ARTICLES

Not A Perfect Plan

But Sacramento Synod Implementation Has Promise

BY WILLIAM ROSS

Editor's note: William Ross (not his real name) was a delegate to the Sacramento diocesan synod. His first report on the synod ("Could Have Been Much Worse") appeared in the January 2005 issue of the Faith.

The diocese of Sacramento recently completed its first synod in 75 years, and the first one to feature lay participation. At the end of the three-day event (October 11-13, 2004), synod members presented to Bishop William Weigand their recommendations for how the diocese could best grow in holiness as it moves into the Third Millenium.

At that time, the synod presented the bishop with a list that included recommendations for better catechetical formation (especially in the liturgy), more parish hospitality, more opportunities for evangelization, a greater focus on fostering vocations, and more collaboration, both among the laity and among parishes. Left off the list, but key to the hearts of many delegates, was the need to minister to the poor, marginalized, and disadvantaged. This included increasing awareness of the need for Catholics to be pro-life and to foster a culture of life.

The bishop tasked an ad hoc committee with developing ways of implementing these recommendations. The group met for two full days late last year, developing the context for these initiatives. They then developed a two-pronged approach. Each "Synod Pastoral Initiative" would be restated and expounded upon as a general statement of that initiative and directed toward the diocese. Then these proposals were developed for the parishes, deaneries, and parish clusters into a more practical application.

In the end the committee derived the following list of initiatives: faith formation — evangelization; vocations — collaborative ministry and shared responsibility; Eucharist and sacraments; formation and training — lay ministry and lay apostolate; youth and young adults; social service and social justice ministry; and cultural diversity.

Under the heading, "evangelization," the diocese calls for "supporting parents as the primary educators of their children." It also encourages the faithful "to support Catholic schools, recognizing that 'They can contribute to making Catholic schools true communities of faith.'"

The operative word here is "can," since it is possible for the faithful to help keep Catholic schools Catholic. Recent history, however, is filled with examples of parents having to pull their children from parochial schools so their children don't lose their faith. There is a reason why growing numbers of faithful Catholic parents are opting for home schooling or non-diocesan institutions such as St. Maria Goretti Academy in nearby Rocklin.

The diocesan overview also calls for pastors to give "homilies that connect scripture with family life (when text and context make it possible)," and for them to utilize catechetical moments before and after Mass, not to mention "family catechetical programs after Sunday liturgy, and family social events combined with scripture sharing."

The committee envisions the development of "an integrated pastoral plan for the fostering of vocations." It believes the diocese should "develop an aggressive and creative vocation ministry team ... to promote vocations among youth and young adults."

The committee further calls for the identification of "dioceses in the United States with growing numbers of vocations, study their modes of vocational recruitment, and replicate their best practices." What this does not include, however, is the fact that dioceses whose vocations are growing don't so much have a plan as a goal, and that goal is orthodoxy. Look at those areas that are attracting men to the priesthood: Lincoln; Omaha; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Fargo, North Dakota; Arlington, Virginia; and Denver. Men enter the seminary drawn by the orthodox leadership of the ordinaries there, bishops such as Robert Carlson, Eldon Curtis, Charles Chaput, and Fabian Bruskewitz. These men are orthodox, and their chanceries and priests largely reflect the same outlook.

The committee also calls for rotating eucharistic adoration among parishes as a good idea to foster vocations. Another good idea would be for more families to encourage and foster vocations within the home.

In calling for collaborative ministry and shared responsibility, the synod initiative envisions providing laity with more opportunities for participation in various parish ministries. It also foresees more close collaboration between parishes, other churches, faith- or community-based organizations, and public entities. It anticipates more hospitality ministries to "help people feel welcome at church and connect them to parish life and parish ministries" to build community.

But what the committee perhaps didn't see is that, like vocations, community doesn't result from some recipe. You can't mix hospitality ministers, smiles, and firm handshakes and create fellowship. Other things must come first: the pot lucks, the special feast days, the parish work days, the frequent opportunities for prayer, and all the rest.

If there was one area of commonality at the synod, it was a hunger to better know the Real Presence and the other sacraments. To this end, the committee suggested to Bishop Weigand that he increase opportunities for daily Mass and "provide opportunities for more frequent celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation."

Most encouragingly, the initiative asks the bishop to "provide a diversity of prayer experiences, including celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, opportunities for celebrating cultural feast days appropriate to the parish community, recitation of the rosary, [and] benediction...." It also calls on him to foster studies of Vatican II's documents, as well as the rubrics of the Mass.

Under the committee's plans, lay ministers of whatever stripe might have to obtain certification through the re-formed Lay Formation Institute. And the diocese would also cultivate in each of the faithful a sense that God has placed them in a certain vocation in a certain instance at a certain point in time for a very good reason, "namely, the apostolate of the workplace and the marketplace."

The diocese recognizes it needs to spend more resources in ministry to youth and young adults, but it seems to have little idea how to do this. Nonetheless, its desire is to increase opportunities for youth and young adults to encounter their faith, such as World Youth Day.

In the area of social service and social justice ministry, the synod implementation committee calls for the "development in every parish of an integrated model of social ministry." It also calls for a vigorous "defense and protection of human life at every stage of its existence, from conception to its natural end in death." Many were concerned that the synod vision for Catholic life in Sacramento would leave these two crucial areas untouched.

One point made several times over at the synod was the isolation many immigrant groups experience in our communities. Immigrants told delegates that they feel like interlopers, even though what they bring from their native lands is often rich and faith affirming. Cultural arrogance or, more often, language barriers, make is such that immigrants' gifts go unused.

So to foster "cultural diversity," the implementation committee is suggesting parishes develop "models that highlight the diverse cultural expressions of the faithful and, in particular, recognize the major feasts that have both cultural, religious, and historical significance for these populations."

The synod implementation is not a perfect plan, and its success will depend on how it is carried out. Nonetheless, there is much here that would help the Church regain a sense of what is truly Catholic. If implemented methodically and faithfully, it could help not only the Church in Sacramento but in the larger world, as well.

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