Archdiocese of
Archdiocesan Pastoral Council
December 1, 2007
The
Present: Archbishop John G. Vlazny, Fr. Dennis O’Donovan, and Members: Sr. Joyce Barsotti, John Cooper, Marie D’Agrosa, To-Ha Doan, Thom Faller, Anthony Granados, Sam Jackson, Wendell James, 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: Clint Bentz (E), Lois Cersovski (E), Deacon Brett Edmonson (E)
Fr. Michael Johnston (E), and Fr. Gary Zerr
(E = Excused)
The twenty-seventh meeting of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council (APC) was preceded by a Mass in honor of the Blessed Mother celebrated by Archbishop Vlazny in the Pastoral Center Chapel. Following Mass, the APC meeting was called to order at 10:10am by the council’s vice-chair, Anthony Granados. Council chair, Clint Bentz, was away on a scheduled absence.
Anthony welcomed all to the
meting and introduced the new youth observer to the council, Alma Islas.
Thom Faller led the opening prayer, which had been prepared by Sr. Joyce Barsotti.
The minutes from the September 29, 2007 meeting of the APC were approved with one correction on page seven: Clint Bentz’s name was added to the list of APC members on the Evangelization Subcommittee.
The agenda was accepted with no additions or changes.
Anthony Granados, vice-chair of the council, reported. The Executive Committee met on November 2 to set the agenda. Discussion included the difficulty of the immigration issue and the need for pastoral solutions to help people understand the issue more fully.
2008 meeting dates were shared with the council, including the date for the APC retreat:
2008 MEETING DATES
REGIONAL REPS ONLY: February 2, 2008 (
10am – 2pm Meeting between Area Vicars & APC Regional Representatives.
February 23, 2008 –APC Retreat at
May 10, 2008 (
September 20, 2008 (
December 6, 2008 (
ARCHBISHOP’S REPORT
At the fall assembly of the American bishops, the major topic of discussion was the document Faithful Citizenship. This document had previously been prepared by a committee, but it was brought before all the bishops for review. The document was amended and then almost unanimously approved. The publication is meant to serve a conscience formation guide. It focuses on issues – not on candidates. A pamphlet form will be forthcoming.
The second
major topic of discussion was the
A third topic of discussion was liturgical matters. There is a new document on church music forthcoming.
The
At the
meeting, the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, announced Pope Benedict
XVI’s visit to the
Bankruptcy/Sexual Abuse Claims
More bad
press about sexual abuse claims surfaced recently. Already, some new sexual abuse claims have
followed the bankruptcy. Part of the
reason for the bad press is that federal court proceedings require claimants to
reveal their full identity when making a claim.
In other words, they cannot simply use initials when filing a
claim. Some abuse claimants want to
protect their identities and be released from the obligation to reveal who they
are. However, in light of the fact that
two hundred sex abuse claims against the diocese have been dismissed and that
other questionable claims were paid, the diocese feels a responsibility to
validate any claims that come forward before settling them. One way to help determine validity is to
identify who is making the claim. If
there is compelling reason, a federal judge can formally relieve claimants of
the requirement to reveal their full names.
The diocese is content with the federal requirements and recognizes that
those claimants with special circumstances have recourse to established legal
procedures if they wish to protect their identities. The Survivors Network for those Abused by
Priests was not happy about this, and the
The Archdiocese of Portland was audited November 5-9 for its compliance with the bishops’ sexual abuse charter. Some parishes were also visited during the audit. The audit results have been favorable. In some cases, it has taken extra effort to get certain parishes to comply with all of the requirements.
.
Archbishop’s Tenth Anniversary
December marks Archbishop Vlazny’s ten year anniversary as Archbishop of Portland. As a way to celebrate, the archbishop wanted to recognize people who have collaborated with him in furthering the mission of the Church.
This coming December will mark the tenth anniversary of his installation as archbishop. After many challenging years he thought it only appropriate to ask the Holy Father to help him honor some of those who have been his closest collaborators and most faithful supporters. The following people will be honored:
Prelates of Honor: Msgr. Dennis O’Donovan, Msgr. Morton Park, Msgr. James Ninh Pham and Msgr. Charles Taaffe.
