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By Suzanne Haugh, Staff Writer
ATLANTA—Everyone knows someone-a spouse, a sister or brother,
a co-worker, a neighbor, a college roommate. That someone may even be you.
While active Catholics throughout the United States outnumber any
other Christian denomination, the second largest group of baptized U.S.
Christians, close to the number of any single Protestant denomination some say,
is Catholics not regularly attending Mass.
Over 17 million Catholics have drifted away from the faith,
according to Paulist Father John Hurley, director of the Office for
Evangelization of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The reasons for their absence vary; among them may be a marriage
outside of the Catholic Church, disagreement with the church on certain issues,
relocating to a new area, worshipping with another denomination or simply being
too busy or feeling there’s no need for religion in one’s life.
“Almost in every family there’s a relative no longer
practicing,” said Archbishop John F. Donoghue. “... They miss things,
like the Eucharist, but maybe don’t feel welcomed. I want to assure them
that they are welcomed and want to help them get back.”
In line with the Holy Father’s desire for the universal
church to focus on evangelization during the Jubilee Year, on the feast of
Corpus Christi, June 25, the Atlanta Archdiocese begins an evangelization
effort to welcome back those not currently practicing their Catholic faith.
That afternoon, Father Jack Durkin, from St. John Neumann Church
in Lilburn, and Father Brian Higgins, from the Cathedral of Christ the King,
will preach at the cathedral on evangelization and the Eucharist. The event
will begin with a eucharistic procession at 2:30 p.m.
Building upon a Eucharistic Renewal that the archbishop began in
1996, the Benediction service will serve as a send-off of active Catholics in
North Georgia to “go and make disciples,” which is the title of the
U.S. bishops’ plan for evangelization. First to be sought out will be
members of the Catholic Church who no longer come to church. The first year of
evangelization will focus upon them.
Archbishop Donoghue, who will preside at the hour and a half
service and lead Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, recalled the phrase
“once a Catholic, always a Catholic.”
“... especially when a person is baptized and educated as a
kid in the Catholic Church. You know when you come back that something was
missing. Even if you join another denomination, and I’m not condemning
them—I’m glad they’re going some place—but something is
missing still. They come to realize in some cases that they don’t have the
body and blood of Christ to sustain them. They may have a good homily and good
music, but they need spiritual sustenance to sustain them.”
One common age group of non-practicing Catholics includes
“people who drift away in the college years,” he said.
“There’s no particular reason, just that they get lazy.
They don’t have their parents to tell them to go to Mass. They graduate
from college, get married. Religion is not that meaningful to them until they
start having children and then they realize that they want to do something to
educate their kids in the faith. They send their kids to CCD, but they still
don’t go to Mass.”
Unless parents nurture their own faith, the archbishop said, the
message communicated to children is that religion is really not important.
“Parents, be aware: Know that getting the kids to CCD one
night a week hasn’t fulfilled your obligation to your children and to
yourselves. Most often parents know they haven’t, but they might not know
what to do to really get their (faith back). Some may feel unwelcomed ... I
want to assure them that they are most welcomed. We want to do what is needed
to help them make that change.”
Archbishop Donoghue recognized that the situation of each person
returning to the faith would be different.
“Some of them may not be able to come back in full communion
... but they’re still Catholic. Whether they receive Communion or not, I
want them to know that we want to see them at Mass.”
He noted that those remarried outside the church might be eligible
for annulments, which is one situation that could be addressed initially on an
archdiocesan hotline set up to answer inquires or direct people to the proper
place for guidance.
While Archbishop Donoghue has remained constant in his Catholic
beliefs, he understands the challenges to one’s faith life.
“In my own case, I never had any thoughts about being
anything but Catholic. I never had time away from the church. There have been
times I had doubts, but people go through periods wondering what they want to
be or what’s necessary to save souls. Some people say without question
while others still doubt.”
The archbishop will trust and rely on the testimony of lay
Catholics to walk with those who wish to return to the practice of their
Catholic faith.
“I want to use (active Catholics), I hope, as examples,
especially people who have fallen away and have come back, and how tremendously
happy they are. I meet them all the time. They might say, ‘I’ve been
away 20 years and I knew I was missing something.’ In most cases,
it’s the Eucharist. We want to use them as witnesses to let those (in the
program) know they’re not in it alone, to know that there are so many just
like them.”
