By Father James Maciejewski

The recent survey which sought “positive suggestions for improving the quality of gospel service provided by the church” here brought challenging responses to the archdiocesan pastoral council which sponsored the survey.

Written replies came from 13 parishes and approximately 250 individuals, 200 of whom were students and professors at the University of Georgia. A spokesman for the council called the volume of response “poor”, but cited the shortness of time and some ambiguities in the survey as excusing reasons.

Delegates attending the meeting, the most productive of recent pastoral council sessions, were urged to continue the survey in their parishes. Priests were similarly encouraged last week in a letter from Father Jerry Hardy, secretary of the council.

A consensus of the letters received to date indicates a belief that the following areas of Catholic life with the archdiocese were most in need of improvement:

1) Spiritual Life: (a) A deepening personal commitment to the Lord Jesus; (b) improving the quality of parish liturgical participation and pulpit homiletics; (c) greater sense of the Catholic faith and the direction it gives to life.

2) Communication: (a) better over-all archdiocesan level planning; (b) better two-way communication between archdiocesan offices and parishes; (c) goal-setting and coordination among archdiocesan departments and agencies; (d) greater utilization of the Georgia Bulletin for local communication.

3) Religious Education: (a) better adult education; (b) development of a full-time youth ministry.

Another area of concern to many survey respondents was that of care for the elderly. This was part of a pattern of response that called for greater social consciousness on the part of the archdiocese.

Other individual responses to the survey were favorable to such ideas as the extended use of deacons, greater emphasis on tithing, greater sensitivity to the needs of rural parishes, a slow-down in the frequency of priests transfers and the hiring of a professional office manger for the chancery.

Replies to the survey will be collated further and a progress report will be made shortly to follow up the initial report at the October 13 meeting. While that is being done, the pastoral council executive board will be forwarding first phase returns to the various archdiocesan offices, departments and agencies to which the survey replies refer.

“We think it is important that the various offices have these suggestions and also that the people of the archdiocese who made them know that something was done with their replies,” commented Tom McMahon, vice president of the council.

Archbishop Thomas Donnellan attended the full day session and expressed his gratitude to the delegates for their work. He said he was pleased with the seriousness of the replies to the survey and hoped that it would be maintained as an ongoing inquiry in the archdiocese.

He said he would be giving the replies further study as compilations of them were prepared.