A Diocese Listens

Author(s): Martin Kennedy

Source: The Furrow, Vol. 66, No. 1 (January 2015), pp. 41-45
Published by: The Furrow
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24636178
Accessed: 15-11-2023 07:30 +00:00

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 CHRONICLE

Tommy the words of Jesus became perennially new, ceaselessly

fresh. Tommy was very conscious of the fact that while God's word
is inspired, the people who hear God's Word are also an inspired
people and the Holy Spirit is active in that interchange. This, I
presume, underlines the way in which he approached his homilies.
The biblical stories as presented by Tommy are our stories, about
ourselves, our own apostasies, our battles and blessings. Holiness
is not something hazy and elusive. It is rather something that is
expressed in our struggles, our falling and rising again.
Tommy's homilies ring with a note of intense pastoral care for
those he addressed and they are filled with concrete and thoroughly
recognisable situations, with characters. He used few abstract terms
and preferred images to argument. He showed great sensitivity to
struggling, aspiring and sometimes despairing human beings, with
quite individual aches and aspirations, fears and worries. His arms
were outstretched - one in faith to the Word of God, the other in
compassion towards the need of real people today. As we listen to
or read his homilies it is as if he is speaking from living experience
in today's world, has tested beliefs in the crucible of suffering, and
is speaking of a living God and not a dead dogma. He had a total
and unswerving commitment to the task of proclaiming the Word,
a complete conviction as to its truth and power and at the same
time a deep sense of being merely a human instrument of God's
word of grace.
Today we remember Tommy with deep affection, one of the
most powerful communicators of God's Word in our time, one of
our own - a Castlebar man and a priest of our Archdiocese. It is my
real pleasure and privilege to launch Earthing the Word: Selected
Writings from The Furrow by Monsignor Tommy Waldron.

A Diocese Listens

Martin Kennedy

The Kilmore diocesan Assembly was conceived as a listening

exercise where the concerns of the people on the ground could
be expressed and pastoral priorities indicated. It will be for the
Diocesan Pastoral Council to follow up, translating the concerns

Martin Kennedy is a freelance facilitator and Trainer with Church

and Community Groups. Address: Killeshandra, Co. Cavan, This
is the text of his report on the Kilmore Diocesan Assembly, 25-26
October, 2014.

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THE FURROW

and directions into a concrete pastoral plan. Preparations began

almost two years ago. A volunteer committee worked with the staff
of the diocesan Pastoral Centre to prepare and deliver the Assembly.
I was part of that committee and write from that experience.
Along with logistical matters including feeding of the multitudes,
two questions shaped much of the planning. Firstly, how could
the voice of 'ordinary' people in the diocese be heard, those who
typically would not come to diocesan or parish gatherings? And
secondly, what process would best enable the voices of all the
300 delegates be expressed and heard during the Assembly? An
early decision was taken to conduct listening surveys across the
diocese. Basically this involved gathering representative groups of
youth, parents, older people and others to hear their views on two
questions. What are the burning issues in your lives now? What are
your feelings and expectations in regard to the Church? Pastoral
Councils were asked to initiate the surveys. A standard template and
training was provided. Volunteers from 23 Councils ran surveys. A
second decision was to utilise 50 volunteer facilitators for small
group work during the Assembly. This meant that participants
would be able to engage in groups of no more than six. Meetings
with the facilitators were scheduled as an integral part of the overall
process in order to get a very clear, immediate sense of what was
going on in the small groups.

SURVEY RESULTS

The listening surveys were conducted over the last year. A detailed
summary of the outcomes was presented at the Assembly. Here I
indicate the main patterns. On the first question of what are the
burning issues for you now, what comes across most strongly
from all age groups is the emotional and financial stress in their
lives at this time of economic difficulty. There is a strong cry
about the ordinary day-to- day struggles of so many people to
simply make ends meet. But with this there is a recognition of
the impoverishment of life that comes from the sole emphasis on
material things and values. The sense here is of people struggling
to find a balance between two values. On the one hand the need
for material prosperity as a basis for happy living. On the other
the recognition that materialism on its own is not enough for a
good life. Older people speak of isolation and anxieties in regard
to future health care. Younger people speak of the struggle to get
a foothold in life and of the multiple pressures associated with the
prevailing youth lifestyle. The central theme from parents is the
struggle with family finances, and the pressures of rearing children
in more difficult times.
On the question of feelings and expectations about the church

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 CHRONICLE

there is a strong coherent view expressed across all age groups,

perhaps most powerfully and poignantly by the older groups.
Coming through is a sense of appreciation for what the church can
be at its best, a recognition of the positive role it can play in the
lives of people in terms of offering vision, values and support in
the midst of daily living. Here there is expressed a strong regard for
Pope Francis. But at the same time there is a central and widespread
criticism of the church as being disconnected from people, out of
touch with their lives, and not communicating effectively. There
is a strong sense of the clerical church being preoccupied with
issues not central to the lives of people, and ignoring issues that
are central. There is a desire for a church that has much closer
involvement in the lives of people, for one that shows greater
understanding of the reality and complexity of people's lives, for
one that can connect. And related to this there is a clear recognition
that a church organisation run solely by celibate males is not fit
for this purpose. There was a call across all age groups for the
opening of the priesthood to married men and women, for the
greater involvement of lay people, and especially for the inclusion
of women.

