I consider the ten- page diocesan syntheses reports to be very valuable information, especially since the page limit forces people to limit and prioritize their remarks. Journalists may rebel at reading these from every diocese in the country, but social scientists may be able to do a good job of analyzing their content.
I think Trenton's report is very encouraging. Their bishop was once president of Catholic University. He was appointed by B16 and is very much in his mold, i.e., the scholar-teacher. As you can see from his remarks at the end, he admits that he is still adjusting to being a listener rather than a teacher. However, he seems willing to face the problems.
I have outlined the text below. A lot of the sample comments in the complete report are well worth the read.
Synod: Final Report of Trenton Diocesan Phase
Sources of Joy:
1. Serving and being involved in parish ministries
2. Mass and the Eucharist
3. Sacraments and rituals, prayers and devotion
4. Importance of Fellowship, beyond Mass, social and spiritual
5. Opportunities to grow in faith with small group settings, Bible studies, retreats, RCIA process
6. Comfort and support during times of illness, struggle, loss, grief, infertility and adoption:
7. Found good role models for living a Christian life; (priest, sister, teacher, etc.) really influenced my life:
8. Preachers with the ability to connect the Gospel to daily lives in relevant ways have been key in people’s journeys.
9. Many found strength in being a part of Catholic organizations, such as the Knights of Columbus. Many were proud of the good works of Catholic institutions such as colleges, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and senior living centers.
Obstacles, Challenges
1. Sadness and disappointment that their adult children and grandchildren do not practice the faith
This was clearly the most prominent concern mentioned by participants. There is a dismay that the Church doesn’t know what to do to attract and keep young people
2. Sexual abuse by priests
The sexual abuse scandal continues to be a source of pain for many, not only for victims and their families, but also for average lay Catholics and priests. Participants mentioned – in some way – the scandal in most listening sessions.
3. Crisis of credibility and authority due to the abuse crisis, instances of financial mismanagement, and lack of transparency in financial matters Participants expressed a lack of confidence in the way the Church is being led.
4. Sense of loss from parish church and school closings There were some participants that shared how difficult the closure of their parish church or school has been for them personally.
5. Individuals and groups that do not fit the “mold” are not welcome
Participants shared many instances in which they or those they know were made to feel unwelcome, uncomfortable, marginalized, ridiculed. Among these were single Catholics, families of children with autism, single parents, LGBTQ+, divorced Catholics and immigrants. They spoke of the behavior of some Catholics “in the pews” toward them; and in some cases, this judgmental or prejudicial behavior was tolerated by the pastor, even deemed laudable.
6. LGBTQ+ individuals feel alienated/experience rejection for who they are
The ability of the Church to journey with LGBTQ+ persons is, at best, limited. Our brothers and sisters find our teaching language of “intrinsically disordered” hurtful
7. Divorced persons and those who’ve been divorced and remarried
Catholics who have divorced feel abandoned in their struggle by the Church community. Many believe they cannot receive Communion, even though divorce alone is not an impediment.
8. Exclusion of women from leadership roles and decision-making in the Church
Almost every small group listening session included a call for an enlarged leadership role for women in the Church. The issue of women deacons and the ordination of women as priests was frequently mentioned by participants, with little or no resistance raised by others to the notion.
9. Shortage of clergy and demands on their time
Some participants were frustrated that priests are not accessible to people and cannot be available to accompany people through difficulties.
10. “The way things are” does not make it easy to participate
There was much sharing about poor service at the parish office, calls not met with generosity of spirit, responses differing from place to place, no flexibility, lack of communication, or lack of convenient office hours/Mass times for people who are working. Many participants said there are cliques, or that the same people in the parish do everything and make it difficult for others to get involved.
