Diocesan Meeting Precedes Continental Congress on Vocations

By Linda Busetti
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the issue of 1/17/02)

Thirty people, including Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde, attended a Diocesan Congress in November at St. Luke Church in McLean to identify issues for consideration by the Third Continental Congress on Vocations. Regional meetings were held across the United States and Canada until mid-January in preparation for the Continental Congress.

Both Bishop Loverde and Father Curtis Clark, director of the diocesan Office of Vocations, plan to attend the Congress, which will be held in Montreal, April 18-21.

According to Father Clark, Bishop Loverde invited pastors, parish youth directors, a seminarian, religious sisters, parish catechists, seminarians’ parents, Kevin Bohli director of the diocesan Youth Office, permanent deacons, and Dr. Timothy McNiff, diocesan superintendent of schools, to the diocesan meeting, which opened with a Mass.

Participants broke into three discussion groups to consider three questions suggested by Continental Congress planners: "As you reflect on consecrated life and ordained ministry in North America today, what gives you hope? Today in North America, what do you see as obstacles to someone considering/you encouraging consecrated life or ordained ministry? As one responsible for encouraging vocations to the ordained ministry and consecrated life, name three ideas you would like to have realized or actions you could (will) take."

According to Father Clark, "There was a professionalism" evidenced by participants as they considered the questions. Among "causes for hope" participants cited: "the enthusiasm of priests and sisters visiting schools" and the "Church’s commitment to justice draws people to the work of the Church." Mentioned as "obstacles" to the consecrated life or ordained ministry were: "materialism," "breakdown of family and divorce," "lack of prayer," "celibacy" and "existing fear of commitment." Suggestions for "encouraging vocations" included: "visiting schools and discussing one’s vocation with children," "greater emphasis on vocations in homilies, other public addresses," "early retirement — second vocations" and "[trading] cards of priests, religious."

Answers were compiled and categorized by respondents’ age. "The work of vocations is very age-specific," because of the wide range in age of potential seminarians, Father Clark said. "Practical content" was elicited at "all these regional Congresses where people are actually in the field doing the work, because the arena that we are in is the practical area of doing seminary formation," Father Clark said.

Father Clark praised the "acumen" of participants. "The people who were there … evidenced an immersion in the work that I was really happy to see. … They know of which they speak," Father Clark said.

Ideas and concerns raised at the regional meetings were tabulated and sent to Father William Kubacki, who is coordinating the regional process for the Continental Congress.

Topics scheduled to be discussed at the Continental Congress include the theology of vocation, North American culture and its impact on the vocations climate, the gifts and challenges of cultural diversity and vocations for the mission Church.

The theme of the Continental Congress is "Vocación: Don de Dieu, Given for God’s People." The proceedings will be trilingual — English, French and Spanish — and up to 1,200 delegates from throughout North America are expected. By December, 45 organizations had pledged to send 659 delegates. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Religious Vocation Conference in Chicago each plan to send 60 delegates.

The Continental Congress will coincide with the 39th World Day of Prayer for Vocations on April 21.

The 2002 Congress follows a Latin American Congress in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1994 and a 1997 European Congress in Rome.

For information on the Continental Congress on Vocations go to www.vocations2002.org.

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