Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon
Archdiocesan Pastoral Council
MINUTES
September 11, 2004
The Pastoral Center, Portland

Present: Archbishop John Vlazny, Fr. Dennis O’Donovan, and Members: Clint Bentz, Jesus Bojorges, Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, Mother Francine Cardew, Michelle Forster, Sr. Ruth Frank, Fr. Don Gutmann, Bruce Heldt, Eloisa Hernandez, Ray Houghton, Bob Lowry, Rick Nelson, F.J. Maloney, Francisco Peña, Diane Peterson, Pat Ridenour, Fr. Dick Rossman, and Mike Scott

        Staff Present: Fr. Chuck Lienert, Todd Cooper

Not Present: Thom Faller (E), B.J. Finleybranch (E), Deacon An Vu (E)
 

The fourteenth meeting of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council (APC) was called to order at 10:05am by the council chair, FJ Maloney, who led the opening prayer.

The agenda was reviewed and approved.

The minutes from the April 3, 2004 meeting of the APC were approved.

ARCHBISHOPS REPORT

The Mission 2004 Celebration was successful, but not well-attended.  The archbishop is grateful to all who contributed & helped to finalize the pastoral priority statement that was promulgated on June 6th.

The archbishop's ad limn visit went very well.  The pope asked about family life & vocations.

Two men were ordained as priests.  One of our priests from Sri Lanka is stuck outside of the country.  Fr. Phil Sopke died unexpectedly.  Fr. Joe Browne had a recent stroke.  3 priests have retired: Fr. Krueger, Fr. Stead, and Fr. Flach.  Fr. Flach will help to cover the missing assignments.  Oakridge/Dexter will receive a Jesuit priest on December 1st.  Fr. Gary Zerr will go to Keizer.  It has been difficult covering all the assignments, including Cresswell and Cottage Grove.

Three men will be ordained as deacons on October 16th.  Two are Hispanics.

We have five new seminarians for a total of 29.  Of these, 15 are at Mount Angel, 4 are in Rome, 3 are in Wisconsin, 3 are in language studies, 1 is in Mexico, and another is on leave.

The second audit of the archdiocese for compliance to the bishops’ charter is coming up on October 11th – 15th.  The archdiocese was found in full compliance at the last audit.

The fall Ember Day is October 6th.  There will be a Mass of healing and reconciliation in the Southern Oregon Vicariate.

December 1st will be another Ember Day.  The archbishop will celebrate the 10th anniversary AIDS Mass.  Fr. Bruce, who oversaw AIDS ministry at Catholic Charities has taken the head chaplain position at Providence.

Bankruptcy

For clarification, it is the archdiocese that is bankrupt, not the archbishop personally.  The first twenty-five cases of sexual abuse were victims of Grammond.  In 2000, those claims were mediated and settled.  85% of the money was paid by the insurers.  A healing service was held in Seaside, and it was thought that the abuse claims were over.  In January of 2000, the situation in Boston broke.  Since then, 150 others have come forward.  The average claim was between $300,000 and $400,000.  Forty-five or forty-six Grammond cases were settled, but three remained unsettled.  On June 10, 2004, the most difficult of the cases settled.  It was thought that the other two would settle, but they never did.  Facing an imminent court date and the real possibility of punitive damage awards against the church, the decision to file for bankruptcy protection was made on the evening of July 5th after important consultation.  Staff, advisors, and attorneys all agreed that filing for bankruptcy was the only option, especially in the face of the two claims totaling $155 million.  It was not the archbishop’s intention to file bankruptcy.  The choice was a choice between two bad options.
 The court will determine the total amount of archdiocesan assets.  Insurers may be back at the table.  Claimants feel that parish monies should be available for settlements.  The archbishop cannot take monies from the parishes.  With the bankruptcy filing, the Archdiocese of Portland may now have better opportunity to borrow.  Sixty claims are unsettled.
 July 16th was the hardest day after the bankruptcy filing as there was uncertainty as to whether employees for the archdiocese would be able to be paid their mid-month draws.  At the eleventh hour, the money was released and payments were made.  Some businesses got caught in the bankruptcy proceeding and therefore cannot be paid until the court sorts out all of the claims.  As a result, some of these vendors are refusing to do business with the archdiocese.
 To date, about twenty-six million dollars of archdiocesan money has been spent to resolve the claims.  Insurance has covered an additional twenty-seven million dollars.  The archbishop felt that as a last resort, the bankruptcy was the way to ensure justice for all the victims and to protect the resources of the people.  Rome was notified about the possibility of the bankruptcy, but in the end, the decision was the archbishop’s.
 The parish monies that are held by the archdiocese are held in trust.  If a ruling was made to make parish monies available for the settlements, the archdiocese would appeal the decision all the way to the Supreme Court.  The impact of such a ruling would have severe impact on the entire country.
 Currently, there are twenty-six parishes involved in a legal group to gain representation in the bankruptcy discussions.  The archbishop does not object to parishes joining this group.  In fact, he feels that given the potential impact on parishes, they should have a voice at the table.
 With each claim, every effort is made by the archdiocese to determine the veracity and credibility.  On September 17th, it is hoped that a “stop claim” date will be determined along with the manner of advertising necessary for the archdiocese to notify potential claimants.  Bankruptcy does provide an end.  Either a stop claim date will be established or a special fund will be set aside for potential future claimants.
 


EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT

 F.J. Maloney reported.  The APC must make a transition from recommending the pastoral priorities to helping determine how they should best be implemented.  To this end, three subcommittees will be formed – one around each of the three priorities.  Each subcommittee will develop the “how” and report back to the APC in December.  The goal is to form the discussion of the “how” into recommendations to the archbishop – perhaps as early as next spring.  Each subcommittee should have several APC members as well as an archdiocesan staff member and a couple of outside experts.  This should create good discussion and ultimately lead to solid recommendations of how to implement the pastoral priorities.
 At the meeting today, APC will break up into four small groups, each of which will consider all three of the pastoral priorities.  Keep to specific ideas.  How can the pastoral priorities best be implemented?  How can the archdiocese best support the parishes in implementing these priorities of Faith Formation at all levels, Youth and Young Adult ministry, and Multicultural ministry?  Also, discuss what the subcommittees should be doing.  Once formed, the subcommittees will take these discussion ideas and will meet between now and December to set about the task of shaping formal recommendations about implementation.  The chair and vice chair will approach individual APC members to chair the subcommittees, and they will also select the members of each pastoral priority subcommittee.  Between today’s meeting and the next two meetings, the appropriate archdiocesan pastoral staff members will speak to the APC about each of the three pastoral priorities.

Small Group Discussions

Council members were divided into four small groups and given the opportunity to discuss the pastoral priorities. The groups had forty-five minutes for discussion.

Large Group Reporting

Following the small group discussions, reports were given by each group. The key ideas under each priority were recorded on butcher paper and shared with the larger group.  These ideas are listed below.

Faith Formation at all Levels
• Eucharist-centered
• Personal Encounter with Christ
• Research Diocesan process & goals
• Research Parishes via vicariate meetings -What is working or not working?
• Diocesan-wide program to educate faithful on what is the Eucharist
• How to utilize the Eucharist to lead us through the rest of the week’s trials
• How to extend the message of love of the Father in the Eucharist to everyday life
• Testimonials – “How we come to Christ”
• Rites of Christian Renewal
• Identify media resources
• Identify resources already developed for Year of the Eucharist
• Identify consultants i.e. Sr. Jeremy; Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist; lay parish adoration leaders; staff member
• Identify people to give witness
• Find ways to tell story
• Review Disciples in Mission reports
• Next speaker for APC – Eucharist, year of celebration
• Follow-up to Disciples in Mission
• Closer parish level/ Mt. Angel connection
• Assess current status of Archdiocesan programs (need to reorganize diocesan staff/offices?)
• Include diocesan staff a.s.a.p.
• Determine outside resources
• Implementation of plan uniformly across diocese
• “Best Practices” given to parishes
• Re-evangelization teams –inject fire

Long-Term Plan
• Bringing families together – family night
• What is happening now?
• Follow-up small group resources
• Fun experience
• How do we connect it to the Eucharist?
• Use Lent