11. Polarization in the Church
One obstacle to communion is the sense of polarization in the Church mirroring the division in society between conservatives and liberals. Perhaps the most evident such polarization in synod listening involved those who are advocating for the Latin Mass and those who do not. The feelings ran deep. Both sides expressed their views with emotion
12. Change of pastor has a big impact on a parish for good or not for good
Many comments about obstacles to participation were related to the change of a pastor – some dreaded a change; others were hoping for one. The stories shared mostly indicate disappointment that the role of pastor carries such power and influence that a new pastor can radically change a parish. Some were asking if the voice or charism of the parish community over time/generation after generation means anything?
13. Clericalism and abuse of power by priests
There were quite a few experiences shared of priests belittling and humiliating people, anti-women or anti-laity attitudes, shaming and intimidation, imprudent comments, even frightening experiences of confession.
14. Difficulties related to our lack of receiving Holy Communion with Christians of other churches
There were a handful of comments about the difficulty of receiving Holy Communion at funerals, weddings, when not all members are Catholic. Also, some participants expressed a desire for their Catholic parish to improve efforts to work together with other Christian churches in their area.
CONCLUSIONS – HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT MAY BE PROMPTING US TO IMPROVE THE WAY WE JOURNEY TOGETHER?
The Church must address issues of leadership Including: the shortage of priests and the availability of pastors to “pastor”
Maybe the administrative model needs to change to give priests more time to talk with their people, know their needs and care for them.
Utilize the gifts of the laity wherever possible.
Consider married priests.
Re-open discussion about women serving as deacons, and priests.
We need continued healing for the damage done by clericalism and abuse of power.
We need to continue to increase respect for women and their role in the Universal Church. The Trenton Diocese is a shining example not only with Terry Ginther as Chancellor but also with a number of other women in key leadership positions. The participant comments indicated that they were not aware of the significant role women are actually playing in the Trenton Diocese under Bishop O’Connell.
Implement a renewal of evangelizing catechesis and adult faith formation that would lead to a maturing in the faith; help adult Catholics develop a deeper understanding of Catholic teachings
Engage teens and young people
Do something to promote healing and restore trust
Continue the process of listening begun in the Synod and discerning our direction using the ”Spiritual Conversation Method” we have learned
Focus attention on growing participation
Church needs to be welcoming to all, not only in words, but in action
Articulate a “theology of welcome” that is shared among Catholics that focuses on the whole person rather than the way they are different from the “norm.”
The Church accompanies people in time of tragedy, illness, grief (we can put aside all judgments and just be with them). Find ways to do the same and walk with those who are different in their sexual orientation, mental capacity, marital status, etc.
Find different ways to accompany the divorced
Be attentive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit toward unity…not uniformity, but unity. The divisions in the church are harmful to communion
BRIEF REFLECTIONS OF BISHOP
The notion of “journeying” together as a local Church was not difficult to conceptualize, understand and present within the Diocese. In general, people responded well.
The emphasis on simply “listening,” however, was a bit harder, at least for me. Having spent my entire priestly career in works of Catholic education, I found the temptation to “teach” rather than to “listen” a strong one, especially when I encountered misperceptions or inaccurate ideas about what the Church actually believes and teaches. Fortunately, that temptation eased with time but never completely.
I was not surprised by any of the results of the Synod discussions in terms of content.
The challenge remains for the Diocese to build upon the strengths and good experiences expressed by participants and to determine ways to address and minimize the hurts felt by people. Follow-up efforts are already being planned for the Fall 2022.
I was pleased by the extent to which clergy and faithful participated in the Synod as an expression of hope in the future. I was disappointed that 1/3 of the Diocese’s 97 parishes did not participate in any meaningful way, despite a substantial push by the Diocese and those directly involved with leading the Synod efforts. That fact contributed significantly to the understanding and credibility of many of the negative comments by those who did participate about their experience of Church in their parishes. As Bishop, I often feel at a loss in knowing how to motivate a better response from the parishes.
Extremely interesting! And all of it has the ring of truth - this is the mix of things I would expect people to have on their minds.
ReplyDeleteNow we'll see what comes out of the larger process.
Down in Lansing, there is a parish advertising itself on the marquee and Website as "authentically Catholic." Raber tells me this has become a shorthand way to signal a return to some preVat2 traditions and to signal an emphasis on anti-abortion/anti-gay positions.
