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In that Pastoral Letter, I also raised an
important question: “The spiritual
and pastoral renewal of the Diocese
of Scranton will mean that we need
to look at every one of our
structures, i.e., our parishes,
schools, institutions, buildings and
programs. Are these entities the
right ones for the 21st century? Are
these entities currently prepared to
announce the Good News of Jesus
Christ as Jesus intends them to do?”
With the assistance of the Meitler
Consultants, we made a study of our
schools. The experience of the
consultants helped give us a
perspective and process to not only
preserve Catholic education, but
advance it in our Diocese.
To foster the growth of Catholic education
in our Diocese, we had to experience
some loss, but already we are
experiencing new gain. Now it is
time to study our parishes with the
assistance of The Reid Group. Are we
prepared for evangelization in the
21st century or are we not because
we are inordinately attached to
structures from the past?
Called to Holiness and
Mission: Pastoral Planning in the
Diocese of Scranton
At this time I am urging all Catholics in
the eleven counties of the Diocese
of Scranton to commit to prayer and
cooperation so that the priorities,
goals and criteria of Called
to Holiness and Mission: Pastoral
Planning in the Diocese of Scranton,
our diocesan effort for planned
renewal, will be realized. Pastoral
Planning needs the support of all
priests, deacons, religious and lay
faithful of the Diocese of Scranton.
The Diocese is not a grouping of totally
independent local entities. Pastoral
Planning at the local level cannot
be done in isolation from the
central administration of the
Diocese or from neighboring
parishes. Diocesan pastoral planning
and uniform diocesan directives can
help to deepen a sense of diocesan
community, spirituality and mission,
as well as foster the spiritual
renewal of our parishes and
institutions. In this way we can
express more effectively the signs
of unity, holiness, catholicity and
apostolicity of the Church of Jesus
Christ throughout the eleven
counties of northeastern and north
central Pennsylvania.
Pastoral Planning is an exercise leading
to prudent stewardship of spiritual,
human, financial and facility
resources for the sake of parish and
diocesan mission. As a remote
preparation for pastoral planning, I
mandated the establishment of Parish
Pastoral Councils according to
uniform diocesan directives that
require at least twenty minutes of
prayer and twenty minutes of study.
I mandated similar directives for
Parish Finance Councils. Workshops
were conducted throughout the
Diocese for the formation and
development of both councils with
information focused on the essential
mission of the parish and with
information to help parishes discern
the best use of parish resources and
to prepare them for the pastoral
planning and pastoral assessment
that will be an ongoing part of
parish life from now on.
Every parish of the Diocese will
participate in this Diocesan
Pastoral Planning process. Various
possibilities may emerge.
1. A parish may discover that the mission of the parish is
compromised by being too small, or
that with its limited resources it
cannot accomplish its mission.
2. A parish might come to the awareness of a need to become
consolidated with another parish and
become a new canonical parish with
one pastor.
3. Other parishes may come to the awareness of the
advantage of being linked with
another parish and share a common
pastor and resources.
4. Other parishes will come to see the advantages of
entering into partnership with
another parish, each having their
own proper pastor but now sharing
resources and working together.
Only the grace of God and prayerful
reflection on the conditions of the
Diocese and the priorities, goals
and criteria that are needed for an
effective mission and prudent
stewardship will lead to spiritual
renewal and prepare us for the
evangelization of persons and
culture that is our mission.
We must be as faithful, creative and
willing to make sacrifices in the
21st century, as our ancestors were
in the 19th and 20th centuries. We
best respect our heritage not by
merely maintaining what we received
but by learning how to respond to
the challenges we face in our own
time. What was helpful or necessary
in the past may not be all that
useful today and, in fact, might be
an obstacle to our mission.
Salient Factors
In July, I met with members of the
Episcopal Council, the Vicars
General, Regional Episcopal Vicars,
the Chancellor, and members of the
Diocesan Curia – the heads of
various departments – for two days
of prayer and reflection on the
state of the Diocese in the light of
our Diocesan Mission Statement.
These are some of the salient
factors we considered:
1. Our parishes were mostly established in the 19th and
early 20th centuries, with attention
given to the centers of population
and travel considerations at that
time. Some of the pertinent
questions and factors that need to
be studied now include: current and
projected demographics; present
concentrations of people; the number
of parishes at present; the
proximity of churches to each other;
the seating capacity of churches;
how many Masses are needed; the
number of priests who will be
available in the future; and where
parishes are now and will be needed
in the future.
