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Call to conversion not about making people feel bad, says pope
VATICAN CITY — The Lenten call to conversion is not an attempt to make people feel bad about themselves, but to promote their true good, which is eternal life, Pope Benedict XVI said.
Celebrating Mass March 7 at the Rome parish of St. John of the Cross and reciting the Angelus at the Vatican afterward, the pope focused on the day’s Gospel story in which Jesus tells his followers they must convert or they will perish. At the parish, which was founded in 1989, the pope said Lent is “an invitation to the conversion of our lives and to doing appropriate acts of penitence.”
The crowd Jesus was addressing in the day’s Gospel story thought that people who met a sudden and violent death were sinners, while the fact that members of Jesus’ audience were still alive meant they had nothing to worry about, the pope said. But Jesus warned them that by not recognizing their own sins and not setting out on the path to conversion, they would not be saved, he said.
“During Lent, each one of us is called by God to make a change, thinking and living according to the Gospel, correcting things in our way of praying, acting, working and relating to others,” he said. (CNS)
 
St. Louis seminary exceeds goal in first capital campaign
ST. LOUIS — The first capital campaign in the history of St. Louis’ Kenrick-Glennon Seminary exceeded its goal by 21.7 percent, with $60.8 million in pledges. The goal had been set at $50 million to provide repairs, updates and physical improvements to a building that dates to 1931, while increasing its endowment.
St. Louis Archbishop Robert J. Carlson, in a letter in the Feb. 26 issue of the St. Louis Review, archdiocesan newspaper, said donations to the “Faith for the Future” campaign are an expression of hope, especially during challenging economic times. The pledges are “a powerful statement of our hope in God’s providence,” he noted.
Archbishop Carlson also told the Review that the response to the campaign “shows the people’s belief that we have to form good priests for the future so we can be a eucharistic people.”
Frank Cognata, chief development officer of the archdiocese, said the seminary has formed more than 2,700 priests in the past, and the funds will help prepare even more in the future. He said it was especially noteworthy that the campaign was conducted in a down economy and that participation met expectations. More than 2,000 volunteers helped make the campaign possible, with many of them making personal visits to potential donors. (CNS)
 
Religious attacks by media must be rejected, say officials
VATICAN CITY — Anti-religious commentary distributed by media outlets can create tensions and incite violence and therefore must be rejected, said Vatican and Muslim representatives.
Attacking religion in the mass media especially via satellite television channels must be opposed considering “the dangerous effect” that these broadcasts can have on social cohesion and on peace between religious communities, said a statement issued after the annual meeting of officials from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and from al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. The Vatican released a copy of the statement to journalists March 2.
The Feb. 23-24 meeting in Cairo focused on the role religions can play in either causing or preventing religious violence. The al-Azhar meeting was chaired by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the pontifical council, and by Sheik Mohammed Abd al-Aziz Wasil, president of al-Azhar’s permanent committee for dialogue with the monotheistic religions.
The meeting’s final statement said greater attention must be paid to the fact that manipulating religion or religious beliefs for political or other interests can lead to violence. (CNS)
 

Parishes ready to begin Phase I of 2010 Pastoral Planning Process

Written by Kathie Sass
Sunday, 31 January 2010
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During the month of February, parishes in the Springfield diocese are scheduled to begin Phase I in the 2010 Pastoral Planning Process, according to diocesan chancellor and director of pastoral planning Marlene Mulford.

Parishes should reflect, incorporate planning values

The Diocesan Planning Committee has outlined a list of values that individual parishes and regional planning groups should reflect upon and incorporate into their deliberations, said Marlene Mulford, diocesan chancellor and director of pastoral planning. They are:

  • We believe that the Holy Spirit is leading the planning process.

  • The support and nurture of healthy, viable parishes is paramount to our efforts. It is important to have a vision of what we want in parish life.

  • Every effort should be made to keep the weekend Mass available and central to our planning efforts.

  • Where there is a decrease in the number of priests to serve a given area, every effort should be made to maintain the number of salaried positions by hiring professional ministers to provide ministry.

  • Planning should include proposals for the recruitment, formation, affirmation and support for priests, deacons, religious, professional lay ministers and volunteers for ministry in our parishes.

  • It is assumed that all proposals for the future will be faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church, i.e. ordination of married men and women.

  • Every parish in one way or another is to have a pastor assigned to it or a parish life coordinator with a priest moderator.

  • Every effort should be made to provide opportunities for all members of the parish to be aware of and involved in the planning process.

  • Parish priests should not say more than four weekend Sunday Masses.

For more information about the 2010 Pastoral Planning Process, visit the diocesan Web site at www.dio.org.

