Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon
Archdiocesan Pastoral Council

MINUTES 

January 31, 2004
The GriffinCenter, Milwaukie

Present: Archbishop John Vlazny, Fr. Dennis O’Donovan, and Members: Clint Bentz, Jesus Bojorges, Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, Mother Francine Cardew, Thom Faller, B.J. Finleybranch, Michelle Forster, Bruce Heldt, Eloisa Hernandez, Ray Houghton, Bob Lowry, F.J. Maloney, Rick Nelson, Francisco Peña, Diane Peterson, Pat Ridenour, Fr. Dick Rossman, Mike Scott, Rod Spring, and Deacon An Vu

Outgoing Members Present: Tania DeSantis, Jerry Grondin, Avi Huelskamp, Sue Lepley, Kirsten Meneghello, Keith Miller, Paul Steele

Staff Present: Todd Cooper

Not Present: Julia Bochsler, Sr. Ruth Frank, Fr. Don Gutmann, Mike Kerr, Deacon Don Philip

The twelfth meeting of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council (APC) was called to order at 10:05am by the council chair, Bob Lowry.Tania DeSantis and Jesus Bojorges led the opening prayer.

Council chair, Bob Lowry, welcomed the new members of the council.He explained that the new member orientation would be postponed until after lunch so that the council could take advantage of the presence of the outgoing members.The outgoing members of the council will be departing after lunch.

The agenda was reviewed and approved.

The minutes from the October 25, 2003 meeting of the APC were approved.

ARCHBISHOP’S REPORT

The archbishop also welcomed the new members of the council.He noted that he could not imagine life as a bishop without an Archdiocesan Pastoral Council.The council allows him the opportunity to collaborate with “the people in the pews.”He considers the APC the primary planning body for the Archdiocese of Portland.
Archdiocesan Pastoral Assembly

The archbishop thanked the members of the council who had helped to plan and organize the Pastoral Assembly last November.The keynote speaker, Fr. Bob Barron, set a great tone for the assembly.His three main points were:

1.Center your life in Jesus

2.Recognize that “I am a sinner”

3.Acknowledge that “My life is not about me.”

The assembly was a nice success and it gave to the council important input for recommending pastoral priorities for the archdiocese.

Mission 2004

On June 6, 2004, the archdiocese will celebrate MISSION 2004 at the University of Portland’s ChilesCenter.The event will be a mini-jubilee, celebrating the Disciples in Mission process of evangelization.The purpose of the event is to give thanks to God, to promulgate a new pastoral plan, and to help people feel glad about being Catholic.All are invited.

Sexual Abuse Scandal

The sexual abuse scandal has been an extremely difficult challenge to face over the past three years.Last fall, the archdiocese was audited and found to be in full compliance with the U.S. Bishops’ Child Abuse Charter.People have been bombarded with bad news.At the end of February, the results of a national study on the scope of the abuse by Catholic clergy will be released.The study will report the number of priest perpetrators, the number of victims, and the amount of money that has been paid out by the Church in settlements.The Archdiocese of Portland will release its own figures just prior the release of the national figures.Over ninety claims have been settled.Four claims are scheduled for trial.Costs have been staggering and the archdiocese is having difficulty borrowing money to settle the rest of the claims.In the past, the archdiocese had three main sources of income:Investment monies, Annual Appeal monies, and Assessment monies (parish taxes).Investment monies accounted for 30%-40% of the operating budget.Those funds have been exhausted.The diocese must now rely on the Annual Appeal and the Assessment for all of its operating expenses.In response to the financial impact of the sexual abuse settlements, staff cuts were made last summer.In addition, the goal of the Annual Appeal has been raised, and an increase in the Parish Assessment is being phased-in.Prior to the planned increase, the parish assessment was a total of 7% (5% plus an additional 2% for the priest retirement fund).It was increased to a total of 8% this fiscal year (with no monies collected for the priest retirement fund).Next fiscal year, the assessment will increase to a total of 9% (8% plus 1% for the priest retirement fund).Finally, in the fiscal year 2005/2006, the assessment of parishes will increase to a total of 10% per year (8% plus 2% for the priest retirement fund).By way of comparison, other dioceses currently have similar assessment rates (e.g. Chicago is at 10% and Indianapolis is at 15%).
Upcoming Events

The diocesan youth conference is being held in Seaside this weekend.The archbishop will preside at their closing Mass.Consecrated Life Day will be observed on February 1st with Vespers at the Cathedral.Lent begins on February 25th.Rites of Election will be celebrated in Portland, Springfield, Grants Pass, and North Bend.March 13th marks the major annual fundraiser for Catholic Charities.The Chrism Mass will be celebrated at the Cathedral at 7pm on Monday, April 5th.The archbishop invites everyone to come.It is one of the most beautiful liturgies of the year.The oils are blessed which are presented in the parish at the Holy Thursday Liturgy.