Youth and Young Adult Ministry
• Help young adults develop a mature faith
• Recruit, train, and pay qualified coordinators of youth ministry
• Help youth remain connected to Church as they transition to young adulthood
• Activities & food/music
• Youth Mass
• Youth ministers – more needed
• Involvement in Parish activities & ministries
• Involvement in big events (Archdiocesan or Regional)
• Young Adults can’t be forgotten
• Research diocesan youth programs
• Research national level programs
• Professional career path for youth dirs. – more than 2-3 yrs
• Attraction to Truth, Love, Beauty
• Identify models “big sinner converts”
• Identify successful programs
• Find & send people to train at denominational programs
• Find special resources, i.e. Fr. John Amsberry
• Review Disciples in Mission reports
• Assessment of resources/personnel
• Development of central source of info/ideas
• Vicariate collaboration of staff/programs/resources
• Develop vicariate model
• Maximize diocesan resources w/vicariate involvement
 

Multicultural Ministry
• What we can become together
• Develop multi-cultural leadership
• Find ways to bring people together
• Welcoming/(rural areas)
• Find leaders in communities
• Identify existing ministers/ministries
• Assessment of current leaders and programs
• Identification of needs and what needs to be done
• Parishes to share different cultural holidays
• Sharing of cultural richness of various faith communities
• Mandatory festivals
• Exposure of cultures to churches
• Music/food
• Identify successful multi-cultural food celebration ministries
• Holy day celebrations “Our Lady of Guadalupe”
• Communion of saints
• Cultivate universal sense
• Review Disciples in Mission reports
• Face the issue of multiple languages & barriers – overcome
• Include 42% Hispanics into evangelization efforts
• Vicariate cooperation
 
In concluding the large group reporting, it was agreed that it would be nice for each pastoral priority subcommittee to receive a list of resources – for example, a list of any key Church documents related to each pastoral priority.

Vicariate Reports

Vicariate representatives were given two minutes to summarize their vicariate meetings.

Clint Bentz               Albany-Corvallis/Santiam

Both vicariates were pleased with the pastoral priorities and were looking for more direction from the archdiocese on how to implement them.  There was a desire for a follow-up to Disciples in Mission.  If a program is set forth by the diocese, it should be a diocesan-wide implementation.

Thom Faller   Beaverton Suburban

Bob Lowry distributed the written report and reported in Thom’s absence.  There is a growing sense of the need and importance of working together, especially on the vicariate level.

Michelle Forster  Columbia County/Middle Coast/North Coast

There was discussion of Young Adults and Youth Ministry.  How can enthusiasm for the faith be kept from First Communion to College?  Middle Coast did not meet.

F.J. Maloney   Downtown Portland/Southeast Portland

In Downtown, there were difficulties accepting the pastoral priorities.  Its diversity is a challenge to the vicariate.  For example, the Downtown Chapel has a very specific ministry.  The vicariate lacks a common identity.  In Southeast, there was a general acceptance of the pastoral priorities and an eagerness to work on how to implement them.  Multicultural ministry requires working together.
 

LUNCH – 12:15 to 1:15pm
 

Youth and Young Adult Ministry Report

Randy Kollars, Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Archdiocese of Portland reported to the council.  Randy discussed the recent history of the office. In 1999 a Presbyteral Coucil ad hoc committee on youth ministry was formed.  In 2001 a director for the office was hired as well as staff for the office.  In 2002 child protection policies & oversight added fifty percent to the workload.  In 2003, there was an economic downturn which affected department staff.
Youth and Young Adult Ministry can be broken down into two areas:  Indirect and Direct Services.  Indirect services include pastoral leadership formation, developing the field, and consultation.  These tend to be the foundation of the direct services as big events never stand alone.  Training leaders is critical.  Renewing the Vision (USCCB, 1997) lays out what Catholic youth ministry should be like.  Sons & Daughters of the Light, another U.S. Bishops’ document, gives the vision for young adult ministry.  We are moving away from “youth ministers” to speaking about “coordinators of youth ministry”.  The change in terminology represents a key shift in youth ministry.  Everyone is responsible for youth ministry – not just the “youth minister”.
In the last three years, the office has been established.  There has been direct consultation with over ninety parishes, collaboration with other offices, advocacy for youth ministry, securing of over $30,000 in grants, an annual youth ministers gathering, workshops given at conferences, orientation provided for new coordinators of youth ministry, implementation of a nationally recognized youth ministry study, pastoral training to make parishes more young adult friendly, and young adult leadership training.
With regard to Direct Services, there have been youth rallies for middle & high school, youth conferences, service events, leadership events, local World Youth Day (WYD) events, National Evangelization Team ministry, trips to the National Catholic Youth Conference, International World Youth Day, and the Young Adult Conference.
The timing for interest in youth & young adult ministry is right.  Currently, we have the largest numbers of youth & young adults in U.S. history.  Are they in the pews?  Lots of positive info about these young people:  empowered adventurers, service oriented, hungry for the transcendent, value diversity, love family, hungry to belong, value educational achievement,  relationships are paramount, a hopeful group.
Youth ministry is not so much gathering youth.  All are responsible to help the parish serve youth.  Youth ministry is relational.  How are the non-gathered integrated into parish life?
Challenges include reduced staffing and more work.  Finances are tight.  Ultimately, the goal of the office is to support parishes.  Grass roots education & networking about youth ministry is important.

