Being Catholic is an ongoing endeavor by which we strive to discover, at an ever deeper level, that the true purpose of our existence in this life is to attain heaven. It is here, in this life, that we are provided an opportunity to respond to God’s invitation to the kingdom which will secure our arrival. While it is not always so obvious to people, the invitation to the kingdom from God is plural in nature. God sent his Son not for isolated and separated individuals, but for all people, and as a people, to be united in Christ. The high priestly prayer of Jesus was “that all may be one.” And life in heaven is as a communion of saints.
Our personal responses to God’s invitation have to be more than thoughts. Our response to God’s call must be concrete. As Jesus notes, not everyone who utters “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of God. It is a gift from God that requires a response. God has revealed what we must do through Sacred Scriptures and the 2000-year Sacred Tradition of the Church. Our response must be lived out with and among members of Christ’s body, the Church that Christ founded upon the Apostles. It is an ongoing endeavor by which each day provides us another opportunity to embrace the invitation ever more deeply. The more we do so, the more we will be able to grow in holiness and advance toward heaven.
We grow in holiness by the means which God has provided us: acceptance of the guidance that comes through Sacred Scripture; our worship of God through the celebration of the Sacraments; the time we take to pray in order to listen to God; the charity we demonstrate to and for the poor and the vulnerable; how we express our communion with others in Christ. This brief description is what it means to concretely live as a Catholic. It will lead us to the fullness of life God has planned for us. It does not happen in isolation, but presupposes a shared life in Christ with other members of the Church.
How have we as a people of God in Eastern Montana responded to the call of God in the past year? It is a question I’ve pondered for a while. First of all, some statistics:
The area of the Diocese is 94,158 square miles. The listed Catholic population for 2016 (based on reporting from parishes) was 33,703 or 17,185 households. The general population (based on the 2010 census) was 422,344 in our diocese. There currently are 50 parishes, 50 mission churches and 17 chapels. Currently there are 51 active priests serving in the Diocese, 26 of these are diocesan priests and 25 are from religious orders or other dioceses. Some of these priests have come from countries outside of the United States. There are three parish life coordinators and 13 active permanent deacons. The average Mass attendance on any given weekend is 13,135 meaning only 39% of the Catholic population regularly worships as a faith community. In 2016, there were 483 baptisms, 594 confirmations, 549 first communions, 137 adult receptions, 84 weddings, and 658 funerals.
There are 2,533 students who attend our Catholic schools staffed by approximately 350 administrators and teachers. This provides an almost daily Catholic environment for both students and staff. Several of the Catholic schools are on three Native American reservations which is not only a source of pride but also a way to reach out to many who are in need.
The 2016-2017 fiscal year budget for the Diocese includes total income of $3.725M and total expenses of $4.375M for a budgeted deficit of $650K. As in numerous previous years, the deficit has been made up from investment income and revenue from the Deposit and Loan Fund. Primary sources of income are Care & Share ($1.7M), Cathedraticum ($980K), Program Service Revenue ($540K), and Grants ($251K). Grants funds are used almost exclusively to support needy parishes and projects in the Diocese. Primary elements of expense are Salaries and Benefits ($1.585M) and Professional Fees ($769K). Budgeted Allocations (grant pass-throughs to parishes, Montana Catholic Conference and Catholic Social Service of Montana) ($378K). Other required expenses are retired Priest’s Healthcare ($282K), and Cemetery Expenses ($185K).
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What I see as the greatest strength present in the Diocese are those parishes in which: liturgy is well celebrated and is faithful to the directives of the liturgy; the preaching makes connections with God and the daily lives of people; mercy and love is demonstrated in pastoral practice of priests and staffs; opportunities for religious education are present; and communal life is a normal experience. There are many who contain these elements. All our priests have different gifts. One of the strengths of our diocese is the caring, dedicated hard-working priests that serve our parishes. As I travel through the Diocese, I am amazed and encouraged by the hard working, warm, welcoming Catholics who make up our churches. They demonstrate a deep faith and want to pass that faith down to the next generation of Catholics.
The Safe and Sacred Program (a program to address the issue of abuse of minors) has been quite successful. Since the US Bishops promulgated the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in 2002, 93 priests, 20 permanent deacons, 17 seminarians, 1,099 teachers, 1,832 parish employees and 3,517 volunteers, including catechists, youth ministers and coaches have completed training in our diocese. Our parishes and missions provide safe environments for our children.
It is my experience that the majority of parishes are places in which Christ may be found in the lives of parishioners. They strive to celebrate faith in Christ and attend to Christ’s Gospel and the teaching of the Church to guide their lives. In quite a number of parishes, there are groups who gather to learn more about their faith as well as foster a deeper level of spiritual response (e.g., Cum Christo, Neo-catechumenal Way, Charismatic Renewal, weekly Scripture study and faith sharing groups, etc.). Daily Mass is celebrated in parishes that have a resident priest with good attendance by parishioners. Religious education and youth ministry to some degree is offered in most parishes. Also, parishes provide what is a “normal” sacramental life (e.g., baptism, confirmation, first communion, Sunday Mass, weddings, anointing of the sick).