ASSEMBLY PROCESS

The Assembly was held over two days, Saturday and Sunday. It
finished at 5pm on Saturday to accommodate evening Masses in the
parishes. It recommenced on Sunday morning with a public liturgy
in the Cathedral in Cavan. Six lay representatives from each parish
attended along with the priests of the diocese and representatives
of Religious. The venue was the sports hall in the newly built St.
Patrick's College. People were assigned a group number from 1
to 50. The seating was arranged throughout in semi-circles of 6 to
enable ease of movement between large-group and small- group
sessions. A nice, light touch was the use of numbered helium
balloons to indicate the location of the groups.
Three themes were addressed on Saturday. 1) The results of
the listening surveys. 2) Sacramental practice in today's reality.
3) Outreach to youth. A fourth theme was addressed on Sunday
- the ageing and declining numbers of priests. After a short input
on each topic there was small group discussion that focused on
two questions: What is important to us in this? What do we need
to do about it in this diocese? This was then followed by an open
forum. When people went home that evening the facilitators stayed
behind and we met with them to get a feel for what went on in the
small groups. While we had gathered 150 report sheets from the
three sessions, and had open fora as well, this meeting was hugely
helpful in grasping the heart and mind of the Assembly, the broad

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THE FURROW

patterns and directions that were most strongly felt. As a result

of this meeting, and subsequent analysis of the report sheets we
were able to write up a draft statement on Assembly priorities and
directions for presentation the next day.
On Sunday afternoon we had two presentations for discussion
- the draft statement and an overview of priest numbers and age
profile. We followed the same process of small group discussion,
open forum and meeting with facilitators. That second facilitators'
meeting enabled us to refine the draft statement and incorporate the
main responses to the input on priest numbers. The resultant text
is offered below.

SUMMARY STATEMENT FROM ASSEMBLY LISTENING SURVEY

We identify strongly with the thrust of the listening survey. We

believe in and are committed to a future for our church, a church
that can communicate the good news to all, and is open to whatever
internal change is needed in order to do that. A church that honours
the place of the priest (married and celibate) but is not clerical - a
church where there is genuine shared responsibility with trained
laity. Here we see the need for a programme and culture of care for
priests as they get older and fewer. Also we see that opportunities
for lay involvement should not be restricted to a selected few - we
don't want to replace one élite with another.
We look for a church that is closer to the lives of the people,
including those who are not regular Mass goers, more understanding
of the challenges and complexities of their lives, better able to
speak to and reflect on those issues in our sacraments, liturgies
and pastoral outreaches. We wish our priests to have more time for
pastoral issues and to delegate administration responsibilities. We
feel strongly about a place for women. We want a church where
women play key roles and are involved in decision making at all
levels.
We resonate strongly with concerns for the stress in people's
lives coming through in the listening survey. We believe the church
can be a place of healing, and this should be a priority pastoral
concern - in terms of networking with relevant agencies, how we
do our liturgies, and how we do the sacraments, especially the
sacrament of reconciliation.

SACRAMENTAL PRACTICE

We believe that sacraments are there to support all of us in our

struggles and brokenness. Therefore we desire a pastoral approach
to the sacraments that is inclusive and non-judgemental - focused
on sharing the core of the good news that touches people's lives
where they are hurting and wounded. While we wish to engage

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with people as they are, to take them as we find them, we do

not wish to leave them there - we see the need for a sustained
sacramental catechesis for adults, especially parents. We need to
develop our liturgies in a more pastorally sensitive way, one that
speaks the language of the people, one that is more creative and
flexible, one that is capable of working in a variety of contexts,
including outside of church buildings. We believe we need to work
towards fewer, better-prepared liturgies, and key to this will be the
development of trained pastoral liturgy teams in our parishes. We
see the need for a review of the number of Masses in the diocese
and the use of church buildings. We recognise that this is a sensitive
issue that needs both leadership at diocesan level and consultation
on the ground.

YOUTH

Here we feel most strongly that 'no action' is not an option. We call
for a major investment in the development of a comprehensive youth
ministry in the diocese, one with a developed vision and policies,
and with effective communications. This will need to include
full-time youth ministry staff with the following work priorities:
training of volunteers; creating a shared ownership of the ministry
with committed youth; networking with youth agencies, especially
schools and the GAA; and outreach to unattached youth.

A SENSE OF URGENCY NEEDED

We don't need to panic. But we do need to root all that we do

in prayer and to act with urgency. There needs to be a follow-up
to this Assembly that is focused and action-oriented. Immediately
there should be a communication with the people of the diocese
on what we have explored here and the direction we are seeking to
follow, one that is cognisant of the realities we have to address but
is not despondent. We are on a faith journey, confident that God's
Spirit is with us.

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