APC Minutes February 3, 2007

Approved with corrections 1

Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon

Archdiocesan Pastoral Council

February 3, 2007

The Pastoral Center, Portland

Present: Archbishop John G. Vlazny, Fr. Dennis O’Donovan, and Members: Sr. Joyce Barsotti, Clint Bentz, Lois Cersovski, John Cooper, Marie D’Agrosa, To-Ha Doan, Deacon Brett Edmonson, Thom Faller, Anthony Granados, Sam Jackson, Wendell James, Fr. Michael Johnston, Sue Klemenhagen, David Mastroieni, John Mikitka, Rick Nelson, Sr. Maureen Oliver, Gary Stump, Carmen Swan, and Ken Willett

Staff Present: Todd Cooper and Fr. Chuck Lienert

Absent: Fr. Gary Zerr (Excused)

The twenty-fourth meeting of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council (APC) was called to order at 10:05am by the acting council chair, Clint Bentz. Rick Nelson led the opening prayer.

The minutes from the December 2, 2006 meeting of the APC were approved.

Several agenda items will be shuffled to anticipate the late arrival of Fr. Lienert, who will be coming from a First Communion Mass. Fr. O’Donovan will give his reports in the morning rather than the afternoon.

    The archbishop continues to make it a priority to make pastoral visits throughout the archdiocese. He is always refreshed by his visits to parishes and religious communities. In the past couple of months he has visited a number of parishes. He celebrated Mass at Visitation Parish in Verboort, which has a school of about eighty kids. The archbishop wants to maintain Catholic education in that area. On Christmas Eve, he celebrated Mass with the Hispanics At St. Peter’s in Portland. On New Year’s, he visited the motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon (SSMO’s). He has also visited the African Sisters of the Holy Spirit at St. Philip Neri Parish in Portland and the Vietnamese Sisters – the Adorers of the Holy Cross. In addition, he made pastoral visits to the communities in Sweet Home and Brownsville. In January, the archbishop went to Medford. The St. Vincent de Paul Society is doing very well there and there is a great need for it. Most recently, he celebrated the Annual Pro-Life Mass at St. Joe’s in Salem and had a Confirmation Mass at St. Jude’s in Eugene.

    Tomorrow, the archbishop will celebrate Confirmation for Hispanic children with disabilities. The archbishop is proud of the work that is being done by Dorothy Coughlin through the Office for Persons with Disabilities.

    Six deacons were ordained on December 9, 2006. In January, the archbishop celebrated the Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Mass at the Cathedral. Also in January, the archbishop offered his ninth annual vocations retreat for those discerning vocations to the priesthood. Ten men participated and of these, two are seriously interested in entering the seminary. Fr. Kelly,

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Vocations Director for the Archdiocese, continues to hold monthly discernment meetings for those considering vocations.

The annual prayer breakfasts, which are held for major contributors to the Archbishop’s Appeal, have been completed. The archbishop apologizes that the breakfast in Eugene was canceled. He would have preferred that the event had taken place as scheduled.

Last week, the archbishop celebrated the annual Scouts Mass. Tonight he will celebrate vespers at the Cathedral to honor those living consecrated lives. It is the tenth anniversary of Consecrated Life Day – a day established by Pope John Paul II.

Upcoming Events

Rites of Election will be celebrated during the first weekend of Lent. March 7^{th will be an Ember Day of prayer and voluntary fasting for the healing of victims of sexual abuse (Ember Days are traditionally designated during Advent, Lent, and in the fall). The Catholic Charities Annual Celebration Event will take place on March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day. March 23-25 is the Pasqua Juveníl Hispanic Youth Retreat. The Archdiocesan Conference of Catholic Women (ACCW) will hold their bi-annual retreat on the Saturday before Palm Sunday. The Chrism Mass will take place on April 2nd. The bi-annual Pastoral Ministry Conference will take place on April 25, 2007. The theme is Reconciliation. It is an Archdiocesan gathering that was requested by pastoral ministers. Diaconate ordinations will take place on May 12. Two men will be ordained for the Archdiocese and two for the Carmelites. Three new priests will be ordained for the diocese on June 9. All of the ordinands are native Oregonians – from Portland, Eugene, and Verboort. May 19 is the next APC meeting. May 20 is a meeting with the deaf community. The Southern Oregon golf tournament is also on the horizon. Blessings on all for Lent, which begins on February 21.}

Archbishop’s Appeal

The Annual Appeal is more important than ever in light of the financial implications of the bankruptcy. People continue to be generous in their giving. Last year’s appeal goal was exceeded by $500,000. Next weekend is when donors are asked to make a commitment.