Fortunately, we have a sufficient number of priests to provide pastoral and sacramental service to our parishes and missions with a special thanks to the religious communities of the Capuchins, Missionaries of St. Paul and Heralds of Good News. We now have a full time Vocation Director which was a priority noted in the approved Diocesan Pastoral Plan for 2016-2021. There are three young men from Montana contemplating entrance to the seminary next year for this Diocese. There are a number of young men in conversation who are considering priesthood. There are 6 men currently in formation for the permanent diaconate. While the Vocation Director has a unique role, there are a number of parishes who have implemented proactive programs to promote and foster vocations to priesthood, religious life, and family life.
It almost goes without saying that there are some significant weaknesses throughout Eastern Montanan parishes. This would also be so for diocesan offices. Much of this comes as a result of insufficient funding needed to carry out the level of ministry that would allow each parish and diocesan office to be fully effective. There are many demands to provide pastoral services from diocesan offices but the staffing over the last several years has been cut significantly. Funds available to adequately support staffing are just not forthcoming. Similarly, a majority of our parishes barely operate in the black, with a number that require outside funding from granting agencies. Such funding is never guaranteed from year to year. While many parishioners offer their service in a number of ministries and have done much to educate themselves so as to provide excellent ministry in their parish, this does not regularly allow for consistent outreach or pastoral service. In the more remote rural areas of the Diocese in which one priest covers upwards of five churches, ministry necessarily is limited. Also, for any number of reasons, not every parish is experienced as life giving. Some pastors may not be as gifted as others. We all have different gifts, and some pastors and their staffs as well as myself as bishop may struggle in certain areas whether it be pastoral leadership, finance, inclusiveness or engaging others. Some parishioners are not that interested in living their faith in Christ deeply. In some parishes, there is a polarization among parishioners and pastors because of a different vision for Church life. And there is always the reality that sin exists which causes harm within communities. Further, we are finding that not every parishioner has taken full advantage of the training made available in the parishes for our children and adults in the Safe and Sacred program. There are yet a good number of parishioners who have either “opted out” or were absent during these opportunities for training children. Are children sufficiently trained to recognize potential harm? Are parents sufficiently trained to recognize risks to children under their care?
Opportunities do abound. As a result of the recent two synods on marriage and the family, the diocese is reviewing its practices and policies on marriage. There are already a number of ways that marriage is being supported, from preparation of couples preparing for marriage (e.g., Engaged Encounter, parish based couple to couple programs), ongoing support for married couples (e.g., Marriage Encounter) and support for those in struggling marriage (e.g., Retrovaille). For those individuals who have experienced a broken marriage through divorce, the Marriage Tribunal as well as parishes are ready to provide assistance. The Vocations Office continues to reach out and assist parishes to better promote vocational life. Many of our parishes have youth programs that have a minister assigned (a number on a volunteer basis) specifically to this ministry. Last year there were quite a few young people who traveled to Krakow for the World Youth Day event. There is also a consistent number of youth who participate at the National Catholic Youth Conference and plan to do so next November. There will be ample opportunities for faith enrichment through Cum Christo, Parish Missions and Marriage Encounter in the coming year. Regular parish life will continue to be a support to faith for parishioners.
The biggest challenge facing the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings are the two lawsuits that were filed against the Diocese in 2014. Various attorney firms, representing 70 claimants, allege that these claimants were sexually abused by clergy and/or religious who served in the Diocese. All of the alleged claims go back a number of decades. Nonetheless, all must be addressed through a legal process. It is the hope that these claims can be compassionately reconciled in 2017. Those claimants who were a victim of abuse, sexual or otherwise, must know a genuine pastoral response to the harm inflicted upon them, one that is directed toward healing the wound. The outcome will likely have fiscal ramifications and impact pastoral services within the Diocese from diocesan offices. I am confident that with God’s presence in our hearts, we will weather this storm and continue to attain the response to grace needed for us to be united in Christ.
All in all, there is much good to be discovered in the Church of Eastern Montana. As local Church, we may not be a model of perfection, but there are few dioceses, if any, that can claim perfection. We are a diocese in which the people’s faith in the Christ remains the foundational source for providing meaning and purpose to their lives. For so many, Christ truly is their guiding light.
I invite all to pray the following Stewardship Prayer as we enter into 2017:
Lord God,
You alone are the source of every good gift,
of the vast array of our universe,
and the mystery of each human life.
We praise You and we thank You for
Your tender, faithful love.
Everything we are and everything we have is Your gift.
After having created us,
You have given us into the keeping of
Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Fill our minds with His truth and
our hearts with His love,
that in His Spirit we may be bonded together
in a community of faith,
a diocesan family, a caring people.
In the name and Spirit of Jesus,
we commit ourselves to be good stewards of the gifts
entrusted to us,
to share what we have and who we are
as an outward sign of the treasure we hold in Jesus.
Amen.
Please help us continue