ReplyDeleteThe groupies that followed the local priest describe themselves as "authentic Catholics." The women wear veils or chapel caps and receive on the tongue. They sit in their own section of the church and join the priest and his family at the rectory after Mass. Looks like a cult to me, but my perceptions about the local can be jaded at times.
Advertising your parish as "authentically Catholic" strikes me as a way to imply that other parishes may be inauthentic. It doesn't strike me as good way to promote Catholic unity at a time when the Church is losing people.
Just wondering if anyone else has noticed "authentically Catholic" parishes or Catholic groups. It seems to speak to Point #11 above.
Nothing to see here. Anyone who has been paying even a little bit of attention during the last 20 or so years would have been aware of all of these things, the good and the bad. One open question- I haven’t yet read the 10 pages. But I can’t imagine that the only polarization is Latin v. vernacular. The political polarization is intense, based on what I read, anyway. The Latin mass crowd tend to be anti-Francis, and pro- trump.
ReplyDeleteInteresting too that 1/3 of the parishes didn’t participate. Guessing their pastors might be among the young clericalists who not only don’t want to go forward, they want to go back to the 40 s and 50s when priests were revered (think Bells of St. Mary’s), when laity, and especially women laity, knew their place.
"Guessing their pastors might be among the young clericalists who not only don’t want to go forward, they want to go back to the 40 s and 50s when priests were revered (think Bells of St. Mary’s), when laity, and especially women laity, knew their place."
DeleteIt's possible. But it's also possible that pastors like the ones you describe might be eager to participate, in order to put their particular philosophical (ideological?) "stamp" on the process.
I wouldn't assume there is just one reason that some parishes didn't participate. Lack of awareness, disinterest, cynicism, inability to get organized - any/all of these explanations strike me as plausible.
In the mental health system, county agencies and their supporters often view the mental health board especially the staff as being out of touch. One Executive Director summed up his board as being composed of a third with strong agency backgrounds who felt they were there to support the agencies against the board staff, another third who thought they were there to support the staff against the agencies, and the final third were there to support the taxpayers against both the board staff and the agencies. Actually, that is not a bad board composition.
DeleteCounty mental health boards think the bureaucrats in their state house tower are out of touch. Parishes often think the diocesan staff in the chancery are out of touch.
There are plenty of bishops right and left who are going to try to work synodality to support their pet projects. Likewise, many pastors will see synodality as the latest renewal program in a long series of such programs, either to be eagerly embraced or take a "let other parishes try this first" attitude.
I think a lot of pastors are ill-equipped to handle conflict. They may avoid synodality because it surfaces it (Francis indeed says that we should not avoid conflict). Others may see group processes as a way to moderate conflict or deflect conflict from themselves.
"Sadness and disappointment that their adult children and grandchildren do not practice the faith
ReplyDeleteThis was clearly the most prominent concern mentioned by participants. There is a dismay that the Church doesn’t know what to do to attract and keep young people"
That is the item that struck me as mos interesting. It's been a long-running theme in our parish. And we feel it in our family, too.
The cultural ties that bind Catholics together are weaker. Ethnic identity is not as strong. Catholic-to-Catholic marriages are relatively rare these days. Catholic schools are not the "glue" that they used to be for parish communities - many schools have closed, and many Catholics can't afford them. And other denominations are aggressive about proselytizing.
This situation doesn't generate much media coverage or buzz. If we understand the current state of the Catholic church only via the media, we don't get a full and accurate picture of what is in people's hearts.
This is an issue which many pastoral staff and active parish members probably agree upon. Unfortunately, they tend to blame each other.
DeleteParish members tend to think this is the staff's problem to solve, and pastoral staff blame the parents for "not getting more involved." Both tend to treat the problem as one of knowledge whereas it is more a problem of human relationships and personal development. Young people are far more interested in their peers than in their parents and teachers, whose interests tend to be boring.
