DIOCESAN NEWS
07/09/10
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Religious communities offer visions, ideas for future
By Fabvienen Taylor
JACKSON — In June, the Mission and Ministry in Mississippi Task Force Committee held meetings with the leadership of religious order priests and religious communities of sisters and brothers to discuss, according to Bishop Joseph Latino, “how we can all coordinate our efforts to best meet the needs of the parishes and missions in our diocese.”
Below are some of the responses from the two gatherings:
+ We can look at our shortage of priests as a “scary” time or as an exciting time. How can we help our people see these changes as an opportunity for growth?
+ We must face the reality that with the tremendous decrease in priests, people will be more and more dependent on religious, lay persons and lay ecclesial ministers in the future.
+ Leaders of religious order priests want to remain faithful to their particular charism; they are not just interested in sending more priests. They want to share in shaping a vision for the future and the future church.
+ Small communities need the Catholic Church, a Catholic presence. Because of our social teachings, we can not live around poverty, illiteracy, homelessness and not respond. We have to be true to our religious charism, which always keeps us on the edge, on the fringe.
+ We need trained community organizers in areas to develop leadership. Someone trained already in that.
+ Some priests need to be educated that people have a right to speak about what they want as a church.
+ The liturgy needs to be vibrant; we need to continue work with bilingual liturgy and talk to people about the meaning of Eucharist.
 + It’s important to empower the laity, for them to participate in the paradigm shift taking place, important for them to have a say in what’s going on.
+ People need to be prepared to take care of their parish. Their gifts, however small, need to be recognized and they need to become a part of taking care of their parish.
+ In one area of the diocese, a pastoral team of priests, living in community, help serve the needs of several parishes.
+ Weekly Mass can be celebrated on another day than Sunday.
+ A paradigm shift needs to take place in how we view ourselves. Are we a mission diocese or a missionary diocese? That is exciting. Stop thinking in financial terms only, of how poor we are. As a missionary diocese, as a missionary people, we are people of the word, people who do things outwardly. We need to reframe the question in terms of our viability.
+ Could we not have a dialogue about extraordinary celebrants of the Eucharist? When help was needed in the past, extraordinary ministers of Communion were started.
+ We need to develop a process where people can name their fears.
+ Where priests are celebrating too many Masses on the weekend, canon law provides a law to limit that. Use it.
+ There are cultural differences among Catholics and that reality calls me forth to understand that.
On Tuesday, June 29, over 30 sisters and one brother, representing the leadership of 28 religious communities, attended a meeting with Bishop Latino and members of the task force in the Cathedral Center at St. Peter Parish in Jackson.
“We are delighted you could be with us and accepted our invitation,” said Bishop Latino. “We are here to talk, listen and share with you. to talk about the future. We all share in the same work. We are all working and laboring in the vineyard of the Lord.”
Sister Teresa Auad, a member of the leadership team of the Sinsinawa Dominicans, said the meeting with Bishop Latino was uniq ue.
“It is very unusual for a bishop to call this type of meeting to build a vision for the diocese.” she said. “I don’t know of any bishop, and we have sisters in the United States, Mexico, Bolivia and Italy, who has asked for help (from religious sisters and brothers) in visioning the future for his diocese.”
Tuesday’s meeting was the second meeting held by the task force with the leaders, or their representatives.
The first meeting was held June 9 with the leaders of communities of religious priests. It was held at the Priory of St. Moses the Black in Raymond.
The thrust of the meetings was for the priests and women and men religious, most from communities with decades of experience working in the Diocese of Jackson, to share their visions and ideas and explore new models for working more effectively together in the future to meet the needs and challenges in the diocese.
Prior to the meetings, in his invitation to the leaders of the religious communities, Bishop Latino said a strong lay ministry program has been developed in the diocese and almost 20 parishes and missions are led by lay ministers. Most, he said, do not have Mass every weekend.
In the prayer service before the June 29 meeting, Bishop Latino and task force members highlighted the years of work and service by the religious from parochial schools to health care to community outreach and pastoral ministry in the Jackson diocese.
Both meetings revisited the on-going question of how to best serve parishes and missions, in light of the mission and ministry planning process.
Developed and promulgated five years ago, the process addressed the shortage of priests and women and men religious in the diocese.
That process resulted in the establishment of 22 areas, made up of neighboring parishes/missions with common needs and resources, committed to working together to address personnel and other challenges.
On several occasions since then, as the shortage of personnel has deepened, Bishop Latino has asked parishes/missions to re-examine their area plans and make any necessary adjustments.
The priests’ meeting included leaders, or their representatives, from the Missionary Servants of the Holy Trinity, Glenmary Home Missioners, Priests of the Sacred Heart, Norbertines, Society of St. Joseph, Franciscan Friars and the Society of the Divine Word.
Religious communities of women represented included: Dominicans, School Sisters of St. Joseph, Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate, School Sisters of St. Francis, Franciscans, Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet, Sisters of the Presentation, Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, Sisters of the Living Word, Sisters of St. Agnes, Sisters of Mt. Carmel, Dominican Sisters of Peace, Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of St. Dominic, School Sisters of Notre Dame, Dominican Sisters of Hope, Sisters of St. Francis, Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate, Congregation of St. Joseph, Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. The Christian Brothers also sent a representative.
Members of the task force committee include: lay ecclesial ministers Barbara Sturbaum of Louisville Sacred Heart and Pam Minninger of Gluckstadt St. Joseph, Msgr. Elvin Sunds, vicar general, Sister Donna Gunn, special projects coordinator at Camden Sacred Heart, Sister Yesenia Fernandez, Forest St. Michael pastoral minister, and Father Michael Barth, Camden Sacred Heart pastor.
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