Bishop Michael F. Burbidge has appointed 14 local Catholics to a new Diocesan Pastoral Council that will inform his ministry and help facilitate implementation of the Strategic Plan as it enters its next phase.
The council’s members — a mix of lay people, clergy and consecrated religious — represent different ethnicities and geographic corners of the diocese. Their inaugural meeting is Oct. 19 at the chancery and subsequent meetings will take place at least twice annually.
Bishop Burbidge hopes the council members can help him to identify pastoral and spiritual needs in the diocese and help propose solutions to address them. Evangelization will be another important issue, he said. “We have the truth. But how do we share that in new and exciting and creative ways and in faithfulness to invite and attract God’s people to return to the church?”
Approximately 22 percent of the estimated 446,500 registered Catholics attended weekend Masses last October, according to the most recent diocesan count. “We cannot rest knowing that number,” Bishop Burbidge said, adding that the council’s pastoral assignments could include examining what’s keeping people from attending Mass and how the diocese can foster strong marriages and holy families.
The 14 initial members of the council and their parish affiliations are: Christian Bentley, St. Joseph Church in Alexandria; Dawn Beutner, Holy Spirit Church in Annandale; Franciscan Father Thomas G. Bourque, pastor of St. Joseph Church in Herndon; David Conroy Jr., All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas; Kristen Federmeier, Corpus Christi Church in Aldie; Sam and Sandy Dominick, St. Mary of Sorrows Church in Fairfax; Katrina Gallic, St. Charles Borromeo Church in Arlington; Franciscan Sister Judith Gebelein, St. Philip Church in Falls Church; Jack Loria, St. Luke Church in McLean; Rossnat Rodriguez, St. Anthony of Padua Church in Falls Church; Deacon Tim Slayter, Sacred Heart Church in Manassas; Father Charles C. Smith, pastor, St. John the Evangelist Church in Warrenton; and Michael Stabolepszy, St. Catherine of Siena Church in Great Falls. Their terms range from two to three years.
The Diocesan Pastoral Council is an outgrowth of the meetings and discussions that produced the Strategic Plan, released September 2021. The plan has six strategic goals, or pillars: Revitalize evangelization and faith formation; Cultivate authentic discipleship in Christ; Invigorate Catholic education for all; Strengthen parish and family life; Foster one communion of many cultures; and Deepen our commitment to charitable works.
To develop the Strategic Plan, approximately 200 lay Catholics were consulted, along with all diocesan priests, deacons and seminarians. Following the plan’s release, 93 Catholics — a combination of clergy and laity — participated in working groups that developed scores of programmatic recommendations to achieve the goals articulated by each pillar. The council is essentially a subset of those working groups.
The consultative body will propose practical ideas to support pastoral works and ministries, according to Father Jamie R. Workman, diocesan vicar general. At other times it may serve as a sounding board for the bishop, whose office maintains authority for making policy and programmatic decisions. But before offering recommendations, the first task for some council members will be to learn how different diocesan offices function and to study the diversity of the diocese — from densely populated Arlington to more rural areas on its western and southern borders.
Canon law allows for the establishment of pastoral councils to support diocesan bishops, provided that the panels are voluntary, meet at least once annually and are comprised of members who are appointed to limited terms. While members’ terms are limited, the council’s work is expected to continue indefinitely, according to Father Workman.
Since his installation as Arlington’s fourth bishop in 2016, Bishop Burbidge has held several series of listening sessions to hear from the faithful. Most recently they included the meetings to guide development of the Strategic Plan and to facilitate a diocesan report on synodality, or journeying together as a universal church, in response to the direction of Pope Francis. The Diocesan Pastoral Council will formalize such consultations.
Jack Loria previously participated in the working group tasked with creating proposals to foster one communion of many cultures. He said he is honored and humbled to be appointed to the new council and is looking forward to contributing to its work “in a positive and constructive way, which will be very faith-filled.”
Loria moved to Reston with his family as a teen in the 1970s, when his father’s work for NASA brought them here from the Boston area. While the pursuit of a college degree and a bilingual MBA took him to the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and to Spain, respectively, he always considered the Arlington diocese home. He now lives in McLean.
Coming from his career in the business world, he said it was an adjustment to partner with priests and deacons on the multicultural communion working group. But he enjoyed the experience and saw the different viewpoints as complementary. He’s bringing the same attitude to the new council. “I really felt that it was helpful to provide additional perspective, all with the purpose and hope of trying to contribute to our diocese and help with the bishop and what the bishop wants to achieve,” he said.
Schweers can be reached at [email protected].
Find out more
Read the biographies of the individual council members at arlingtondiocese.org/pastoral-council/.
