MID-TERM EVALUATION OF THE

DIOCESAN PASTORAL PLAN

Saturday, November 12, 2005 

Keynote Address by Bishop Gabriel Malzaire 

Challenges I See Facing the Church in Dominica Today:
How Can We Face Them Together?

In the forward to the Diocesan Pastoral Plan issued in June 2003, I stated that “devising a pastoral plan in any new episcopate is never a totally new beginning.” This was in recognition of the fact that “where people have been living, (and maybe living well), the work of Christ has been happening among them.” On assuming the office of Bishop of the Diocese in October 2002, my approach was one of consultation and reflection in order to understand the pastoral needs of the Diocese. After some study of the recommendations of the Diocesan Synod of 1996/98, I presented a brief sketch of a Pastoral Plan on January 1, 2003. There I indicated the programme areas I wish to develop and implement in the Diocese over the next three years (July, 2003 – June, 2006).

I indicated that, for the sake of continuity, we would retain the Pastoral Theme: “Building Church Together”, the theme of the Diocesan Synod. We would also retain the same programme areas that were determined by the Diocesan Synod: Family Life, Finance, Youth, Social Communication, Education & Catechesis, Vocation, Social Mission, Liturgy & Spirituality and Ecumenism.

However, what is new to the Plan was its focus on Evangelization, Stewardship, and Collaborative Ministry as the three interdependent prongs upon which the implementation of the Plan depends. Evangelization is indeed the principle mission of the Church. All her members are called to participate in this mission. Stewardship puts flesh to that evangelical mandate. Collaborative Ministry is the modus operandi of the Church,

i.e. the operating method through which we actualize our being Church.

Here we are today, practically two years since launching the Diocesan Pastoral Plan. We are about mid-way across the time line we had set for ourselves. Where are we within that framework? What do we need to do in order to accomplish that mission?

I asked for this mid-term evaluation for three (3) reasons:

1. The need for occasional self-evaluation as an institution.
2. The recognition of obvious set-backs in the implementation of the Diocesan Pastoral Plan that questioned it’s viability; and
3. The need for us to study together how to proceed with the mission of the Diocese.

I had indicated from the very start of my ministry that my dream for the Diocese is that every Catholic believer becomes an evangelizer in his/her own right. As baptized Christians, we participate in the priestly, kingly and prophetic mission of Christ.  We each have a different function to accomplish in the body. We each have the responsibility to discover how we can best use our talents to help accomplish the mission of Christ in this world. I often think of what the Catholic Church in Dominica would be like if every Catholic was sufficiently empowered to exercise the role with which s/he is gifted. This could indeed happen if we use Stewardship as the method through which we seek to fulfill the mission of Christ today. This is not a new concept. Scripture is replete with many examples of what Stewardship is.

The Old Testament speaks of the offering of first fruits to God; it speaks of tithing, of burnt offerings, of cereal offerings; it also speaks of responding to the prophetic call, etc. Any situation in which persons have responded to the call to serve God and His people is the exercise of Stewardship.

The New Testament expresses it in the parable of the talents, the widow’s mite, the response of the Apostles to Jesus’ call (Matthew the tax collector, for example), Zaccheus’ response to his encounter with Jesus, the martyrdom of Stephen and Paul’s response to conversion in Christ in the Acts of the Apostles, Paul’s analogy of the gifts (1Cor. 12), etc. In short, the concept of Stewardship runs through the scriptures. And over the years Christians have responded in various ways to that mandate.

The purpose for highlighting this concept in the Diocesan Pastoral Plan is to sharpen our consciousness of what work in God’s vineyard entails. In fact, there is no genuine Evangelization without the practice of Stewardship!

Christian living essentially entails being a good steward. Good Stewards recognize that the earth and all that it contains has been given to us in trust, and we are called to recreate if with God: “Be fruitful and multiply, subdue the earth and conquer it” (Gen. 1:28).

Stewardship begins with a certain disposition towards God. In the Old Testament, it is required as a rule. Tithing and the offering of first fruits were means by which people attained a sense of worthiness before God. The New Testament goes beyond that. It takes the more genuine and more challenging way. It takes the way to freedom. It is always easier to follow the law. In so doing, the disposition of the heart does not have to correspond with the gift that is given—obedience to the rule comes first.

