The classroom instruction or the formational experiences offered by the school or parish can at best complement or supplement that which is learned from the parents.
A recent study of 200,000 religiously educated children, for example, concluded that the most significant factor in determining religious and social behavior is not that of their formal religious instructions as such, but that of parents' discussing religious and moral matters with their children in the home.
This primary role which parents have in faith formation is also the reason we place such great emphasis upon parental involvement in baptism, Eucharist, penance and confirmation programs. Without parental understanding, cooperation and reinforcement the good seed sown in the classroom will not receive the nurture it needs to grow and flourish into mature faith.
Religious education
If the parish is to address adequately the faith-formation needs of all its members, then it must have a comprehensive approach to religious education - directed to the person in his or her concrete life circumstances and to the total parish community.
The Catholic school and religious education program are vital means of educating and forming our young in faith but they cannot be the sole religious education and faith-formation opportunities which the parish offers.
Rather other formal programs like adult religious education and scripture study courses at the parish or regional level, or extra-parochial programs like Marriage Encounter, Pre-Cana, Cursillo, as well as opportunities to build religious education and faith-formation programs into parish organizations like the parish council, the home-school organization, the Rosary society, the Legion of Mary, the St. Vincent de Paul Society or various youth and senior citizen groups, must be utilized to impart to parishioners the ever-relevant teaching of Christ and His Church and its applicability to their daily lives.
Critical areas
As we look at the specific challenges in religious education which confront our Diocese, I would cite five critical areas which must be addressed aggressively.
1. Our own experience in the Diocese with Renew and the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults as well as the experience of other Dioceses and parishes throughout the country reveal that small faith communities within the larger parish community can be an excellent means for fostering adult religious education and faith formation.
These smaller communities break down the depersonalization which is so prevalent in our society at large. They create a sense of belonging or esprit de corps and provide the opportunity for people to explore their faith in a warm, caring and supportive environment.
I am convinced that such small faith communities are the wave of the future. Whether organized in neighborhoods, or around people having particular interests like those of the elderly, young adults, professionals, business persons, housewives, single parents, the separated and divorced, families with special children etc., these small communities become a powerful vehicle for stimulating faith, for fostering spiritual growth, for providing support and affirmation, for developing leaders, for promoting evangelization and for outreach to serve the needs of the wider parish and community.
I encourage parishes and parish councils, therefore, to view the formation and support of small faith communities, as a basic style of parish life. I ask our Diocesan Office of Religious Education to continue its efforts to provide training and resources for parish staffs, council members and parishioners in their efforts to develop and sustain small faith communities.
2. Our consultation leading to this updated pastoral letter revealed that parents, pastors and concerned Catholics throughout our Diocese are deeply troubled about the failure to transmit our faith heritage to the younger generation. Many expressed the fear that today's youth seem to lack an understanding of the foundations of our faith and in particular that many youth drift away from the Church after confirmation or grammar or high school graduation.
Others expressed the concern that the faith formation offered in our Catholic schools and parish religious education programs is not sufficient to combat the messages about human dignity, self-worth, sex, alcohol and drug usage, the value of possessions, the purpose of life, the foundation for morality and the very existence of God which our youth receive constantly from peers, the media and society at large, messages which frequently are contrary to our Catholic Christian values.
What is needed, it seems, is greater outreach to youth beyond our formal programs of faith formation in Catholic schools and parish schools of religion. The problem, however, is that most do not know how to approach the issue. Some people say we need a youth minister or a parish youth committee to address the pressing needs of teen and young adults in a way that will help them better understand and interpret Christian values. But what the committee will do and who is equipped to undertake the task remain a puzzle.
Also, with bare-bone budgets and other liturgical and educational priorities, many parishes are unable to meet the need to hire staff for the task. Furthermore, there is a dearth of trained youth ministers even if the finances were available. There exists, too the very real problem of finding the time to hold parish or regional programs for youth, given the competing demand of after-school activities, athletic events and job responsibilities.
These problems, both real and perceivied, deserve our immediate attention. I ask our Diocesan Office of Religious Education to help parishes in their efforts to develop feasible programs for youth which can be conducted by the parish itself or in the region. I also charge this Office with the task of continuing and further developing its programs of training adult and peer leaders for this important ministry.
Peer youth ministry, in particular, has been too long neglected; yet it holds great promise for the future. Young people need to know that they are the Church, not the Church in training but the Church here and now with great gifts to offer. Youth too are part of God's priestly people and should be invited and challenged to share in the collaborative ministry to the Church.
Consequently, I encourage administrators of our Catholic high school and parish high school programs to take advantage of the training process and programs offered through our Diocesan Office of Religious Education and through other groups which facilitate and support peer youth ministry.