Clergy Changes

This is traditionally the time of year when clergy assignment changes are determined. Change can be difficult. Most parishioners love their pastors and don’t like to see them go. In a few cases, some parishioners want to get rid of their pastor – without much willingness to try to reconcile differences. The first step should be reconciliation and trying to work things out. The archbishop works closely with the Personnel Board regarding the clergy changes to try to determine the best fit for both priests and parishes.

Five parishes need pastors right now. The numbers of priests should be o.k., but the trick is getting the right person in the right place. Fr. Joseph Betschart, currently in Ashland, will be going to Rome to serve on the faculty of the North American College. Veneta will perhaps get a new pastor. St. Joe’s in Salem will likely need a new pastor as Fr. Coleman wants to go back to South America. St. Charles is losing its pastor, Fr. Agnelo Gomes, sfx, who will be going off to study. Gervais – St. Louis also needs a new pastor as the Benedictines are pulling out.

Clint Bentz, former vice-chair of the council, reported. The agenda was planned through telephone and e-mail communications. APC members are to advise the archbishop on pastoral planning matters, be his emissaries, and emerge to inspire, lead, and help organize pastoral

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ministry in the coming years. This council can serve as a resource in light of the Pastoral Center Staff cuts and members can be catalysts for pastoral ministry in their own communities.

The lay commission from the Second Vatican Council is to renew the world in which we live as true collaborators and vessels of the Holy Spirit. In order to do this, we seek wisdom and guidance through prayer. Please make a commitment to pray for the archbishop, the people you represent, and the diocese. Our goal is to discern what the Holy Spirit is guiding us to do on this council in the next twelve months – and the next three years.

Fr. Dennis O’Donovan reported. The gag order is still in effect. 130 claims have been settled. Twenty claims are still outstanding. A joint plan for reorganization has been filed. It is hoped that a conclusion can be reached by late April of this year. Please keep all of this in your prayers. The Archdiocese remains committed to ensuring that child sexual abuse does not occur and it is committed to working toward healing for all of the victims of child sexual abuse. It looks as though we will exit bankruptcy having achieved the two goals of adequate compensation for victims and protection of diocesan assets. Even though much of our focus has been on the bankruptcy, the real issue has always been the sex abuse scandal. Reconciliation is the goal and it is needed at many levels. We remain committed to healing and to making sure these evils do not happen again. We are making good progress. The diocese is already serving as a resource to other entities in the prevention of child sexual abuse. There are plans to develop a working group to help with some of these issues. One or two people from this body may be asked to be involved.

Fr. Dennis O’Donovan gave a brief report on the Pastoral Center. Whereas the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council is the primary consultative body to help the archbishop with pastoral planning, the Pastoral Center staff serves as the primary implementation arm for the archbishop’s ministry of evangelization. The archbishop’s cabinet, helps him with this evangelizing mission in a particular way. The organizational chart (see gray sheet in APC binders) should include the APC as well as the vicar for planning, but due to an oversight, the current version does not.

After the two downsizings, there are about sixty employees at the Pastoral Center, with around forty-five who are full time. Around thirty-five people total were let go. The downsizings were very difficult. We have good people remaining, but we also had to let good people go.

History and Foundation

Fr. Chuck Lienert gave a brief report on the history and foundation of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council (APC). Diocesan pastoral councils have their structural origins in the documents of Vatican II. The 1983 revision of the Code of Canon Law clarified the role of a diocesan council as one concerned with matters of pastoral planning. In 1984, the top recommendation of the Presbyteral Council to Archbishop Power was to establish a diocesan pastoral council. The plan was to create a connection between pastoral planning at the diocesan, vicariate, and parish levels. In the Archdiocese of Portland, parish pastoral councils have been mandated since the 1970’s. After a number of years, the circumstances for creating a viable diocesan pastoral council came together under Archbishop Vlazny, who established the

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Archdiocesan Pastoral Council in 2000. Every three years, a diocesan assembly is held to elect new members to the council. The APC is a microcosm of the Church. Its task is to assist the archbishop in pastoral planning.