Instead, Jesus calls us to free giving. In the New Testament understanding, true giving comes first from the heart; the gift is secondary. Secondary here does not mean unimportant! It only means that if you love much you will give much; if you love little, you will give little. Everything else is pretense. Jesus alluded to this truth several times in the Gospels. I am afraid that if we use this principle to examine our Church we would find ourselves in a terrible shape. I can guarantee you that if we had that sense of Stewardship the Cathedral would be covered by now, the Vieille Case and Portsmouth Churches and St. John’s School would be on the way to completion.

Stewardship is indeed a way of being Church. Its ultimate purpose is to give glory to God with all that we are, all that we have and all that we do. This is the best way to show gratitude and appreciation for the giftedness of God to us.

The best fruit of Evangelization is seen when Christians, fed on the Word of God, give freely of themselves—their time, their talents and their treasure, for the well-being and salvation of others. A self-giving people understand whom God is – the one who gives without reserve. Such a disposition affects all levels of life. The problem of vocations today is not because God has stopped calling. The lack of sufficient catechists and teachers to propagate the faith has nothing to do with a shortage of people. The lack of good, exemplary families is not due to the incapacity of human beings to commitment. The problem is in us, and our response to God in a world such as ours. If we work at it every Catholic can and ought to become a propagator of the Faith.

The various programme areas that we have selected in the Diocesan Pastoral Plan are means through which we propose to realize our mission as Church in the Diocese. As I said earlier, these programme areas are not new. They represent the continuation of the ministry of Christ as understood in the Scriptures and the Tradition of the Church. They represent our attempts to perfect this mission as best we can as we seek to respond to the needs of the 21^st century.

As Bishop of the Diocese, it is my responsibility, in collaboration with clergy, religious and the faithful, to guide the Church in Dominica in a manner that seeks to incorporate all the gifts of the Baptized to realize the mission of Christ in our time.  Thus the purpose of the encounter today is to see where we are regarding the implementation of the Diocesan Plan and to see how best we can support and encourage each other in this process of implementation.

All the programme areas in the Diocesan Pastoral Plan are indispensable. We cannot ignore the challenges that Family Life poses in our time. We cannot overlook the need to give attention to the Youth who are the future of our Church and our nation. We cannot ignore the necessity of having a proper sense of accountability in the use of our finances. Evangelization would be empty without a Social Concern for the poor. We need proper education of the faithful (Catechesis). The Church cannot propagate itself without selfless response to vocation in marriage, priesthood, religious life and the committed single life. The use of the means of social communication to propagate the Gospel in this modern age is no longer an option. Good Liturgy and a balanced spirituality enhance our communication with God. The Ecumenical challenge still remains. We are called to work for unity with our Separated Brothers and Sisters.

In my judgment, one of the shortcomings of our initial attempt to implement the Diocesan Pastoral Plan was the piece meal approach that most parishes took. Many chose one or two programme areas, and neglected others. We at the ODI must take some responsibility for that development. Given the varied nature of the parishes in the Diocese, it is obvious that some areas will receive more attention than others. However, we must work towards a comprehensive apostolate. I believe that this can be achieved by harnessing the resources that exist in our Parishes. In the Focus Group Report many expressed the opinion that we have the Human Resources in our parishes but we lack the imagination or the know how to engage these Human Resources in the parishes.

Let me now point out some of the major challenges that confront the Church in Dominica today. From the Report of the Focus Groups that took place in September I know that many of you here know what some of them are:

1. The level of ignorance among baptized Catholics as regards their faith is high. This leaves them open to be swayed by other Christians who are convinced about what they believe. We lack sufficient ongoing catechesis and spiritual formation for our Catholic faithful, many of whom show very little interest and commitment to learning the faith. We need to evangelize our Catholic faithful. No longer is the penny catechism, which served well in the days of my parents, sufficient to sustain the faith of many in the world in which we live. The use of the means of social communication for Evangelization is not an option any more.

2. We need to act as an adult Church, responsible for our future. The Diocese is 152 years old. I have seen many younger Churches flourishing in ways that we have not experienced. They are sending out missionaries in great numbers. We are still on the receiving end. We need to change the course of events. I know we can do better. The true sign of a mature or maturing Church is its ability to produce its own.

