Archdiocese of Grouard-McLennan

The following is the text delivered by Archbishop Gerard Pettipas at the Archdiocesan convocation on Saturday, November 17, 2007 in McLennan, Alberta.

It is now almost a year since I was named by Pope Benedict XVI as the archbishop of Grouard-McLennan. The past twelve months have been monumental for me, as I have gradually moved into the position of being archbishop. The physical move to McLennan was the first of many changes, and while it seemed a major shift at the time, other changes have made that one pale by comparison. Some changes were marked by colourful and joyous celebrations, such as my ordination as a bishop and installation in January, and my reception of the Pallium in Rome in June. As I have assumed added responsibilities, I have been challenged to understand and assimilate what it means to be a bishop at this point in time, and in this place. One whole realm that has stretched my awareness has to do with Native peoples. For one thing, I have been exposed as never before to our Native peoples and their reality and have begun to see them in a totally new light. Further to this, I was named as president of the corporation of 50 Catholic entities that are responsible for dealing with the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement -- this has all been very new and unexpected.

As I try to clarify my goals for the archdiocese, I’ve come to see that my intentions and directions fall under two overarching headings: spiritual and organizational. My spiritual goal takes as its point de départ the motto I chose for my coat of arms: “what God wants is for you all to be holy”. On several occasions around the archdiocese I have spoken to this theme. It was also the inspiration for our first annual retreat that I preached to the clergy at the end of September. Don’t be surprised if you hear me speak of holiness in other venues as well.

Let me also speak of another spiritual strategy, what I am calling Mission 2010. First, the background. The Redemptorists in North America are divided into several provinces and vice-provinces. These are territories where Redemptorist communities are found, and where they minister. Some of these are not only territorial, but also cultural or linguistic, as in the Yorkton Province (which is Ukrainian Catholic) and the Ste-Anne de Beaupré Province (which is French-speaking). The superiors of these many provinces and vice-provinces meet each year, and plan some initiatives in ministry that they can engage in together. One of their common projects has been to offer a mission throughout a whole diocese or region. [A mission is a time of renewal and commitment in a Christian community; evangelization and catechesis; focus on the Word and proclamation.] With my appointment as archbishop, they have offered to conduct such a mission throughout our archdiocese in the fall of 2010. This will involve several Redemptorists from the many areas of North America. Since some are Ukrainian Redemptorists, Father Gary Sedgwick’s parishes in the Peace Country can take part. Since some mission-preachers will be French-speaking, we will be able to address our francophone communities in a particular way. The details have not yet been worked out, but I suspect the mission-preachers will be with us for about two weeks.

I am grateful for this offer, and I look forward to having strong and seasoned preachers among us. More than just a preaching revival, however, I see this as an excellent opportunity for every one of our parishes and missions to reach out to non-practicing and alienated Catholics in our communities. In that sense, the greater work will be in the months leading up to the preaching phase, more so than the preaching itself. What I need to do is have an ad-hoc committee to work on this over the next few years. There will need to be planning for the preparation and the outreach I have just described; there will also need to be planning for the preaching event itself in those places where it will happen. I want to get your input on this event, which I hope will add vitality to our whole archdiocese and to its many parishes and missions.

I have tried since coming into my position to understand the archdiocese. With this goal in mind, I have attempted to be physically present to as many communities in our diocese as possible; as often as I can, I try to respond positively to the many invitations to visit parishes. I now see that this has led to a certain imbalance, in that I have been to some parishes several times; others I still have not visited at all. It is my hope in the near future to set up a five-year cycle, within which I would be guaranteed to visit every parish and every mission. In an attempt to be present in a totally different way, I have made a point of writing a personal and pastoral letter to the diocese every month.

In the meantime, I have come to realize that we need to do some “catch-up” on diocesan structures. What is accepted and established in other dioceses across the nation and around the world has been somewhat lacking in Grouard-McLennan. [Click here for organizational chart.] Over the past several months, I have organized some of the committees that are called for by Church law: a Curia, a Finance Committee, a College of Consultors and Council of Priests. My next goal is to establish an Archdiocesan Pastoral Council.

Before going on to speak about parishes, let me raise the matter of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council. In Canon Law, pastoral councils are not mandated as finance committees are, but they are strongly encouraged. I personally endorse the establishment and function of pastoral councils, because otherwise the focus of activity in a diocese or parish becomes almost totally one of money and maintenance. While money and maintenance are absolutely necessary, they are not the essence of what Christian community is about; rather, they support and sustain the life and mission of the Christian community. And so, I feel a burning need for us to have a healthy, functioning Archdiocesan Pastoral Council.

Let me begin by reminding us all that the APC is a consultative body, as are all Parish Pastoral Councils. This is not a parliament; the Catholic Church, for better or worse, does not operate that way. Having said that, there is a definite and necessary role for consultation and advice, and I take that role very seriously. Anyone who knows me from personal experience can testify to this. I need to hear what people are saying and thinking. Keep in mind, of course, that I must listen to many voices, voices that on occasion are at odds with one another. In the final analysis, what I decide for the good of the archdiocese may seem to ignore what any one person has suggested, but this does not mean that that voice went unheard.