Vicariate Reports (Continued)

Diane Peterson  East Ptld. Suburban/South Ptld. Suburban

East Portland had a good turnout.  The main issue was a desire to meet more often as a vicariate.  The pastoral councils planned to have their chairs meet.  South Portland focused strongly on Hispanic and multicultural ministry.  A diversity committee is in place.  There is much happening on the level of faith formation.

Bruce Heldt   Metropolitan Eugene

There was no meeting.  Why?  Perhaps a matter of communication, lack of leadership and the fact that many are away in the summer.

Francisco Javier Peña  Metropolitan Salem

Sixty-seven percent of the Catholics in Salem are Latino.  Language is an issue.  It was decided that they cannot rely on bilingual Masses as the simple answer to ministry.

B.J. Finleybranch  Northeast Portland

Did not report.

Mike Scott    South Coast

The vicariate desires a continuation of Disciples in Mission.  It is working together on joint Hispanic ministry.  They have discovered the success of food in getting the cultures together.  Vicariate leaders gather four times a year – even though distance between parishes is a challenge.
 
Rick Nelson   Southern Oregon
There is a gap in social services.  How can we reach out to the poor in our community?  Greater awareness is needed at the parish level.  A missionary house to meet the needs of the Hispanic community.  Fr. Chuck’s one-day seminar on pastoral councils was excellent.  They sponsored a Catholic booth at the county fair to put a face on Catholicism.

Jesus Bojorges   Tualatin Valley

Twenty-two attended & five of seven parishes.  Each parish reported on current concerns and activities.  The vicariate had questions.  Are parish pastoral councils expected to incorporate the top three pastoral priorities in their mission statements?  Should parishes pull back from other things to focus on these priorities?  When will more info come from the archdiocese?
Ray Houghton   West Portland Suburban
The first half of the meeting focused on the three priorities.  The second half focused on best practices & studies.  Other priorities included perpetual adoration at each parish, vocations committees, Hispanic and teen reps on councils, and getting the parishes together several times each year.  Can parishes team up to combine purchasing power and get discounts?

Pat Ridenour   Yamhill County/Marion County

Marion County – Meetings twice each year.  Strong focus on multicultural and Hispanic ministry.  A service is needed for stillborns.  A vicariate-wide baptism & marriage policy is needed.  The vicariate has high energy and is working well together.  Yamhill has a bi-monthly meeting.  Help is needed for the Spanish Mass in Newberg.  Headset translations have been discussed.  Newberg police have a good safe-environment training.

General Discussion

It was agreed that better communication is needed with parishes.  An article about what is currently happening with regard to the pastoral priorities should be placed in the Sentinel.  Archdiocesan goals should be integrated into the existing parish goals.  Parish pastoral council members should receive and read the pastoral priorities reports.  Word about the pastoral priorities needs to be out.  The archbishop’s June 18 Sentinel article should be sent out.  Let people know about the pastoral priorities.

Racism Materials

The racism materials are almost ready for publication.  Permissions to use certain materials must still be obtained.  A report will be given at the next meeting.  The materials should be sent out to parishes by that time.

The meeting closed with a prayer led by Clint Bentz and was adjourned at 3:05pm.
 

NEXT MEETING:

Saturday, December 4th, 2004
10am to 3pm
at the Griffin Center
(11933 SE Fuller Rd; Milwaukie, OR 97222)