3. There is still a lack of a sense of ownership of our Church. We still seem to believe that some else has to fix things for us. That time is long gone. We have to get up and get. I recall after the earthquake many people would ask me what is the Vatican doing for us? We don’t exist for the Vatican! In fact it is the other way around. We should be contributing to the Vatican, so to speak, so that it can help others that are more unfortunate than us.                                                                                                                                     

4. Globalization also poses a challenge. People’s value systems are being called into question. We do not belong to the small community that we always knew; we are part of a big world, which, in fact, is getting smaller and smaller thorough advanced technology. And, as you know, much of what is being communicated can be very negative. Nevertheless, it is within this environment that we have to evangelize.

5. The Church is challenged to keep up with the demands of the times. We can no longer think small. The same problems that are in the international world are facing us. It is our duty, as Christians, to share Gospel values on decisions taken regarding moral, spiritual, social and economic issues. Therefore, the Church today must present herself professionally. We should not settle for mediocrity, incompetence or compromise, regardless of the challenges presented to us. We need to set the standards for the world and not the other way around. It means, then, that we have to come good. We have to show that we are serious about who we are, what we do and what we believe.

6. We must face the challenge of brain drain that migration poses to the Church and the Nation. Often very good and dependable leaders migrate in search of gainful employment, to pursue studies of to join family members abroad.

7. Because of the pace at which the world is moving, long-term commitments are becoming more and more difficult. The Church is not exempt from the effects of this reality.

Now, how to we face these challenges?  In order to face these challenges I believe that there are three things required: Spirituality, Knowledge and Method. First, the end of all that we do and seek must be the Glory of God and the edification of all. Secondly, we must have a reasonable knowledge of what we want to achieve and to be open to further increase. Thirdly, given the above, we must seek the best method of achieving our goals. We must be as practical as possible. This is one of the reasons why we are here today – to try to begin a viable way forward.

Therefore, here are some of the things I would like to see embarked upon come January 2006:

1.      I would like a great effort put into a systematic education of the faithful regarding the contents of the Diocesan Pastoral Plan. The Diocesan Pastoral Plan is not optional! It is a Pastoral Plan for the whole Diocese. I ask that all my collaborators in ministry on every level of the Diocese be guided by the Diocesan Pastoral Plan in making and implementing their pastoral plans;

2.      that seminars and instructions be organized to help the faithful understand the theory and practice of Stewardship, Collaborative Ministry and Evangelization;

3.      that Pastoral Teams be formed in each parish in collaboration with the existing Parish Councils to attend to the various programme areas. We are not to be afraid to empower our people to do the things that they ought to do; and

4.      that parishes liaise with the ODI for direction and co-ordination for the implementation of the various aspects of the Pastoral Plan.

In Summary we ask:

 What are we trying to Accomplish? 

To build a Church Community where in every parish 100% of all the baptized members are engaged in the ministry of the Church through the Parish.

We attempt to accomplish this through the method of: 

• Collaborative Ministry where 100% of al the baptized are engaged in the ministry of the Church in the Parish under the leadership of the Parish Priest and the Parish Team
• Stewardship where 100% of all the baptized give time, talent and treasure towards realizing the goal of the Diocesan/Parish Pastoral to create a vibrant, Christian Community in the parish.

• Evangelization where every parish continually calls all the baptized, committed to Christ and His Gospel message, to consciously directs all its efforts to transforming the world to Christ.

What will this parish look like?

§        A place where all parishioners are aware of their roll in the Church.

§        A place where there is a surplus of committed volunteers to assist in the ministry of the Parish.

§        A place where there is an increase of new members, more Catholics coming back to the Parish through the evangelizing efforts of the baptized.

§        A place where there is a greater sense of community and connectedness among the members and a closer link between the faithful and the Parish Priest and the Parish Team.

§        A place where there is great involvement of youth and young adults in the parish programs and in outreach to other youth.

§        A community that shows strong and consistent outreach to the poor, the marginalized and those in crisis.

§        A community that has vibrant education programs to educate the faithful in the doctrines of the Church and the Church’s social teaching.

§        A community that is self-supporting and can sustain its program because the majority of the faithful are committed to stewardship (tithing) as a way of life.

§        A community through which the Church empowers her faithful to make a difference by living out the Gospel message in their everyday lives.