2. At present there are 186 diocesan priests active within
the Diocese. By 2012 there will be
147.
3. A parish must focus on its mission, not on maintenance
of buildings or its history. When is
a parish too small to fulfill its
mission? How much of parish
resources are dedicated to repair
and maintenance of aging or
unnecessary buildings? How do we act
as good stewards of limited parish
resources? Are their better ways to
accomplish our mission and more
prudent ways to use our resources?
4. We need to examine local culture and circumstances
throughout the Diocese and the
various communities where our
parishes are located so that we may
develop appropriate and effective
plans for the evangelization of
persons and cultures. We must, in
the words of the Second Vatican
Council, “read the signs of the
times” and design the most effective
ways of evangelizing through a
prudent use of resources.
Our reflection led to the identification
of these nine pastoral priorities:
1. Encourage vocations to the priesthood and religious
life.
2. Reform the liturgical and catechetical life of the
Diocese.
3. Foster adult faith and missionary-spirit formation.
4. Reform parish-based religious education programs.
5. Strengthen the Diocese’s apostolates among the faithful
who are new in our country.
6. Promote chastity education and Christian formation in
marriage and family life.
7. Implement the timeline for pastoral planning and parish,
deanery, vicariate, and
diocesan-wide revitalization.
8. Foster stewardship and eliminate indebtedness.
9. Monitor the reform of Catholic schools.
Goals and Criteria
These pastoral priorities will be realized
through the goals and criteria of
Called to Holiness and Mission:
Pastoral Planning in the Diocese of
Scranton.
Our diocesan planning process will help
parishes evaluate their current
ministries, activities and resources
in the light of parish and diocesan
mission, plan for ways to enhance
parish life, fulfill the priorities
described above, and collaborate in
order to both share and conserve
resources so that ministries,
services and activities can be more
fruitful. In the process, parishes
may be restructured to more
effectively witness to the presence
of the risen Christ in all parts of
the Diocese and effectively serve
the entire faith community and the
larger Church.
The Council of Priests and other diocesan
advisory groups will provide advice
to me as I see the need for their
assistance. In addition, we have
organized a Diocesan Pastoral
Planning Commission of priests,
deacons, religious and lay faithful
reflecting the diversity of
vocations and gifts in our local
Church.
Each parish will have a core team
consisting of the pastor, one member
of the Parish Pastoral Council, one
member of the Parish Finance Council
and two other members of the parish
appointed by the pastor. The Parish
Core Team will be responsible to see
that required work is accomplished
at the parish level, that
parishioners are involved in the
planning process, that there is open
and direct communication within the
parish, and that their parish is
represented at all cluster meetings;
that is, meetings of several
parishes together.
Parish Pastoral Councils and Parish
Finance Councils will provide input
to the Parish Core Team.
Communication and cooperation
involving the Parish Core Team and
these councils are very important.
Joint prayer services involving the
Parish Pastoral Council, the Parish
Finance Council and the Parish Core
Team will be crucial in promoting
ongoing effective communication and
cooperation at the parish level.
I ask especially that there be fervent and
consistent prayer by all
parishioners for the success of
Called to Holiness and Mission:
Pastoral Planning in the Diocese of
Scranton.
Cluster Core Teams will include Parish
Core Team members from all parishes
in a given cluster. They will study
the various parish and cluster
evaluations, provide a rationale for
their suggestions, and communicate
and respond to the Diocesan Planning
Commission. This brief outline of
some of the components of our
diocesan pastoral planning process
will be explained in greater detail
through The Catholic Light,
Catholic Television, our diocesan
website (www.Dioceseofscranton.org),
and through materials which will be
supplied for our parish bulletins in
the coming weeks.