He noted the energy returning Catholics bring to the church.
“People who fall away, when they get back, they become active
Catholics. Very few who’ve been away become what we might call Sunday
Catholics. They’re active in their parishes because they see what religion
means in their lives ... It’s very encouraging when I see that
happen.”
The archbishop hopes “to tap into that potential and not let
it go.”
And he has with the appointment of Keri Allen, director of
evangelization and adult education at the Cathedral of Christ the King. Allen
spent five years away from the church but now directs the “Come To
Me” program and the archdiocese’s Eucharistic Renewal.
“It became apparent that we needed to do even more to promote
eucharistic devotion and awareness to active Catholics,” Allen said of the
Eucharistic Renewal, which buttresses the evangelization effort.
Those attending the Corpus Christi celebration will receive prayer
cards to distribute to Catholics they may know who need an invitation to
church. With the logo of the Good Shepherd on one side, the prayer cards will
include a phone number and web page information so that recipients can inquire
about church teachings or how they can return to active participation in the
church. These cards, printed in English and Spanish, will be available at area
churches in the future.
“We want to create ways within the archdiocese” to
welcome Catholics back, Allen said.
The outreach will employ evangelization efforts already in
existence in the archdiocese, such as the small faith-sharing groups started
with RENEW 2000 or other programs.
It will also mark the beginning of new initiatives, most notably
the “Catholics Returning Home” series. This six-week program will be
offered around Christmas and Easter.
Written by Sally Mews, a woman who left the church and found her
way back, “Catholics Returning Home” uses personal faith stories and
basic instruction in the Catholic faith to gently guide those interested into
active participation in church life.
Archbishop Donoghue has written to all pastors asking them to
organize a team of parishioners to focus on the “new evangelization”
at their respective churches for a full year. He hopes that the fruit of the
first year of evangelization will be apparent on the weekend of Corpus Christi
2001. The archdiocese has rented the Georgia International Convention Center
for Saturday, June 16, 2001, and will host a daylong celebration for all
Catholics, particularly those who have rediscovered their faith.
Speakers at the 2001 event are scheduled to include Cardinal
Anthony Bevilacqua of Philadelphia, Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, OFM
Cap., and Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, the “preacher of the
pontifical household” since 1980, who gives retreats for Pope John Paul II
and Vatican officials and who has been a speaker at many charismatic
congresses. The day will include tracks for teens and children as well as
adults and will end with the celebration of Mass.
As the evangelization project progresses beyond the first year, it
will reach out to those who are unchurched.
Members of the evangelization steering committee were appointed by
Archbishop Donoghue in January. The committee is made up of approximately 30
people who currently serve the archdiocese in various ways. Clergy and
Religious on the committee include Father Paul Reynolds, vicar general in
curia, Msgr. Louis Naughton, judicial vicar, Father Jaime Barona, Father Tim
Hepburn, Father John Hopkins, LC, Father Larry Niese, Deacon Whitney Robichaux
and Sister Valentina Sheridan, RSM.
Another member is Kathy Wolf, director of religious education for
the archdiocese. She hopes her office will continue to be a resource for
parishes and anyone wishing to further learn about the Catholic faith.
“The whole (evangelization) program won’t go away next
year. The office of religious education, its whole purpose is to be here to
continue to support, be a resource for and offer training opportunities to
learn more about passing on church teachings. Evangelization and catechesis go
hand in hand to transform the heart and inform the mind.”
People must be involved in the process for it to work.
“(As Catholics) we’re committed to pass on, to echo the
faith, to fully meet people where they’re at, to listen, share and invite
them into that—to build up the body of Christ.”
Wolf offered some guidance to active Catholics who know those not
currently practicing the Catholic faith.
“Evangelization is very relational. You need to walk with the
person, hear their story, share your story. People stop coming to church for
various reasons. We want to invite them back in love. We realize there may be
barriers to move past, that there is need for a healing process. In certain
cases, people just need to be invited.”
Information about the “Come To Me” program is
available through parish religious education offices or through Keri Allen at
(404) 233-2145, ext. 426. |