3. If our parishes are to meet the faith-formation needs of their people, especially adults, we must utilize modern communications more fully. Our Diocesan Office of Catholic Communications now has the capacity for developing local video tape recordings which can be used in schools, religious education programs, adult education sessions and ministry-formation programs.
I ask the Communication Office to prioritize their efforts in video tape production with a particular view to serving the adult education needs of our parishes. This should be done in close coordination with our Diocesan Resource Library and other diocesan departments which serve the formational needs of parishes.
"The Evangelist" remains a prime source of up-to-date news, information and commentary about events, trends, developments and movements affecting the life of the Church. It is a major tool I have as Bishop to communicate with the entire Diocese and to present a unified vision to our local Church.
Presently, "The Evangelist" is the best bargain of any Catholic newspaper in the State, with an annual subscription rate of $10.00. For 50 weeks a year, "The Evangelist" is available to every Catholic home providing 10 to 12 pages of Catholic news, all for less then the price of a postage stamp.
Some, however, cannot or, in most cases, choose not to pay the annual subscription fee. Since I consider the newspaper a prime means of faith formation, especially for adults, I have continued the practice of my predecessors which requests that each Catholic home receive "The Evangelist." Where the subscription is not cared for by the parishioner, it becomes the responsibility of the parish community to subsidize this expenditure. I envision this subsidy as part of the parish responsibility of adult faith formation and in many cases of evangelization. Often "The Evangelist" is the only link between the recipient and his or her faith community.
I make three requests regarding "The Evangelist":
- I ask each recipient to pay the annual subscription fee.
- I ask pastor and parish council members, especially members of the finance committee, to look upon the parish subsidy to "The Evangelist" not as a burden to be endured and perhaps abandoned or deferred in light of other parish fiscal restraints, but as an opportunity for proclaiming the Good News. I ask people to write to the editor or to me to share constructive criticism as to how "The Evangelist" may better serve its readers. I want our Diocesan newspaper to continue to be an effective vehicle of communication and adult education. This goal will be assisted greatly by grass-roots input.
4. Our Catholic schools are in great difficulty as a result of spiraling education costs, declining enrollments and fewer religious personnel to staff the schools. Many schools have been closed or consolidated. Many of our remaining schools are in dire need of repairs, maintenance projects or renovation. Our school buildings, along with all school buildings throughout the country, are subject to new and very costly and stringent asbestos regulations. Fewer of our grade schools are any longer parish schools but are schools serving students in a given region of a city or county. Many parents find that the Catholic school tuition is beyond the means of their pocketbook.
These harsh realities have created a crisis of confidence about our Catholic schools and have left many wondering if, indeed, there is a future for our Catholic schools. Despite all these problems besetting our Catholic schools, I believe that Catholic school education remains a unique way of forming Christian community, of preaching the Gospel, of nurturing faith, of transmitting Christian values and of enabling our young and their parents to appreciate their baptismal call to be a priestly people.
Indeed, I contend that there is no other current institution within the Church that can do more than can the Catholic school toward accomplishing the priestly mission of Christ and more toward establishing a Catholic identity and shared values system in a secular society which so often rejects the influence of God and religious values.
Furthermore, as our Pastoral Letter, Economic Justice for All, points out so well, Catholic schools have and must continue to have a special role to play in educating the poor and disadvantaged. Our schools also offer built-in opportunities to accomplish the work of evangelization. They enable us to reach persons who might not otherwise have contact with the Church or who have strayed away from the practice of their faith.
That is why I indicated in the pulpit letter read in each parish last Spring that I have a firm commitment to the Catholic schools in our Diocese. At the same time, I cannot ignore the fact that a major influx of new money will be required to provide competitive salaries for our teachers, to offer tuition assistance for elementary and highschool students so that more families can send their children to our Catholic schools and to offset capital expenses for repairs, maintenance, and renovation of our school facilities.
I charge our Diocesan School Board and Office, therefore, with the urgent task of implementing both the strategic action plan and the regional plan which were developed recently after broad-based consultation throughout the various regions of our Diocese. In particular, I ask our School Board and Office to formulate tuition, parish subsidy and budgetary policies which reflect the growing regional nature of our schools and to develop, in conjunction with local school boards, a comprehensive public relations and recruitment program which will enable us to present the Catholic school story in the best fashion possible.
I ask our pastors and parish staffs to be supportive of Catholic school education and to encourage parents and students to avail themselves of the incomparable benefit of a quality Catholic school education.
In a special way I ask our parents to remain committed to Catholic school education. Your belief and confidence in our Catholic schools remain the key to their continued existence. If you do not appreciate their value or if in your fear for their future, you fail to enroll your children, then whatever efforts we make at the parish or diocesan level will be in vain. I cannot guarantee that every school which presently exists will remain intact, but I am convinced that with parental commitment and involvement we can maintain a system which will insure that the precious heritage of a Catholic school education remains a possibility for a large number of our young people in the days ahead.
