Catholic Church Reform International: Zoom, inviting clergy to work with the laity in the selection of our bishops – 14 Dec 2024
Sign on is https://zoom.us/j/2429500175: Password is spirit.
To find the time for you in your locale, click on Our Universal Calendar and scroll down to Dec. 14.
CCRI website:
www.catholicchurchreformintl.org
 Inviting Clergy to join online to explore working with Laity in the Selection of our Bishops December 14, 2024 Now that the 2024 Final Document has expressed a desire to see laity involved in the selection of bishops, clergy and laity must move forward on this process. All People of God are welcomed. Several int’l and national reform organizations along with several priests’ associations from around the world are inviting clergy globally to join in an online discussion to explore their partnering with the laity in establishing a process for the selection of bishops. Laity are encouraged to invite priests in their own parish or diocese to join this online discussion and to offer their experience in forming criteria for the selection of bishops. The appropriate time to implement this process is upon a vacancy occurring or a bishop reaching retirement age of 75. This is a session where clergy and laity are being asked not to come just to listen but to contribute. You are being asked to come prepared, to have given thought to your suggestions, to roll up your sleeves, and to work synodally with one another. Recognizing that there is no flawless system for this process, we will explore together a process for what will work best in each of our communities for selecting our bishops. Sign on is https://zoom.us/j/2429500175: Password is spirit. To find the time for you in your locale, click on Our Universal Calendar and scroll down to Dec. 14. We will begin by moving into breakout rooms to share our insights in smaller groups: 1. What has been your experience of the appointment of your bishops in the past (whereby candidates were recommended by the Apostolic Nuncio to the Dicastery for Bishops in Rome with the Pope making the final appointment)? To prepare, you may want to read the report on the challenges with the present system for bishops’ appointments. 2. What qualities do you seek in the person chosen to be your bishop? 3. Now that the Synod has concluded expressing a desire tor the people to have a say in the selection of our bishops, an outline for a recommended procedure was offered in a previous meeting. To prepare, you are encouraged to read the report on exploring alternative processes for selecting our bishops. Using this recommendation as a guide, what are your insights for the best ways to proceed with selecting your next bishop in your parish or community? Method for selecting candidates; Details for having a period of public discernment to allow the candidates to share their insights into what each one perceives is most needed for our diocese/community and to give the People of God an opportunity to ask questions; How to arrange small groups throughout the diocese to have reflective Conversations in the Spirit to prayerfully discern who among the candidates possesses the qualities most needed for their diocese; How to set up the election process to fairly represent the entire diocese in choosing a bishop who will best serve the needs of the community; An ordination of the person chosen to be held within the diocese.· When this is completed . . . The facilitator will use the form provided and, with the help of the members in your small group, share the outcome of your discernment of each question including the bulleted items above. Everyone on the call will receive a summary of all the reports. It is hoped that each attendee will find these reports helpful as we return to our own community to prepare for establishing this process within our diocese. There are countless aging bishops worldwide. Whether the need to replace a bishop will occur this year or the next or the next, the process needs to be established well in advance. As you will see from this experience, it is not an easy system to set up. And we most likely will experience some flaws. But over time, we should continue to improve the process. For those planning to attend who have experience at facilitating, we’d appreciate if you’d send an email volunteering to serve. We then return to the main room . . .Where we can share feelings about the experience we’ve just had. We will open the discussion for suggestions as we return to our parish or community for specific steps of what we can do to begin now setting up the process for implementing the selection of our next bishop so when the time comes, we will be prepared. Not every diocese will do this. But if enough parts of the world begin to implement this process, it will spread little by little throughout the world. Your donations are most appreciated YOUR GIFT – IN ANY AMOUNT – IS PRICELESSWhen you make a donation to support our cause, you join with others who are investing in restoring our Church to what Jesus intended. The dollars we receive are used to run our programs and to reach a broad spectrum of the People of God. We are focused on reaching out to the Faithful, reform activists, young adults as well as those who feel abandoned by the Church, to mention just a few. Your personal contributions in offering your suggestions and your donations are most appreciated. We have begun to genuinely join our voices together behaving as a synodal Church. Let us now be willing to assume co-responsibility for our role in selecting our bishops. It will not happen unless we the laity together with our clergy initiate the process. We will keep you informed of more to come as we move forward to become a more synodal Church. We will continue to offer more online gatherings as a community. On behalf of the CCRI steering committee, Rene Reid, CCRI director |