Listening Sessions: Diversity tops strengths, trust a big challenge, by Maria Wiering, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Listening Sessions: Diversity tops strengths, trust a big challenge

By Maria Wiering
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis - Catholic Spirit
December 15, 2015

http://thecatholicspirit.com/news/local-news/listening-sessions-diversity-tops-strengths-trust-a-big-challenge/

Words from listening session participants describing attributes desired in the next archbishop. The Catholic Spirit

More than 2,000 Catholics participated in one of 10 listening sessions held throughout the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in October and November. Attendees included lay leaders, men and women in consecrated life, priests and deacons, as well as students, seminarians and people who have left formal parish affiliation. They represented at least 80 percent of the archdiocese’s parishes.

The observations and opinions expressed ranged broadly, but over the course of the sessions, several common themes emerged. Attendees were asked to identify the archdiocese’s greatest strengths and challenges, and to share the qualities they would like the next archbishop to possess.

Greatest strengths

The archdiocese’s top two strengths presented at the listening sessions were diversity and Catholic education, followed closely by social justice outreach, prevalent lay leadership and evangelization initiatives.

Diversity. When speaking of diversity, participants said they valued having different cultures, as well as varied expressions of Catholic faith, parish identities and sizes, liturgical styles and ideologies. Some also mentioned the archdiocese’s geographic diversity, with urban, suburban, small-town and rural parishes.
Education. Participants expressed pride in the fact that the formal Catholic education system spans from pre-kindergarten to graduate school. The archdiocese is home to nearly 90 grade schools and high schools, two full universities with satellite campuses of two others, and two seminaries. The Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute — a non-degree program based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church — was also frequently noted, as were general ongoing faith formation opportunities.
Social justice. Participants described the faithful of the archdiocese as particularly oriented toward acts of charity and the cause of justice for the poor and marginalized. Some attendees characterized this impulse as “a missionary spirit.” Noted was the important work of Catholic Charities and other outreaches to people in need.
Lay leadership. Often cited in conjunction with strong Catholic education was the presence of a well-educated, involved and influential laity. This was presented as an advantage and opportunity for parishes, and also a reason for priests and Church leadership to view lay Catholics as partners in ministry with valuable training and experience. One participant noted a “high level of theological literacy inside and outside the Church.” Participants also described the laity as “resilient,” “committed” and “loyal” in the face of the archdiocese’s current challenges.
Evangelization initiatives. The archdiocese is home to several nationally reaching organizations and apostolates, including those focusing on young adults. Mentioned in the listening sessions were the National Evangelization Teams, St. Paul’s Outreach and the Center for Catholic Studies at the University of
St. Thomas.
Other strengths. Also frequently mentioned were the archdiocese’s priests and men and women religious, the leadership of Bishop Andrew Cozzens, a history of being a progressive archdiocese, and widespread availability of adoration. Many participants in the Spanish-language listening session included Latino ministry and its annual Latino Family Day among the archdiocese’s greatest strengths. They also frequently cited “unity” as a strength, but also included “unity between ‘Anglos’ and Latinos” among the archdiocese’s challenges.

Greatest challenges

By far, the top challenge identified was restoration of trust between Church leaders and the faithful. Other challenges repeated at each session were the bankruptcy and concern for the archdiocese’s financial stability, the need for healing from clergy sex abuse scandals, and the difficulty of bringing Catholics who have left the Church — especially the young and disenfranchised — back to the community.

Trust. Many perceived a lack of transparency and cited the local Church’s loss of credibility. Some participants said that lack of trust extended to the listening sessions, and they questioned whether their input would be shared with the aposotolic nuncio ahead of Pope Francis’ appointment of a new archbishop. The presence of a staff member from the nunciature at the last three listening sessions seems to have addressed this doubt for many.
Finances. In January, the archdiocese entered Chapter 11 Reorganization to allow it to address all sexual abuse claims equitably. It continues to work in mediation with victims’ counsel and insurance carriers. To date, legal fees have topped $5 million. Few participants, however, mentioned finances in their written comments.
Healing. Most participants expressed the need for healing from clergy sexual abuse scandals, both for victims and the Church. Several times, healing was tied to transparency and trust. One listening session participant wrote, “Openness and forgiveness need to take place before healing can take place.”
Need for increased evangelization. Many pointed to the need for greater outreach to those who have drifted away from the Church as well as the “nones,” those indicating that they have no church affiliation. Many noted how challenging it is to reach out to Catholics who have divorced or remarried, or to those who are uncomfortable with individual confession — particularly if they had become accustomed to “communal penance” — or to individuals who are in in same-sex relationships or living contrary to the Church’s teaching on sexuality or procreation. Many noted that the local Church needs to do a better job of explaining its teachings. Participants frequently noted the need for better outreach to youth, young adults and young families. Several participants noted that the majority of those attending were over 50 and asked where the young people were. Noted also was the need for more Spanish-speaking priests and for greater outreach to new immigrant groups.
Other Concerns. Repeatedly mentioned was concern about women’s leadership roles and influence in the Church. “I feel you have no idea of how painful it is to be a woman in the Church,” one participant wrote.