Ad Limina Visit

Every five years, a bishop is required to submit a diocesan report and make an “ad limina” visit to the pope.The quinquenniel report has been submitted to the Vatican and the archbishop will be making his ad limina visit in June, along with the other bishops of the Northwest.He will pray for the people of the Archdiocese of Portland at the tombs of the apostles and meet with the pope to give him a report on the status of the archdiocese.

Seminarians

Two men will be ordained deacons and two ordained as priests during the month of May.The diocese has seven new seminarians.Three men are in Rome, two at Sacred Heart in Wisconsin, and one Hispanic seminarian is in Mexico City.The others are at Mt. Angel Seminary.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT

Bob Lowry explained that the executive committee meets prior to each APC meeting to determine the agenda for the meetings.The executive committee consists of the archbishop, the chair, the vice-chair, and the APC staff.Bob encouraged the new members to review the agenda and other council materials prior to each meeting.

Today’s meeting is a transitional one.Time will be allowed for the outgoing members to speak to the new members about their experience of serving on the council, and new members will be able to share some of their expectations.In addition, all the council members will be able to discuss pastoral priorities and the results of the “dot process” at the assembly.After lunch, the outgoing members of the council will depart.

Bob drew attention to the gifts provided by the archbishop to all of the outgoing council members for their service.At the assembly, pictures were taken of each council member with the archbishop.A group shot of the council was also taken.The individual pictures were framed next to a copy of the group picture and given to each outgoing/continuing council member.

The goal for the council between now and June 6, 2004 is to determine the top three pastoral priorities to recommend to the archbishop.At the April 3rd meeting, a new chair and vice-chair will be elected.

Bob noted that the council members serve as a real connection between the archbishop and the parishes.He also noted the importance of the Annual Vicariate meetings in the planning process.

Subcommittees

The council has follow-up work and discussion to pursue about the Disciples in Mission, Columbia River Pastoral Letter, and Racism Subcommittees.Jerry Grondin, chair of the Pastoral Letter Subcommittee was invited by Bob to give a brief report on recent activities.Jerry reported that he and subcommittee member, Ken Otto, offered a workshop introducing the pastoral letter at a recent ecumenical conference.Within the framework of the pastoral letter, the workshop emphasized stewardship of the environment and focused on why Christians should be concerned about the environment.

PASTORAL PRIORITIES

Todd Cooper gave a brief overview of the process used by the APC to help determine what pastoral priorities should be recommended to the archbishop.The APC has used information from the Disciples in Mission parishes, from the annual vicariate meetings, and from the Archdiocesan Pastoral Assemblies to help it in determining what should be the pastoral priorities for the archdiocese.Todd reviewed with the council the results of the “dot process” from the recent Pastoral Assembly (see APPENDIX A).
Small Group Discussions

Council members were given the opportunity to discuss the pastoral priorities in small groups.All were encouraged by the archbishop to view the priorities in light of the overall mission of evangelization.Evangelization includes becoming enthusiastic about our own faith, sharing it with others, and transforming society & the world.In their discussions, councilors were asked to spend time discussing “Faith Formation at All levels”.

LUNCH BREAK – 12:10 to 1:05pm.Lunch and dessert were prepared by Eloisa Hernandez.

ORIENTATION

The new and continuing members of the council were given the opportunity to introduce themselves.Councilors spoke of their families, jobs, church involvement, and other interests.
Following the introductions, the archbishop reiterated that the APC is the primary planning body for the Church in western Oregon.He reminded the council that all planning should be done in light of the Church’s essential mission of evangelization.He likes to think of this time period in the Church as the “era of the baptized” rather than the “era of the laity”.All of the baptized are responsible for continuing the evangelizing work of Jesus.The U.S. Bishops’ pastoral on evangelization, “Go and Make Disciples”, outlines the three primary objectives of evangelization. 1. Become strong in our own faith2. Share that faith freely with others

3. Transform society by bringing the gospel to the world in which we live – especially in our own families and in the workplace.

