A Vision for the Future
A Second Pastoral Letter on Parish Restructuring
June 17, 2001
Solemnity Body and Blood of Christ
To the Faithful of the Diocese of Charlottetown:
In May 1997, I shared with you the results of the report which, after
much consultation across the diocese with priests and parishioners,
was prepared by the Renewed Parish Structures Committee. In this
report recommendations were made concerning proposed
"clustering" of parishes in our diocese.
These recommendations were made as a result of the following:
-
the declining number of active priests in our diocese;
- the priority to make Sunday Eucharist and the
sacraments available to as many persons as possible;
- the willingness of the laity to become more
involved in all aspects of Church life and ministry; and
- the interest expressed by parishioners to oversee
and undertake administrative tasks as required by individual
parishes, respecting Canon Law.
Over the past four years, clustering of parishes has taken place in
only a few instances. Since September 2000, the Diocesan Pastoral
Initiatives Council has re-examined and researched these
recommendations in light of our own experience and that of other
dioceses. They have sought further input from the Council of Priests,
the Personnel Committee, the deans and deaneries. They also
reconvened the Renewed Parish Structures Committee, which was
responsible for the input of hundreds of parishioners on this issue,
for further consultation.
It is agreed that central to any restructuring of parishes is the
opportunity and challenge that clustering provides for on going
renewal of parishes and parishioners. As Christians we are called to
a dynamic life in Christ. We are also called to embrace a life of on
going reconciliation, renewal and growth. Often we are happier to
remain as we are, yet this is not the response to which we are called
in Baptism.
Many of us find change difficult. However, if we are to grow in our
spiritual journey then we must be open to the influence of change
through the working of the Holy Spirit both in our personal and our
parish lives. Change can be painful but it is also a means of
spiritual renewal and grace through which we enliven our relationship
with God and with each other.
To grow as a Christian means to be open to the influence of others
and to the love found and shared in new and on going relationships in
Christ. Hence, clustering calls us to a new vision of Church. While
it does arise to some degree out of a need for efficiency and
reasonable deployment of our priests, more importantly, it challenges
us to forge a new sense of community, to re-examine our individual,
collective, spiritual and parish needs and to seek out a new vision
for meeting these needs and challenges in the modern world.
Clustering of parishes means the grouping of more than one parish to
be served by one parish priest. Clustering means a pastor and
parishioners from two or more parishes working together to pray, plan
and provide for the spiritual, sacramental and social needs of the
families in their cluster of parishes.
Clustering, in itself, does not necessarily mean the closure of
churches. But, parishioners may recognize and determine that their
needs and that of the pastor may best be served through amalgamation
of some services and/or facilities. This is consistent with the
definition found in my Pastoral Letter of May 1997 which states that
"a cluster is a grouping of churches and parishes that might
share common administration and unity in pastoral effort".
In addition to providing for on going renewal in parishes, clustering
will provide opportunities for the creation of new and broader based
faith communities. It will call for a reassessment of parish
priorities and the intensifying of apostolic activity in parish life,
allowing for an expanded role and greater involvement and
participation of the laity in determining parish needs and pastoral
programs. This will hopefully lead to a more active church centered
life within a broader parish community.
The major ministries of any parish are: worship, religious education
/ formation and social concerns. These need to be coupled with
providing a particularly welcoming climate and outreach especially to
youth, who represent a very important element of our Church.
Clustering also provides both priest and parishioners the opportunity
to experience anew the call of Christ to spread the Gospel and
respond to the Gospel with an active program of evangelization.
Through faith sharing and Christian/Catholic formation of adults,
youth and children we can re-examine our faith life in relationship
to a broader community at home and around the world. It also provides
for a re-commitment of our efforts in educating ourselves and our
families in the faith. No doubt, clustering demands a change in
pastoral thinking on the part of both the clergy and the laity. That
process is already well underway in our diocese.
On a practical level, I am convinced that although such change may
cause pain or discomfort to some, in the long run it will provide for
a more efficient and effective deployment of priests in the diocese
and result in improved parish administration and financial
stewardship, as well as better use of church facilities. It will also
ensure that all the faithful of our diocese will have reasonable
access to Eucharist on a weekly basis.
Based on the foregoing, I wish to formally announce my concurrence
with the recommendations of the Diocesan Pastoral Initiatives Council
and the implementation of a parish
clustering plan for the Diocese
of Charlottetown (click here).
Already the appointment of some priests have been based on new parish
clusters. This will become more pronounced beginning in 2002 and will
continue over the next three years as we implement the concept of
parish clustering across the diocese. Should we have additional
priests, then it is possible that two priests will collaborate with
parishioners in providing for the pastoral and sacramental needs of a
cluster of parishes.
While this is a realistic forecast of our future in terms of a ratio
of priests to parishes, I must urge you to pray for our priests and
to pray especially for vocations to the priesthood and religious
life. Please encourage and support young men and women in their
discernment of a religious vocation. Be positive and helpful in
allowing them to explore and to seek God's will for them.
I thank all who have participated in this process over the past five
years. I also assure you that, where necessary, assistance will be
available to clusters or deaneries throughout the diocese during the
three year implementation phase.
Given at Charlottetown on this seventeenth day of June, in the year
of Our Lord, Two Thousand and One.
Most Reverend Vernon Fougere, D.D.
Bishop of the Diocese of Charlottetown
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