I have a very sketchy draft of our APC to place before you today. [Click here for draft of APC.] We don’t have time to go through this right now, but I’ll ask you to deal with it in your small groups. Let me only point out a few things:

Now, some reflections on parishes and their structure. My spiritual goal here (which will have an impact on my organizational goal) is to have all of our parishes and missions be vital communities, built on a lively faith in Jesus Christ, and served by the Church’s sacraments in a meaningful way. Let me try to unpack this statement a little bit. Vital communities are life-giving. That’s what the word vital means – full of life, or as the word itself suggests, vitality. As I look across the archdiocese, I see some communities that are just that, very life-giving. Much is happening in those parishes, and their outreach and welcome seem to be striking a positive chord. Some other parishes, though not lively in the same way, are doing a valiant job in the face of some limitations and struggles. In yet others, especially where the numbers of families and individuals are very small and still diminishing, a faithful few are struggling to keep forging ahead, despite personal and financial challenges. What I have just offered is no more than a bird’s-eye view.

I am convinced of the need to understand better our many communities, to identify the needs as well as the resources at our disposal. Until I have a clearer picture of this, it is difficult to do any pastoral planning. In order to address this, my immediate goal is to establish a planning committee for the Archdiocese. This committee will have as its primary task to conduct a study of the archdiocese. Such a study would direct us toward our greatest needs, and propose ways to address those needs in a reasoned fashion. I am looking for a particular set of skills in the persons who would design and carry out such a study – I am imagining a small committee along with a director, whose mandate will be to offer a report after 18 to 24 months. I hope to name the members of this committee early in 2008.
As we head into this study, I recognize that I approach it with some preconceptions about healthy Catholic communities. Allow me to describe these briefly.

I believe it is important that we know by name every Catholic in our parish. We live in a transient society, and given the recent prosperity of Alberta, there are many who have moved into our midst from away. Do we know who the Catholics are in our communities? Do we make an effort to reach out to them, to welcome them among us? Even if they are not regular in their attendance at Mass, I want every parish to move in the direction of knowing the Catholics among them. I am well aware that this will be a great challenge in many of our parishes, but I want us all to use our best efforts to make such a contact. I have alluded to this already -- as we approach Mission 2010, I want each Catholic household in the archdiocese to receive a personal invitation to take part. My point here is simply to say, we must all be stretched to make room in our midst for those who may not be well-known to us, but who are members of our community nonetheless.
In concert with the emphasis that the contemporary Church is placing on the Eucharist as the source and summit of our life as a Christian community, I want to highlight the centrality of the Sunday celebration of the Mass in our communities. In all too many of our churches, a lay-led service or no service at all has become the norm especially, but not only, in our Native communities. While it may take a while to accomplish this, I want us to move in the direction of making such occurrences the exception rather than the norm.
In order to accomplish this, of course, we are in need of more priests. Now, we are all aware of the shortage of priests in our archdiocese, while I also rejoice that we now have two young men in the seminary studying for our diocese. The vast majority of priests serving in our communities are from foreign countries. I am very grateful for those priests who are ministering here, far from their homeland; it is a testimony to their missionary zeal. At the same time, I don’t feel we should accept this as a normal state of affairs; we must encourage our own young people to consider a call from God to ordained ministry or vowed religious life. In the meantime, we are in need of those from elsewhere who come to Canada offering their services.
In my own mind, I have worked out what I think is an acceptable “model of priestly service” that contains several elements:

that one priest should be responsible for no more than three parishes or missions. In this way, he should be able not only to offer the sacraments on a regular basis, but he will also have the opportunity to get to know in a personal way those whom he serves.
that the priest should have time to get to know people, and let them know him. It is not sufficient to zip into a place, celebrate a Mass, then zip out just as quickly, without spending time with people and getting to know them.
that we should not impose on priests the burden of responsibility beyond the retirement age of 75. We currently have three pastors who are over 75; two of them are into their 80s. I would like to relieve them of the responsibilities of being a pastor, without losing them or their skills for as long as they are healthy and able to offer their service of ministry. As in most dioceses across the country, these retired priests could offer a valuable service of “filling in” when a pastor is sick or otherwise away from his parish for a short period of time.

A healthy and vibrant community needs the gifts and talents of all its members. St. Paul, in using the image of the body in 1 Corinthians 12, speaks of a unique and necessary role for everyone. This will be different for each person, dependent both on their position and their personality. We desperately need the place and talents of the lay members of our parishes and missions. Their role is not the same as that of the ordained members; these should not be confused, as I feel sometimes they have been because of our shortage of priests. There are roles of service and leadership that are proper to the baptized, and there are roles of service and leadership that are proper to the ordained. I call on both clerics and lay members to recognize this. Each and every person is needed and valued for the different functions of the whole body.

I am grateful to have you all here today to share in this gathering and to share insights. I always enjoy the sight and sound of people together, enjoying one another’s company.