Conclusion
We are continuing a time of major change
in our Diocese so that we can more
effectively accomplish our mission
through the grace of God and prudent
use of our limited resources. During
the time of change and tension
following the Second Vatican
Council, Pope Paul VI addressed
words to the Catholic world that are
pertinent to our Diocese at this
time: “Let the agitated members of
various groups therefore reject the
excesses of systematic and
destructive criticism! Without
departing from a realistic
viewpoint, let Christian communities
become centers of optimism where all
the members resolutely endeavor to
perceive the positive aspect of
people and events. ‘Love does not
rejoice in what is wrong but
rejoices with the truth. There is no
limit to love's forbearance, to its
trust, its hope, its power to
endure.’ The attainment of such an
outlook is not just a matter of
psychology. It is also a fruit of
the Holy Spirit.”
I also recall these words of Pope John
Paul II: “If in the planning that
awaits us we commit ourselves more
confidently to a pastoral activity
that gives personal and communal
prayer its proper place, we shall be
observing an essential principle of
the Christian view of life: the
primacy of grace. There is a
temptation which perennially besets
every spiritual journey and pastoral
work: that of thinking that the
results depend on our ability to act
and to plan. God of course asks us
really to cooperate with his grace,
and therefore invites us to invest
all our resources of intelligence
and energy in serving the cause of
the Kingdom. But it is fatal to
forget that ‘without Christ we can
do nothing’ (cf. Jn 15:5).
“It is prayer which roots us in this
truth. It constantly reminds us of
the primacy of Christ and, in union
with him, the primacy of the
interior life and of holiness. When
this principle is not respected, is
it any wonder that pastoral plans
come to nothing and leave us with a
disheartening sense of frustration?”
I am asking all priests, deacons,
religious and lay faithful of the
Diocese of Scranton to join me in
prayer as we continue our diocesan
efforts during this time of profound
parish renewal, and as the Church
throughout the world prepares to
celebrate the year of Saint Paul
from June 28, 2008 to June 29, 2009.
Just as the spiritual renewal of our
parishes, institutions and schools
must take place in communion with
the Diocese and its evangelizing
mission, our diocesan efforts must
take place in communion with the
Catholic Church throughout the
world.
In proclaiming the Pauline Year, Pope
Benedict XVI indicated that today we
need the example of the great
apostle and missionary Saint Paul:
“The success of his apostolate
depended above all on his personal
involvement in proclaiming the
Gospel with total dedication to
Christ; a dedication that feared
neither risk, difficulty nor
persecution.” Read the Second Letter
of St. Paul to the Corinthians, or
some of his other Letters, and see
the difficulties, tensions,
divisions and frustrations that
challenged him. The story of his
missionary efforts has been a
consolation to the Church throughout
the centuries because his story
gives hope and encouragement to
every church community when it has
to deal with conflict and problems,
with change and loss.
In fulfilling the mission entrusted to the
Diocese of Scranton in the 21st
century, we must not give in to
fear; we must be willing to make the
appropriate pastoral plans and the
necessary sacrifices that may be
asked of us. May the example and the
intercession of Saint Paul help our
Diocese and our evangelizing
mission.
The Grace of the Paschal Mystery of the
death and resurrection of Our Lord
can help us to deal with loss and
change in our lives and in our
Diocese. In the Letter to the
Philippians, Saint Paul wrote of his
experience of loss for the sake of
greater gain: “For his sake I have
accepted the loss of all things and
I consider them so much rubbish that
I may gain Christ….” When embraced
in a spirit of faith, our losses
lead to new gain and new life.
When praying in the small chapel of San
Damiano in Assisi, Saint Francis
heard the voice of Christ speak to
him from the chapel crucifix:
“Francis, go, repair my church
which, as you see, is falling into
ruin.” Francis began to repair the
deteriorating building, but soon
realized he was not called to do
maintenance on the structure or to
preserve a building; but rather, his
mission was to repair the Church,
the living Body of Christ through
spiritual renewal. He came to the
deeper understanding of the meaning
of Church.
I strongly urge everyone to meditate on
the Icon of the cross of San Damiano
and the words addressed to Saint
Francis. I hope that such reflection
will help us, as a Diocese, to move
from an attachment to the past and
come to a new awareness of the
mystery of the Church and its
mission at this time. I pray that we
be open to hear the voice of Christ
that comes to us today, through the
scriptures and the teaching of the
Church, and that we respond with
courage and enthusiasm to the call
to holiness and mission, as we begin
a process of pastoral planning for
profound spiritual renewal.
With gratitude for your prayerful
attentiveness, I am,
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Joseph F. Martino, D.D., Hist. E.D.
Bishop of Scranton
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