5. Our parish religious education programs are a vital vehicle for faith formation in those areas where there are no Catholic schools and for those students enrolled in public or private schools. Our religious education directors, coordinators and catechists, as well as the teachers in our Catholic schools, are doing an outstanding job of imparting the core teaching and values of our Catholic faith, of preparing young people for the sacraments of Eucharist, reconcilitation and confirmation and of forming young people and adults in an understanding of faith which can enable them to live their faith in our modern world.
We are faced, however, with a critical shortage of professional religious education personnel. Some parishes, moreover, especially in the rural areas of our Diocese, do not have the fiscal resources to hire professional personnel, to train volunteers or to provide adequate facilities and teaching materials.
Thus, I ask our Diocesan Office of Religious Education to continue developing and implementing their comprehensive plan for catechist formation and for the establishment of regional catechetical centers which can assist our smaller parishes with their training and resource needs. I also ask this Office to develop an evaluation tool or instrument which will enable parishes to assess the quality and effectiveness of their religious education programs and to make necessary improvements. Conversely, I ask our parishes to take advantage of the many fine training programs offered through our various diocesan offices.
To address the challenges facing our Catholic school and parish religious education programs as well as the pressing need for ongoing adult education and formation in our Diocese, I have commissioned a study of possible funding options which will assist in determining how we can best meet the extraordinary funding requirements which are necessary if the Church is to provide quality faith formation and Catholic school programs for the 1990's and beyond. I ask your prayers for a beneficial outcome of this study process.
3. Christian Service
Like Christ himself the Church's approach to the human family must be wholistic, that is, concerned not only about people's faith or spiritual needs but also about their social needs and the conditions and social environment which affect their human development or lack thereof. As Pope John Paul II points out in his magnificient encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, through its social mission and ministry the Church needs to promote the cause of human dignity, to ease suffering and pain, to advocate for a more just, loving and peaceful society and to help people to experience God's presence in their powerlessness and suffering.
The Catholic Church in the United States and in our Diocese through our hospitals, social service agencies, parish-based programs and fraternal or social organizations has had a marvelous track record of bringing the healing ministry of Jesus to the poor, the homeless, the hungry, the sick, the elderly, the unwed parent, the addicted, the imprisoned, the widow or widower, the separated or divorced, the unemployed, the immigrant, the mentally ill, the developmentally disabled, and to those at the margins of society. It is an achievement of compassion and caring concern for human dignity of which we can be justifiably proud.
In 1978, I asked each parish to form a service committee to address the growing social needs which can be found in our urban, rural and suburban communities alike. I am pleased that many such committees were formed either to initiate or to coordinate or expand the existing parish services to those in need. Furthermore, many parishes have been cooperating with the leadership of our Diocesan Office of Health and Social Services, our Commission for Peace and Justice and our Office for Human Development Organizing by becoming local sites for their programs or by promoting and coordinating at the local level advocacy on behalf of state, national and global issues of social justice.
Everyone's duty
Most Catholics, I believe, realize that service to people in need is an intregal part of the Christian life which must be reflected in the activities of one's parish as well as in one's own personal actions. Christian service, in other words, cannot be delegated for the most part to professional social workers and health care providers, but is the responsibility of each member of God's priestly people. Daily I see dramatic evidence of that recognition in our parishes and in the activities of our people.
We must appreciate, however, that our direct service on behalf of people in need, beneficial and indispensable as it may be, is not enough in the complex world and society in which we live today. Rather these services must be complemented by a social development thrust such as that offered by the Campaign for Human Development and Catholic Relief Services, wherein people are encouraged and enabled to organize for self-help and by a social-justice thrust which seeks to address the root causes of poverty and powerlessness in our world and society.
As Christians, in other words, we must not merely be content with helping people in their hour of need by applying band-aids to deep wounds or with helping people better adjust to their suffering; but equally, if not more importantly, we must be willing to confront those persons and those institutions which oppress, manipulate and destroy others - be it the Church, the government or the business community. This is precisely what our Holy Father Pope Paul VI meant when he stated: "We in the Church must shift from a policy which seeks to alleviate the results of oppression, to one that seeks to eliminate the causes of oppression."
Many, I realize, are frightened by this challenge because they believe it may entail becoming involved with politics or because it may thrust them into the risky area of controversy where they and their ideas may be challenged, ridiculed or rejected. The fact that this type of Christian action is threatening for many Catholics is underscored by the Notre Dame Study of Catholic Parish Life which indicates that only four percent of Catholic parishioners are engaged in issues of social justice.