Chaplains to His Holiness: Msgr. Arthur Dernbach, Msgr. Carl Gimpl, Msgr. Charles Lienert, Msgr. Gregory Moys, Msgr. Timothy Murphy
Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross: Rev. Joseph Browne, C.S.C., Deacon Owen Cummings, Sister Maria Ciriello, O.P., Sister Alberta Dieker, O.S.B., Sister Margaret Graziano, S.N.J.M., Sister Geralda Meskill, O.S.F., Ms. Paulette Furness, Mr. Dennis Keenan, Ms. Mary Jo Tully, Mr. Leonard Vuylsteke
Benemerenti Medal: Mrs. Eloisa Hernandez, Mrs. Joan Legg, Mr. Joseph Weston
Knights and Dames of St. Gregory: Mr. William Ihle, Mr. Sam Jackson, John and Kim Limb and John and Chrissy Murphy
The APC Retreat Planning Team includes Sr. Joyce Barsotti,
Lois Cersovski, and Thom Faller. Thom
Faller reported. The planning team
proposed the following theme and schedule for the retreat, which will take
place on February 23, 2008 at the
“DISCERNING THE PRESENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT”
9:00 – Meet (Coffee and Pastries)
9:15 – Welcome (C. Bentz) & Opening Prayer (Msgr. O’Donovan)
9:30 – Introduction of speaker
9:35 – Speaker
10:20 – Break
10:30 – Personal quiet time for reflection on the speaker’s presentation
11:30 – Mass (celebrated by the Archbishop)
12:00 – Lunch
12:45 – Speaker gives another talk but stressing some reflective questions and a
process for interaction
13:15 – Group discussion. (Entire council together)
13:45 – End of Retreat & Break
14:00 – APC Business
MEETING OF AREA VICARS AND APC VICARIATE REPS
APC Vicariate Reps will meet with Area Vicars and the archbishop on Feb. 2. The agenda will include sharing about the annual vicariate meetings of pastoral councils, vicariate collaboration, the role of the vicar, the relationship between the vicar and the APC rep, and communication. Vicars install pastors, facilitate vicariate collaboration, and help the bishop with personnel, planning, and problems. A vicar is the lead agent for regional pastoral planning.
APC SUBCOMMITTEE CONCEPTS AND EXPECTATIONS
The three APC subcommittees are focusing on evangelization, immigration concerns, and social justice ministry. The tasks of the subcommittees are to study, consult, and convene. Committees are to locate and study relevant documents, consult with ministers and experts in the field, gather ideas, analyze data, identify necessary resources to improve ministry, and make specific proposals to the bishop. Are successful programs in place? How can these be expanded? What resources/support will make the ministry more effective? What are the success factors? How is success measured? Time frame for completing this task is twelve months.
General Discussion
The USCCB website will be a valuable resource for the committees. The document “Communities of Salt and Light” is an excellent resource on how parishes can approach social justice issues. It would be particularly helpful for the immigration and social justice subcommittees. The APC would do well to read this document.
Two major concerns regarding immigration are security and drug traffic. The website “Justice for Immigrants” is a great resource. Language is a major issue. We need to hear each other’s story. We need to make people feel welcome and language is a huge part of that. The role of interpreters is extremely important. People especially like to pray in their mother tongue. Young people are a bridge. Many are bi-lingual and can be a resource. Hearts need to be changed. Cultural differences need to be appreciated. Integration is important, but should not be forced. Cultural education is needed.
LUNCH 11:55am to 12:40pm
To Ha Doan arranged for wonderful Vietnamese food.
Status Reports by Each Subcommittee
1. Evangelization/Facilitating a personal
encounter with Christ
The work of this committee should be seen as an ongoing journey and not so much a project with a beginning and an end. The core of evangelization is to bring a person closer to Christ. It is multi-dimensional. There are many constituencies to address (elderly, ethic groups, fallen-away Catholics, etc.). Identifying these groups and addressing them separately is the plan. Evangelization is bringing people closer to Christ. The goal is to help people understand this. The committee will identify two or three constituencies in 2008 that it will help bring closer to Christ and identify the strategies to do so. We need to achieve some successes. Next meeting is December 12. A communication plan will come from the meeting. This should be a standing committee of the APC.