The Church looks for ways to use its resources to further the mission of evangelization.The finance & administration council helps the bishop to manage temporal resources.The presbyteral council assists the bishop primarily with issues of governance.The APC helps the bishop in his three-fold ministry of teaching, sanctifying, & guiding.Without collaboration, there is no true participation.Better decisions are made through consultation.The APC must have a global vision.Members must continue to recognize the needs of individual parishes, but they must first look to the good of the archdiocese as a whole.The good of the archdiocese is in turn seen within the context of the universal Church.

The APC is a microcosm of the larger Church.Its membership includes thirteen elected regional representatives, two priests recommended by the presbyteral council, one deacon recommended by the deacons council, two religious representatives, and various appointed lay members.The archbishop and the vicar general serve as ex officio members.The council is served by two staff persons selected by the bishop.The archbishop’s cabinet (eight members) collaborates with him to carry out the work of the council.

PASTORAL PRIORITIES – CONTINUED DISCUSSION

An oral report on the earlier discussion of pastoral priorities was given by each of the small groups.
Group 1:In terms of Faith Formation, there are lots of programs out there, but more integration is needed.Faith Formation refers to goal one of Go and Make Disciples (GMD).We need to get so excited about our faith that we want to share it.Connecting with the Wider Community hits goals two and three of GMD.

Group 2:We want it all.Faith Formation takes in a lot of levels.It is part education and part nourishment.It includes lots of other themes.The top two vote-getters at the assembly (Faith Formation at All Levels and Connecting with the Wider Community) want to include so many other things.We need to foster a sense of Catholic pride, especially through Media/Communication.

Group 3:Lots of the categories are subsets of the same theme.You have to get the excitement here before going out.Let’s get that enthusiasm built-up.Connecting with the Wider Community hits goals two and three of GMD.

Group 4:Ditto.We need to get practical.Oregon Catholics want to be stronger Catholics.They are hungry for spirituality.How can we give this to people?We can’t focus on everything, so we have to offer “widgets” or smaller pieces of the whole.For example, deacons could be sent out to preach missions.

Group 5:We need to offer people a personal encounter with Christ – bringing people to a real connection with Christ.Multicultural ministry is also important for the coming years, especially with the influx of Hispanics.Marriage and Family Life is another key priority.

The archbishop commented that there is a clamor for adult education, but in truth it is a head and heart endeavor.Our culture wants “one-stop shopping” – one hour on Sunday morning and then on with other things the rest of the week.Our faith cannot take a back seat during the rest of the week.The council must set three objectives.The entire work of the Church can be summed up in the terms “communion” and “mission”.Faith Formation falls under the theme of communion.Connecting with the Wider Community falls under mission.These two goals are generic.The council needs to get more specific.

Bob Lowry emphasized the importance of prayer in discerning the top pastoral priorities.Are goals one and two too broad?What specific recommendations can the council make?Once the priorities are set, the APC will walk with these goals as they are implemented by the archbishop’s staff.The council will recommend ways to implement the goals.

Prior to the next meeting, the APC Executive Committee will communicate with all of the council members to begin narrowing the focus on which pastoral priorities will be recommended to the archbishop.

The meeting closed with a prayer led by Deacon An Vu.

NEXT MEETING: 

Saturday, April 3, 2004

10am to 3pm 

at thePastoralCenter

(2838 E. Burnside St.; Portland, OR97214)

APPENDIX AAPPENDIX A

1/11/04

PASTORAL ASSEMBLY 2003

Results of the “dot” process

1.Faith Formation at all Levels (111 dots)

2.Connecting with the Wider Community (70 dots)

3.Youth and Young Adult Ministry (50 dots)

4.Multi-cultural Ministry (43 dots)

5.Family Life Ministry (36 dots)

6.Vocations (28 dots)

7.Media/Communications (27 dots)

8.Direct Action for Social Justice (22 dots)

9.Create Outreach to and Welcome Returning Catholics (20 dots)

10.Intergenerational Faith Formation (20 dots)

11.A Revival of the Commitment to the Eucharist and Jesus Christ (16 dots)

12.Young Adult Ministry (12 dots)

13.Adult Education (8 dots)

14.Archdiocese as a Clearinghouse for best practices (7 dots)

15.Marriage & Family Life (5 dots)

16.Greater Outreach & Hospitality within our Catholic Community &

Outside Community (5)

17.Evangelization (4 dots)

18.Connecting with the Wider Community Through Prophetic Service to the 

Poor & Poor in Spirit (1 dot)

19.Adult Faith Sharing (0 dots)

20.Youth Ministry (0 dots)

21.Help People Identify Vocations (all vocations) (0 dots)


 
 

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