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June 10, 2018

Bishop Rozanski to report on findings of listening sessions

REGIONAL
By Kathleen Harrington

(IObserve file photo)

 

SPRINGFIELD- In a series of meetings across the Diocese of Springfield earlier this  year, Catholics shared their opinions of the state of the church. Next Tuesday, 250 members of parish leadership will gather to hear Springfield Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski’s report on the findings.

The Parish Leadership Discernment Day at Mary Mother of Hope Parish Center in Springfield includes delegations of pastors, religious educators, finance and pastoral council members, youth ministers, and parish staff members from across the diocese.

The process began last summer when 3,500 leaders of the Catholic Church across the United States, including nine people from the Springfield Diocese, met in Orlando, Fla., for the Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel. The event in Florida was based on Pope Francis’ 2013 apostolic exhortation. It was four days of meetings to motivate and challenge participants to embrace and share their faith and evangelize the world.   

What followed in the Diocese of Springfield, were nine listening sessions with the bishop. Held between February and April in the eight deaneries, participants were asked to answer the following questions: What is the church doing well? What is the church doing but needs improvement? And what should the church be doing? Bishop Rozanski listened but purposely refrained from comments at the listening sessions so all opinions could be heard in the time allotted.

In the papal document, Pope Francis called for a return to evangelization, the primary mission of the church. Echoing the teaching, Bishop Rozanski has said that the church needs to be where the people are if it is to truly engage people in the activity and life of the church.

In mid-April, the planning group reviewed the volumes of ideas shared by the faithful in the listening sessions. Eight themes emerged. On Tuesday, the details as well as the results of an online survey will be shared with the parish delegations. After the bishop’s presentation, the parish leaders will work in smaller groups to prioritize the top five. The next step will be to develop a strategy to implement the plans across all parish communities in the diocese.

Look for a report on the Parish Leadership Discernment Day here in the days to come and a video version of this story will be featured in an upcoming edition of the Springfield Diocese’s weekly newsmagazine, “Real to Reel,” which airs Saturday evenings at 7 p.m. on WWLP-22 NEWS.

 

 

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