The teens and the twenties are when people form their fundamental world views about God, themselves and other people. This is a very active discovery process; it certainly was for me. Fortunately, I found many things: the Divine Office, Thomas Merton in High School, eventually Jesuit and Benedictine spirituality in college. I could make these my own without becoming dependent upon my parents and mentors.
Unfortunately, both parents and educator often hope to produce clones not mature Christians. They strongly underestimate the role of the Holy Spirt in our lives.
Fortunately, Merton alerted me early that the discovery of oneself is also the discovery of God, and that there are many false selves and false gods along the way to becoming the truly unique person (saint) whom God has meant us to be.
DeleteRe evangelizing:
DeleteAn evangelical church in our area is touting the fact that it paid off $2 million in medical debt for Michigan families. There has been a little flurry of news in local outlets about it, and my guess is that it will attract new people.
The Cristo Rey parish is very well covered by local media in the capital area for its social programs and ethic festivals.
But most coverage of parishes and Catholic schools/agencies in the diocese has been limited to:
-Embezzlement by retired priest. Priest is in prison.
-Misappropriation of funds to a priest's sideline construction company. Priest died after trial in which the bishop had to testify.
-Catholic school sues state to protest covid masking requirements as interfering with religious freedom.
-Catholic high school issued rule against taking a knee before athletic events and suspended black students for doing it anyway. Media coverage in the wake of that incident looked at claims of students routinely making racial slurs and students being encouraged to support President Trump's 2020 campaign.
-St Vincent Catholic Charities refusing to allow gay and lesbians to adopt children.
I don't think Catholics are more conservative , bigoted, or crooked than any other churches. But the diocese has its own magazine and media outlets where it can ignore or whitewash these stories. Visibility in the larger community does not seem to be of interest.
So I am not going to blame "the media" for bad or no press. Dioceses need to wise up about how to deal with local news outlets. It's easier than ever to manipulate better coverage because news outlets increasingly barely on press releases and advisories as beat reporters dwindle.
Jim The cultural ties that bind Catholics together are weaker. Ethnic identity is not as strong.
DeleteThis is something that needs expanding because it's key. . I have long felt that Catholicism - with its 1000 page book of 'must believes" - is really based on non-religious factors - on cultural and ethnic identities. So Irish people and Italians and Poles were Catholic as part of their national/cultural identity, not because they believed everything in that 1000 page catechism. It really had nothing o do with theology or religious beliefs. The catechism was pretty irrelevant, because it was really all cultural. But then Catholics started getting educated, and were no longer dependent on priests or church to tell them what to believe. They could start figuring out what they believed on their own. They were no longer superstitious so became unafraid of going to hell if they didn't show up for mass on Sunday. And they started to marry outside of their religious/cultural group and were exposed to the ideas of others, to the different understandings of christianity, to the different understandings held by other religions.
Getting the young back in the pews may very well be impossible, because all of the factors that kept their grandparents and parents in the pews are no longer important to them (many of their parents have left also, actually)
Jim: The cultural ties that bind Catholics together are weaker. Ethnic identity is not as strong.
ReplyDeleteThis is something that needs expanding because it's key. I have long felt that Catholicism - with its 1000 page book of 'must believes" - is really based on non-religious factors - on cultural and ethnic identities. - Anne
While cultural, ethnic and religious identities have often gone together, Christianity was founded upon a break from cultural and ethnic identity. Even when Catholicism became deeply enculturated in Italy, France and Spain, there was also the common culture of the Latin Mass, meatless Fridays, and other practices that went across ethnic identity. Catholicism is currently flourishing in Africa even though it no longer has the Latin Mass and meatless Fridays. In many of those nations it has adopted native languages and rituals.
In the USA, too much emphasis has been placed upon Catholicism as a set of beliefs rather than a set of practices. Our schools and religious education emphasize beliefs. Elaborate intellectual preparation for first Communion and Confirmation but nothing that integrates the young with parish ministries. Young people already get too much abstract preparation for life in their secular academic work.