Work of the APC

Todd Cooper reported on the work of the council since its inception. In its first three years, the APC formed subcommittees to work on the pastoral issues of racism, the Columbia River Pastoral Letter, and Disciples in Mission. The Racism Subcommittee developed a six-week small group study program to help parishes recognize and eliminate racism. The Columbia River Pastoral Letter Subcommittee developed proposals to help implement the values contained in the pastoral letter. The Disciples in Mission subcommittee prepared recommendations on keeping the mission of evangelization as a top priority.

In those first years, the APC also provided feedback to the archbishop on the child abuse policy statement and it issued a pastoral statement on the abuse situation. The APC also played an important role in helping to strengthen vicariate pastoral planning efforts, especially through involvement in the Annual Vicariate Meetings of Pastoral Councils. Since its beginning, the APC worked toward recommending three top pastoral priorities to the archbishop. Using input from the annual vicariate meetings and from an Archdiocesan Pastoral Assembly, key pastoral priorities were identified.

In its second three years, the APC recommended three top priorities to the archbishop, which he accepted. The top three diocesan pastoral priorities were Faith Formation at All Levels, Youth and Young Adult Ministry, and Multicultural Ministry. The council then helped to develop a written pastoral plan and these top three priorities were promulgated by Archbishop Vlazny at the Mission 2004 celebration. Since that time, the APC has worked to help develop strategies for implementation of the pastoral priorities.

Todd Cooper reviewed and summarized the results of the vicariate discussions and the individual input offered at the assembly. The vicariate discussions resulted in a resounding call for the enhancement of faith formation. There was also a cry for better communication at all levels – diocesan, vicariate, and parish. Finally, the value of vicariate collaboration was recognized and affirmed.

The individual input on pastoral priorities at the assembly varied, but there were some identifiable themes. Topping the list were care for the elderly, better media & web use, better communications, social justice, ministry to fallen away Catholics, vicariate communication, vocations, and family.

Using the input from the assembly as a springboard for discussion, members were asked to form small groups to identify important pastoral issues for further consideration by the council. Members met in small groups during the lunch period.

LUNCH 12pm to 1pm

Group One: Effective PR and Communications are important. Not simply how we reach out, but how we communicate to each other through parishes, etc. Reflect the positive image of the Church. Effective PR campaign both within and outside the Church. Effective faith

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formation by first touching hearts and then the intellectual follows. Remember, it is faith that seeks understanding. We start with faith and the rest will follow. The Catholic Church’s social teaching should be promoted. How are we currently communicating? Is it effective? When im-plementing initiatives, what does success look like? How can we measure it? This will yield results.

Group Two: Multi-level communication within the Church – to divorced, abused, fallen away. Welcoming. Start with conversion of heart.

Group Three: Ministry to fallen away and non-Catholics. How do we reach out to those who are not connected? Reaching out to young adults – post high school. They must be able to relate to the faith. Social justice – opportunity for service. Health clinics – connect people with help. Communication – to parishes, to leadership, to people in the pews, to the wider community. Could the collaboration of parishes be a silver lining to the bankruptcy? Since resources are diminished at the diocesan level, we look more readily to each other. Effective faith formation. We offer & people don’t come. Promote conversion activities. New resources are needed for small groups. Communicate with folks in general about the sex abuse issues.

Comments on the Small Group Discussions

As we exit bankruptcy, we have a golden opportunity for healing – not only of abuse victims, but also of parishioners.

Focusing on how a parish should implement pastoral priorities is not the task of the APC. If not much is accomplished, what is the value? There must be a measure of success for priorities. It must translate into action. Not everything can be done.

The bishop faces a bit of a dilemma in his role as bishop. The real connection is at the parish level. The priorities came from the parishes, but the bishop must also tend to some things that parishes are not calling for. The APC is the bishop’s connection with people in the pews.

