In accord with the vision of Church and ministry
Oct 01, 2005
Letter to September the bishops, priests, deacons, religious and lay leaders of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, The Tidings, September 30, 2005.
To the Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Religious
and Lay Leaders of the Archdiocese,
Not unlike other Archdioceses and Dioceses in the United States and elsewhere, we in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles find ourselves with fewer priests and Religious available to minister to a growing number of Catholics. From one point of view, we are facing a crisis. But the diminishing number of priestly and Religious vocations has brought with it a deeper realization that it is in the nature of the Church to be given diverse gifts, ministries and offices. All of the baptized have a share in a common mission to proclaim and to serve the coming Reign of God. Some are called to leadership in the Church.
In accord with the vision of Church and ministry expressed in the Pastoral Letter on Ministry, As I Have Done for You, as well as in Gathered and Sent, our Archdiocesan Synod Documents, our Local Church must now find some new ways to respond to the pastoral needs of the people of this Archdiocese.
At the conclusion of our Synod in September 2003, we committed ourselves as a Local Church to Six Pastoral Initiatives. The second of these is concerned with Structures for Participation and Accountability. At the heart of this Pastoral Initiative we affirmed that in order for us to be faithful to Christ's mission today, "the structures of Church life and governance must be renewed, and some new structures established.…"
At this time we are being called to discern new modes of parish leadership and a more participatory exercise of ministry in which lay, Religious and ordained together seek to build up the Body of Christ through the charism of leadership. Under the direction of Bishop Gerald Wilkerson, a Task Force has been hard at work to assure that our parishes are provided with good leadership by competent laypersons and Religious who have the charism to serve as Parish Life Directors, that is, those who are responsible for the welfare of the parish in the absence of a resident priest pastor. I am very grateful to Bishop Wilkerson, as I am to the members of the Task Force: Monsignor Craig Cox, Monsignor Timothy Dyer, Deacon David Estrada, Father Leon Hutton, Monsignor James Loughnane, Sister Edith Prendergast, RSC, Sister Carol Quinlivan, CSJ, Sister Susan Slater, SHCJ, Monsignor Lloyd Torgerson, and Bishop Gabino Zavala.
Through a series of workshops conducted throughout the Archdiocese, the Task Force, in collaboration with Bishop Gerald Barnes and key personnel of the Diocese of San Bernardino, has outlined an overview of this form of parish leadership, the reasons for its emergence, the promises it holds, as well as some of the practical implications of moving in this direction. The theological and ecclesiological foundations for this form of lay leadership are articulated in the Pastoral Statement, As One Who Serves, which accompanies this letter. It is crucially important that all in this Archdiocese are familiar, not only with Gathered and Sent and As I Have Done for You, but also with As One Who Serves. Together these three documents provide a description of the vision of Church, mission and ministry that is guiding, and will continue to guide, the life of our Local Church.
Some few parishes in the Archdiocese are already being led by competent laypersons. However, beginning on July 1, 2006, this number will likely increase considerably. I am fully supportive of the efforts of the Task Force as they begin to identify those parishes that will soon be served through the able ministry of a Parish Life Director. Furthermore, I am committed to the implementation of this form of parish leadership, which is not a stopgap measure or temporary solution to the diminishing number of priestly and Religious vocations.
Two important remarks are in order here. First, a parish served by a Parish Life Director may at a later time be served once again by a resident priest pastor. Second, a parish led by a Parish Life Director is not proposed as the model for ministry now or in the future, but is one response to meet the pastoral needs of our Local Church at this time, a valid and valuable expression of Church leadership for which there is provision in Canon Law.
The Task Force will soon be identifying those who are endowed with this charism as well as the qualifications needed for the exercise of this ministry. I pledge my commitment and my support for the training and formation of our Parish Life Directors, as well as for the successful implementation of this form of leadership, so that the pastoral needs of the people of this Archdiocese can be met by competent ministers of Christ and the Church.
We move forward together with vigor and joy, confident in the Lord's promise to remain with us until the end of days. Join me in heartfelt support of this initiative so that we might be a more effective instrument of the Reign of God in our own time and place.
Assuring you of my prayerful best wishes, I am
Sincerely yours in Christ,
His Eminence
In accord with the vision of Church and ministry