ARCHDIOCESE OF MILWAUKEE
PLANNING COMMISSION
INFORMATION
HANDOUT
4
of four
QUESTIONS MOST ASKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF
PARISH AND ARCHDIOCESAN PLANNING
1. Why should we become involved in archdiocesan
and parish planning?
When change happens in one part of the archdiocese, it has
an impact on the whole archdiocese. As we face changes in
the future, we can either sit back and let whatever happens
determine our future or we can take a good look at what is
going on and what we would like the future to look like and
get involved in making that happen. With a declining number of priests for the foreseeable future, we all need to plan
for the best ways we can continue to provide ministry and
service in our parishes and archdiocese. Planning provides
the opportunity to become informed and involved in creating
the best ways we can continue the mission and ministry of
Jesus in the Church of today and tomorrow.
2. Is there a hidden agenda in the planning process?
Nothing has been predetermined, except for the fact that we
must do the best work with the resources available to us. The
goal is to have vibrant parishes. Now we must continue the
process of finding the best ways to do this with the personnel
and resources we have available.
recommendations back to the parishes in each district. In
January 2004, parishes in each district will respond to these
recommendations and then the Planning Commission will
make its revisions. At that point, the Commission will give
these tentative recommendations to the Archbishop who will
then consult with the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council and the
Archdiocesan Council of Priests. The Archbishop will then
make the final decisions and begin to implement the plan in
June 2004.
3. Do all parishes have to be a part of the planning process?
Yes. In fact, all parishes are already involved. This is the
third step in an ongoing planning process begun in 1989.
Archbishop Dolan is requiring all parishes to continue their
involvement in planning so that people can have input into
how parishes look and function in the future. To not be
involved simply means abdicating your chance to help create
what you feel is best. That is not to say that everyone’s ideas
will be the final word. Good planning involves listening and
collaborating with others. However, if you or your parish do
not participate, it means the Archbishop will have to make
decisions about your future without your input.
5. If we are already involved in parish planning, do we
have to do this process?
Yes. This step in the process is to help all parishes look to
the future and help the archdiocese to plan what the next
steps need to be. All parishes will continue to be affected.
While some have already made adjustments and are ahead of
others, we all need to look at how we can best share
resources in the future: our declining number of priests, as
well as our growing number of permanent deacons and lay
ministers. The planning your parish has done up until now
will certainly make the current planning process go more
smoothly for your parish.
4. What is the role of the Planning Commission?
The Planning Commission studies all the parish, cluster and
district suggestions from the perspective of the whole archdiocese. They will summarize these ideas and make tentative
6. What does the planning process involve?
All parishes will be asked to involve their parish and/or
parishioners in one or two meetings in September to discuss
the information you have received in these bulletin inserts
ADDRESS:
3501 S. Lake Dr., PO Box 070912, Milwaukee, WI 53207-0912
PHONE:
414-769-3378
FAX:
414-769-3408
E-MAIL:
[email protected]
WEBSITE:
www.archmil.org
ARCHDIOCESE OF MILWAUKEE PLANNING COMMISSION
Number four of four handouts
and in the Archbishop’s Pastoral Letter that was mailed to
you earlier. Each parish will have a core team of three to five
parishioners to help lead this process. Since a significant part
of this planning process will involve parishes working
together, it is suggested that the second meeting be done in
parish groupings/clusters.
7. Who will help us with the process if we need it?
Members of the Planning Commission, as well as the
Archdiocesan Parish Consultants, are available and will be
working with your pastor/parish director and your parish
core team.
12. Why not just allow married priests, ordain women or
get priests from other countries to serve here?
These are good questions and seem to be the obvious solution to the priest shortage. The Vatican makes the decision
about married clergy or women priests. Perhaps some time
in the distant future, married priests may be an option or the
norm in the Roman Rite. Further, the Pope has taught that
women cannot be ordained to the priesthood.
In light of this, we must move ahead now and plan for the
immediate future – the next five years. We must do this planning in light of our current personnel and our current Church
law and tradition. The Pope also discourages developed
nations from recruiting priests from underdeveloped nations.
In fact, he has asked the developed nations to send priests to
these countries. The vast majority of countries have a significantly lower ratio of priests to people than we do in the
U.S.A. If we take away the few priests that they have, we are
doing a great injustice to the universal Church.
8. When will the plan be implemented?
The Archbishop will begin to implement the plans in June
2004. Some changes could be made at that time, while others
will be phased in over the next five years.
9. Will parishes be closed or merged?
The reason for planning is to determine what is best for the
Church of southeastern Wisconsin as we move into the
future. At this time, we do not know if any parishes will need
to close or merge, or if new parishes will need to be created.
What we do know is that the Church will be made stronger
by the sharing of both human and material resources, and by
planning for how these resources will best be used.
10. Who will make the final decisions?
Archbishop Dolan will make the decisions based on all of
the input of parish participants and the recommendations of
the Planning Commission.
11. Is the reason for the planning at this time because of
the declining number of priests?
One of the present realities is a declining number of priests,
and we must look at how these priests will serve in our
parishes. However, we must also look at what is necessary to
be a vibrant parish and how we can be that in the future.
What resources we need and how we can best provide them
are critical issues to address and plan for.
The overriding goals of the Planning Commission are to
ensure access to the Eucharist in its totality, namely – Word,
Sacrament, Service and Community, for all the faithful; to
compel us to live Eucharistic lives through practice of spiritual and corporal works of mercy; and to support the practice
of wise stewardship of our human and temporal resources.
13. What about the availability of retired and religious
order priests?
Retired priests are serving us incredibly well and are greatly
appreciated, but they are retired and we cannot count on
them to fill all the needs we will face. A significant number
of the retired priests are too sick or immobile to be involved
in ministry. Also, the number of religious order priests is
declining, and many religious communities have pulled back
from parish ministry to focus on the ministry of their particular community. Thus, there will be fewer, not more, priests in
the near future.
14. Are the parishes the only area to be affected by the
planning process?
Other institutions that need pastoral service, such as hospitals, nursing homes, correctional institutions, and Catholic
schools will be looked at in this process. Also, the
Archbishop has set up a separate but parallel Strategic
Planning Task Force with a mandate to identify and prioritize the strategic issues facing the archdiocese. The Task
Force will examine the role of the Central Offices in supporting parishes, schools and other Catholic agencies, and
will recommend how they can better serve the people of the
Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
This is the fourth of four information pieces to help you understand the need for and process of the planning underway in
parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in 2003.
Supported by the Catholic Stewardship Appeal
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