We are not trying to establish new diocesan priorities today. Communication is better now with the APC over the last six years and with the Annual Vicariate Meetings of Pastoral Councils. The three top priorities came from the parishes. Once in a while you can sell an idea from the top, but mostly it needs to come from the parishes.

Why is it necessary to set priorities? When you set pastoral priorities, it gives you a vision so that you can capitalize on opportunities when they arise.

Work on the APC at first seems overwhelming, but communication with parish pastoral council chairs and sharing of ideas promotes cooperation and brings things to a do-able level.

The Annual Vicariate Meetings of Pastoral Councils (AVMPC) will be held again this spring. APC regional representatives should contact their vicars to set a date for these meetings and help to organize them. The goal of these annual meetings is to gather the pastoral councils from each of the parishes within a vicariate to discuss pastoral planning matters. A letter will be sent out to the vicars. The sample agenda from the 2006 AVMPC was distributed. The 2006 meetings focused on best practices. Parishes were asked to share their best practices related to the top three pastoral priorities. The 2007 agenda will be developed by the APC Executive Committee. This is not a meeting of professional staffs, but of parish pastoral councils, so it should be scheduled on an evening or weekend. Meetings should take place roughly between Easter and Pentecost. Fr. Dick Rossman is the new vicar for the Metropolitan Eugene Vicariate.

Gary Stump raised the possibility of having a youth representative serve on the APC. His home parish of St. Anthony in Tigard has two youth reps on the council. The kids are active

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members and have enjoyed the experience. It has been great for the council as well. If youth are a diocesan priority, should we not make provision to have them represented on the APC?

Discussion ensued. Would it be someone under eighteen? If so, this would pose some practical challenges. A three year commitment would be difficult for a youth. Sometimes it is difficult to find an available young person at a leadership level. Youth are not currently serving on the APC because no youth attend the assembly and there is no specific provision for appointment of a youth representative. Due to the fact that the APC would likely be an intimidating group for a youth, if we had one representative, we should have two so they could support each other and not feel alone. How could we find someone to represent all of the youth? Are there other parish councils out there that have youth? St. Andrew’s in Portland has tried to have a youth rep but this has proved spotty. Youth are not always able to be present. They are at such a transitional period in their lives - especially in high school. Youth reps would depend upon their parents or another person even for transportation to a meeting. It would be too difficult. Since the APC does not plan activities, there is no certainty that youth reps would even feel like they were contributing. Perhaps there could be a year-long commitment instead of three years. One year would not be good – there are only four meetings per year. A young adult rep would be a possibility – the generation in their 20’s.

Prior to the meeting, Todd Cooper spoke with Michal Horace, Coordinator of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Archdiocese, about the issue. Michal foresaw many of the concerns being raised by council members. He suggested that if the council wants this, it should avoid tokenism. In addition, if the APC has one youth rep, it should have two. Finally, if it is done, it should be deemed an experiment – that way, if it doesn’t work, people are less disappointed. However, having said this, Michal did not feel it necessary that a youth serve on the council. There is no expressed desire from the youth to be part of it. It would be a hardship for a youth to make the meetings as many could not transport themselves. It is hard to get a commitment from youth for more than one year. The current model of youth ministry is to hear the opinions of youth, but the adults should do the planning. Having a young adult on the council would be a much more realistic scenario.

The APC chose not to make a decision on the issue at this meeting. Further discussion can take place and a decision can be made at the next meeting.

Elections were held for the positions of chair and vice-chair of the APC. The role of the chair is to preside at the meetings and to help with the development of the agenda. The vice-chair also helps develop the agenda and presides at the meetings when the chair is absent. Fr. Chuck Lienert oversaw the elections. Nominations for chair included Clint Bentz, Thom Faller, Anthony Granados, and Rick Nelson. Ballots were submitted and Clint Bentz was elected to serve as the chair. The runners-up served as candidates for vice-chair. Ballots were submitted for this position and Anthony Granados was elected to serve.

The meeting concluded with a prayer led by Anthony Granados.

Respectfully submitted,

Todd Cooper

APC Staff