The archbishop noted that around eighty parishes are participating in the Lenten small groups based on reconciliation. Materials are offered in both English and Spanish. He urged the committee not to stray from the bishops’ national plan and strategy for evangelization.
2. Immigration concerns
The committee has identified some issues: education of the Catholic community, worldwide economics, difficulty in obtaining visas, cultural adjustment, people without a voice. Research is needed. Resources include attorneys, lobbyists, and programs. We need to share our stories. Anglos have expectations. Prayer is needed – the Eternal Father has the plan.
The archbishop noted that this is an opportune time for the subcommittee to be focusing on this issue.
3.
Integrate social justice ministry/teaching into the parish (pro-life is
part of this)
How can we effectively engage people? We understand the importance of this topic and understand there have been efforts made before. The question we discussed at our first meeting was how to be effective. The committee sees itself at the level of studying & consulting right now. A concern was expressed that after we have meetings, generate ideas & recommendations, then we all walk away and go home. We need to make sure the recommendations get translated into actions. www.osjspm.org/cst is a fantastic Minneapolis-St. Paul website, lots of great stuff on it. 25 questions on there about Catholic Social teaching, links to ecclesial documents. The committee is reflecting on the 7 principles of Catholic Social Teaching. However, this can’t just be an academic exercise, it needs to become a real relationship with Christ (and others). Catholic social teaching must move beyond the abstract to an encounter with the human person. We also want to figure out how to make Social Justice mainstream in our parishes – this is part of our life as Church. We need to be prophetic. We want to develop some useful “how-to” guide for parishes – can use “Communities of Salt and Light” here. Actually doing something (feeding hungry, etc.) can help open people to education as well. Projects can also unify a community. We might also consider something such as requesting that priests take natural opportunities (i.e. Labor Day, Thanksgiving, MLK) to address the importance of human dignity in homilies – perhaps four times per year.
SUBCOMMITTEE WORK SESSIONS
Each subcommittee was given one hour to meet and work. At the end of the sessions, each committee gave a short report:
· Evangelization: The committee wanted to be on the same page – had a good discussion. The core goal relates to goal #1 in the “Go & Make Disciples“- create a burning desire for Christ and to share him with others. We need to look at parishes as unique (just like human beings) and understand programs which work & provide as resources.
· Immigration Concerns: Group was active and worked to determine some actions for the future. Some of the suggestions: Homilies teaching dignity of human person, telling immigration stories (how immigration law has affected people), developing a grant to universities, setting a format to allow future stories to be integrated into the immigration library. In addition, we think we need to provide a forum to discuss immigration issues from a Christian perspective, not from a political party perspective (Democrat or Republican). It may be good to use movies/media – a movie called “Dying to Live” can be helpful here. “Under the Same Moon” – another movie which casts light on immigration plight, should be coming out soon. A DVD could be developed with local people and could be used for discussion.
· Social Justice Ministry: The committee wants to highlight two things: First, we want to understand what’s going on now, so we started a list of potential resources & groups we can partner with (Pastoral Councils, schools, parishes, downtown chapel, Office of Justice and Peace, etc.). Second, we discussed what we need to ask them – talking about putting together some form of a questionnaire – need to be asking resources the same questions. Discussed the need to get back to a core grounding of what is Catholic Social teaching. People sometimes pick and choose (have groups who care about abortion primarily, and those who primarily care about poverty). We need to approach holistically & get people from these two groups working together.
Human dignity is the common denominator for all three committees.
Council members would like to receive the minutes earlier. Todd will send out John Mikitka’s notes ASAP, minutes will come later (minutes need to be approved).
The meeting concluded with a prayer led by Gary Stump.
UPCOMING MEETINGS:
1) REGIONAL
REPRESENTATIVES ONLY: Meeting between Area Vicars and APC Regional Reps on February 2, 2008 from 10am to 2pm at
2) APC RETREAT for all members on Saturday, February 23, 2007, from 9am to 3pm at the Loyola Jesuit Center in Portland (3220 SE 43rd Av, 97206). Please note the early start time and the meeting location change. Retreat theme: Discerning the Presence of the Holy Spirit.
Respectfully submitted,
Todd Cooper
APC Staff