It's also a betrayal of the Church's best traditions: ever since Jesus returned to His Father, the apostles, the saints, and our grandparents have been praying and planning. They may not have called it "strategic planning," but ever since 1843, Bishop John Martin Henni and his successors, in concert with devoted priests, sisters, and God's people, your ancestors, have been "planning." They asked tough questions about opening parishes, moving and merging others, closing some, finding new priests and encouraging the faithful to take seriously their own vocations as baptized, confirmed members of the Church and collaborators in its mission. If you wonder where all this "strategic planning" started, do not just go back ten years; take Father Steve Avella's excellent recent history of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, In the Richness of the Earth, and see that it started with Pere Jacques Marquette and Bishop Henni; on second thought, take the New Testament and see that it started when Jesus sent His disciples out "two-by-two" with a primitive "pastoral plan."So, we are called to continue the task, and we find ourselves asking similar questions: Where should we open new parishes? Where should we consolidate, merge, and maybe close others? Where should we challenge schools to come together in cooperation and sharing of resources? Where should we build new schools, both elementary and high schools? Where should we assign our priests, deacons, and lay ecclesial ministers? How can our districts and clusters work together better? Where do we need to strengthen, expand, and renovate our churches, buildings, and schools? What ministries are we neglecting? How can we best utilize our resources and use our finances most responsibly? What parishes are best served by resident pastors, shared pastors, pastoral teams, or parish directors with a supervising priest?
We're not starting from scratch. This Archdiocese has a sound heritage of planning, and certain durable principles have guided us, and will continue to do so.
For one, we acclaim the Eucharist as central to our lives, the "source and summit" of our faith, the heart of the Church. From the Last Supper, through the Holy Father's moving encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia of Holy Thursday 2003, to last Sunday's Mass at your home parish, the Eucharist defines us as God's people. Therefore, the guiding principle in our strategic planning is that the People of God in southeastern Wisconsin need and deserve to have the Eucharist, reverently and joyfully celebrated, with full participation of all the faithful, available and accessible every Sunday and Holy Day, and as often as possible during the week. And, of course, the other six sacraments, especially baptism, penance, confirmation and matrimony, are all at the heart of our community. This primary principle - the centrality of the sacraments - will direct our decisions about assignments of clergy, and the expansion, merging, and consolidation of parishes.
A second principle we need as we plan for the future is the pivotal importance of the parish. Each morning first thing, I go down to the little chapel in my house. I genuflect to the Eucharist, and then I look at the crucifix above the tabernacle. That crucifix was made by hand by the founding pastor of my home parish in Ballwin, Missouri. I prayed before it daily as a child. That parish was the channel of God's grace, mercy, and salvation for me. Without that parish, I would not be the man, priest, or bishop I am today. That parish for me was a warm, embracing family, a worshipping community, where I learned to pray and know my faith at an excellent school, where those in need were served and where the gospel was proclaimed as cogently as it was in Jerusalem that first Pentecost.
| February 2003 | Archbishop Dolan appoints Planning Commission |
| February - August 2003 | Planning Commission analyzes and reviews data, plans process to be used |
| September 2003 | Parish/cluster meetings throughout southeastern Wisconsin |
| September 27, 2003 | Archdiocesan Planning Conference |
| October - December 2003 | Planning Commission continues work, based upon input from parishes and other consultative bodies |
| December 2003 | Planning Commission prepares tentative recommendations for review in districts of the Archdiocese |
| Winter-Spring 2004 | Planning Commission receives input from districts and begins recommendation revisions |
| March 2004 | Planning Commission presents revised recommendations to Archbishop Dolan |
| 2004 | Archbishop consults with Archdiocesan Pastoral Council and Archdiocesan Council of Priests on recommendations. Archbishop issues directives to parishes after consultation |
This last happy year, I've met thousands of you. After telling me your name, the next thing most of you immediately tell me is what parish you are from. We Catholics love our parishes; we identify ourselves with them. Thus, a second principle is to keep our parishes alive and strong. We need to plan for new ones; we need to strengthen and expand the ones we have. And, painfully, we may have to merge, consolidate, and even close some of the ones we have. This is not new. I referred earlier to Father Avella's history of the Archdiocese. As I read it, I kept coming upon names of parishes I did not recognize. Come to find out, they once were thriving, but are now closed. Such has been the case since 1843. Remember, as essential as parishes are, and as deeply as we cherish them, they are only a means to an end, the end being Jesus, His message, mission, and salvation.
Three, our Church and our parishes are called, not just to survive, but to serve. One of the first words Jesus addressed to His first disciples was "come!" Indeed, as His disciples today, He asks us to "come" to know Him and love Him in the Church, in our parish, in our prayer, worship, devotion, conversion of heart and attention to His Word. But, one of the final words Jesus uttered to His followers was "Go!" Again, He gives that same command to us now - "Go" - in love and service of others. So, the Church, our parishes, not only come to Jesus and stay there, but then go out in love and service to others.