Other oft-cited concerns focused on the formation of new priests, with several participants troubled that the more recently ordained seemed to have been trained to adopt a clerical attitude. A comment from a listening session of deacons and priests noted “growing polarization among priests — young conservatives and old progressives — [that] can lead to conflicts in parishes.” Meanwhile, as noted in the archdiocese’s strengths, other attendees praised the seminary formation and vibrant, young priests.

Other challenges included “growing secularism in the Church,” priest shortages, overworked pastors and church staff and “an improper understanding of Vatican II.”

Next archbishop’s qualities

At most listening sessions, participants were asked to summarize in single words the qualities they’d like the next archbishop to possess. “Pastoral,” “humility,” “servant,” “compassionate” and “trustworthy” were popular. Many participants said the next archbishop should be a good communicator, collaborative and courageous. Several coined the phrase “Pope Francis-like” and many suggested Archbishop Hebda was welcome to take the role. At Pax Christi, one participant stood up and said that at the heart of it, people hoped the next archbishop would be like Jesus. Several participants quoted Pope Francis, saying a good archbishop would “smell like his sheep.”

“We need an archbishop who embodies both the new liturgical movement and the charismatic renewal and can bridge the gaps between the two with a spirit of love, joy and self-sacrifice,” one participant wrote. “He cannot shrink from promulgating and defending the teachings of the Church [and] requires faithfulness from his priests and disciplines those who contradict our faith to uphold Church teaching,” wrote another. Said a third: “Need a pastor who exercises by walking the neighborhoods, riding the Green Line and sponsoring potluck suppers.”

Other observations

Strengths and challenges expressed were fairly consistent between urban, suburban and rural parishes, but Latino leaders generally see different strengths and challenges facing the archdiocese than non-Latino Catholics.
Several things listed as “strengths” were also seen as weaknesses. As mentioned, “diversity” was nearly unanimously affirmed as a great strength, but several participants lamented not feeling at home when visiting other parishes and said Catholics across the archdiocese fail to share a unifying identity.
The overall education of the laity is in dispute. When championing “well-educated laity,” it is not clear whether participants meant professional education or theological formation. Many did specifically argue that both were true, but other participants said that many lay adults — including themselves — were not well formed in their faith and needed more opportunities to learn.
Several listening session participants said they felt like their small-group conversations were co-opted by people with agendas. “Group was not representative of local Catholics,” one wrote. “Heavily weighted toward old, white and ‘progressive.’ It was a vocal minority.”
Archbishop Hebda intended for the listening sessions to address areas that affect specifically the local Church. Nonetheless, at almost every listening session participants shared their sense that the universal Church needed to change its teaching on women’s ordination, a subject Pope Francis confirmed in September was not an option for the Church. “My heart continues to ache for the countless women who will no longer have anything to do with a Church that continues to participate in the exclusion of women from all ministry, leadership and even inclusion in the language we continue to use,” wrote one woman, who identified herself as a 63-year-old who has worked in ministry for 40 years.

Others expressed a desire that the universal Church change its teaching on same-sex attraction.

What’s next

Most listening session participants returned their individual worksheets to the archdiocese in addition to notes from their table discussions. Many also added final thoughts on note cards left that night or mailed later. The result is a collection of thousands of documents that the archdiocese plans to make available to the public in some form.

Archbishop Hebda expects the information gathered from the listening sessions to play a role in the selection of the archdiocese’s next archbishop. As The Catholic Spirit previously reported, the archdiocese sent summaries from each session to Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the Holy See’s apostolic nuncio to the United States. Msgr. Michael Morgan, the secretary to the nunciature, attended three listening sessions and met individually with about 30 Catholic leaders during his time in the archdiocese.

Archbishop Hebda also expects the information to be a helpful for the next archbishop as well as priests, deacons, and archdiocesan and parish staff and leaders. The Catholic Spirit plans to explore some of the topics prominently addressed.