“During Phase I, parishes will be asked to share information about the current situation and to gather thoughts, ideas and possibilities for inter-parish collaboration and cooperation,” Mulford said.

Informational packets have been sent to pastors and parish life coordinators, and parish leaders can choose from a number of options for the consultation process, Mulford said. By March 15, each parish will forward a report to the Diocesan Planning Committee that includes initial recommendations for the future of the parish and collaboration with neighboring parishes.

Pastoral planning has become a priority for the diocese, in large part because of the diminishing number of priests available for ministry, Mulford said.

“Statistics and projections for parishes have been tracked for over 20 years,” she said. “Part of the urgency for a new plan is that the number of priests available for parish ministry is lower than previous projections.”

Currently, 75 active diocesan priests serve in the diocese’s 131 parishes. Six of those are beyond the priests’ retirement age of 70. Twelve priests from the Franciscan and Oblate orders also serve in parishes, Mulford said, but there are no guarantees in the coming years that religious orders will be able continue staffing at those levels.

In addition to decreasing numbers of priests at the altar, the planning process must take into account the diminishing number of Catholics in the pews.

“The annual October Counts show that since 1996, Mass attendance in our parishes has fallen 26.4 percent,” she said. “The reality of these facts is serious and requires careful and considerate pastoral planning.”

In upcoming phases in the process, the Diocesan Planning Committee will review parish suggestions and prepare preliminary regional plans. These will be considered by regional planning committees composed of a priest convener and a lay facilitator, as well as pastors/parish life coordinators plus two lay representatives from each parish.

By early 2011, final plans will be reviewed by the Diocesan Planning Committee and then presented to the Presbyteral Council for consideration. By spring 2011, the final plan will be formally accepted by the new bishop, if one has been appointed.

Members of the Diocesan Planning Commission are: Msgr. Carl Kemme, diocesan administrator; Father Tom Donovan, pastor of Ss. Mary and Joseph Parish in Carlinville; Deacon Allison Laabs of Christ the King Parish, Springfield; and Vicki Compton, director of the diocesan Office for the Missions.

For more information about the planning process contact Mulford in the diocesan Office of the Chancellor at (217) 698-8500 or e-mail her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

During the month of February, parishes in the Springfield diocese are scheduled to begin Phase I in the 2010 Pastoral Planning Process, according to diocesan chancellor and director of pastoral planning Marlene Mulford.

“During Phase I, parishes will be asked to share information about the current situation and to gather thoughts, ideas and possibilities for inter-parish collaboration and cooperation,” Mulford said.

Informational packets have been sent to pastors and parish life coordinators, and parish leaders can choose from a number of options for the consultation process, Mulford said. By March 15, each parish will forward a report to the Diocesan Planning Committee that includes initial recommendations for the future of the parish and collaboration with neighboring parishes.

Pastoral planning has become a priority for the diocese, in large part because of the diminishing number of priests available for ministry, Mulford said.

“Statistics and projections for parishes have been tracked for over 20 years,” she said. “Part of the urgency for a new plan is that the number of priests available for parish ministry is lower than previous projections.”

Currently, 75 active diocesan priests serve in the diocese’s 131 parishes. Six of those are beyond the priests’ retirement age of 70. Twelve priests from the Franciscan and Oblate orders also serve in parishes, Mulford said, but there are no guarantees in the coming years that religious orders will be able continue staffing at those levels.

In addition to decreasing numbers of priests at the altar, the planning process must take into account the diminishing number of Catholics in the pews.

“The annual October Counts show that since 1996, Mass attendance in our parishes has fallen 26.4 percent,” she said. “The reality of these facts is serious and requires careful and considerate pastoral planning.”

In upcoming phases in the process, the Diocesan Planning Committee will review parish suggestions and prepare preliminary regional plans. These will be considered by regional planning committees composed of a priest convener and a lay facilitator, as well as pastors/parish life coordinators plus two lay representatives from each parish.

By early 2011, final plans will be reviewed by the Diocesan Planning Committee and then presented to the Presbyteral Council for consideration. By spring 2011, the final plan will be formally accepted by the new bishop, if one has been appointed.

Members of the Diocesan Planning Commission are: Msgr. Carl Kemme, diocesan administrator; Father Tom Donovan, pastor of Ss. Mary and Joseph Parish in Carlinville; Deacon Allison Laabs of Christ the King Parish, Springfield; and Vicki Compton, director of the diocesan Office for the Missions.

For more information about the planning process contact Mulford in the diocesan Office of the Chancellor at (217) 698-8500 or e-mail her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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Kathie Sass

Kathie Sass

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Diocese of Springfield in Illinois