Agenda items
More and more, then, I encourage our parishes and individual Catholics to put the world on their agenda. Issues such as abortion, the death penalty, war and peace, racism, sexism, consumerism and the quality of national and international life are not purely mundane or secular matters to be left to the politicians or theoreticians; rather they are issues laden with moral values and ethical dimensions which Christians individually and collectively have a serious moral obligation to address.
The key, I believe, to people being motivated to accept this challenge is the linkage which exists, and which must be made, between the liturgy and social justice. Our union at liturgy with the members of Christ's body the world over demands that we give expression to that unity by helping the suffering members of that Body who are overcome by the oppressive conditions and unjust structures which bind them.
In a similar vein, when I sent the 1978 pastoral letter to Archbishop Jadot, the Papal Representative to the United States, for his information and comment, he responded with a very complimentary letter and a constructive criticism. The Archbishop observed that We Are His People paid little, if any, attention to the needs and concerns of the Church beyond our Diocesan borders. He urged me in the future to have a greater sensitivity globally to the needs of the Church and suffering humanity.
Sister diocese
Archbishop Jadot's fraternal reminder was right on target. Consequently, I have been searching for some tangible way to create a greater awareness of the fact that we are members of a global family and to give concrete expression to that awareness. An excellent way to do this, I think, is to follow the example of other dioceses in our country which have entered into a "sister relationship" with a diocese from the third world. While such relationships vary from diocese to diocese, generally they include
the sharing of Church personnel, ordained, religious and lay, visits and exchange programs and support of particular projects or ministries within the "sister diocese."
Given the growing presence of the Hispanic community in our country and the fact that our future as a Church and nation is vitally intertwined with that of our brothers and sisters in the Southern half of our Hemisphere, I am suggesting that we pursue a relationship with a diocese in that part of our globe.
I am asking our Diocesan Office for the Propagation of the Faith, our Spanish Apostolate and our Commission for Peace and Justice to explore further this possibility, with a view to the selection of a "sister diocese" and with specific recommendations concerning the nature of the relationship that would exist.
I believe that such a venture would benefit our own Diocese immensely and would create among our people a greater sense of mission-mindedness and a better understanding of the pressing social issues of poverty and injustice which afflict millions of our neighbors in the Southern half of our continent. I ask the prayers of the entire Diocese for the development and success in implementation of this important undertaking.
Looking beyond
I would also expand this theme of "looking beyond our own borders" by encouraging our parish communities to develop greater linkages with our Catholic hospitals, nursing homes, child care facilities and other social service agencies and organizations such as our Diocesan Commission on Aging or our Diocesan Commission on Criminal Justice. Too often there is not the networking which should exist between these various components of our Diocesan family.
Closer relationships could be mutually beneficial, providing more volunteers and community outreach for our institutions, as well as more concerned parishioners, knowledgeable about the root causes of the social issues these institutions seek to address, and, therefore, more likely to become advocates for social change.
Similarly, wherever possible, I would encourage our parishes to work ecumenically and on an interfaith basis in providing services or promoting social justice issues. There is no specific Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Orthodox or Muslim way to combat drug abuse, to alleviate unemployment, to care for the hungry and the homeless or to reverse the arms race etc. Hence, for the clarity of their witness and the effectivness of their service, in the area of social ministry, parishes should collaborate on an ecumenical or interfaith basis.
Recognize all
I offer one concluding suggestion regarding this theme of "looking beyond our borders." I would encourage parishes which have volunteer appreciation events for parishioners who render service to the parish, to include among those recognized not only parishioners who give direct service to the parish as such (e.g., teachers in the school, catechists, lectors, musicians and eucharistic ministers etc.) but also parishioners who render acts of charity, service and justice through their involvement with community endeavors not under parish auspices (e.g., activists for issues of peace, anti-abortion, human rights, scout leaders, little league volunteers, or fund raisers for community service projects, etc.).
Such recognition, I think, would reaffirm the point I made earlier in this pastoral letter that the primary role of the laity is in exercising ministry for the transformation of society. Together with ecclesial ministries, then, the parish, should be acknowledging and celebrating these ministries of service to the world and society.
I realize that to respond to all the social service and social justice needs which exist today can seem at times to be an overwhelming task for the parish community. I ask our Office for Human Development Organizing, then, to be the lead agent in working with our parishes, diocesan departments, offices and various commissions, our Catholic Charities agencies, the wider religious community and the broader community at large in order to develop, over time, more systematic and coordinated means of identifying critical issues for action, of promoting timely and effective responses and of providing the materials, information and training necessary to sustain and strengthen grassroots service and advocacy.
4. Church Administration
It is said that philosophy is the "queen of the sciences" because it is the handmaid to all the others. Similarily, I would suggest that Church administration is the "queen of the ministries" because it is ordained to provide the ingredients, the personnel, fiscal and material means, which enable the other ministries to function.
