Catholics from across southeastern Indiana take part in listening session
Catholics from across southeastern Indiana fill out questionnaires related to the archdiocesan pastoral planning process during an Aug. 24 listening session at St. Louis Parish in Batesville. (Photo by Sean Gallagher)
By Sean Gallagher
BATESVILLE—Some 40 Catholics from 10 parishes across southeastern Indiana gathered on Aug. 24 at St. Louis Parish in Batesville for the first of a series of nine listening sessions that is part of a pastoral planning process for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.
Details about future listening sessions will be announced once they are finalized. An online survey related to the pastoral planning process is also expected to be available soon.
A planning process takes place about every five years to help the archdiocese discern God’s will regarding pastoral priorities. A committee guiding the current process is made up of Catholics from across the archdiocese from all vocations and a variety of walks of life.
Archbishop Charles C. Thompson spoke with the participants at the start of the meeting, inviting them to prayerfully consider together questions about the Church in central and southern Indiana—where it is at present, and where God is calling it to be.
“Where is the Holy Spirit leading us?” Archbishop Thompson asked. “What are some priorities that the Holy Spirit is asking us to hone in on to help us have a shared vision going forward?”
He noted that he expects the process to result in a new pastoral plan for the archdiocese by Advent of 2025.
The participants in the listening session took time to fill out a questionnaire about the present and future of the archdiocese. They had the chance to share in writing their thoughts about community, evangelization and catechesis, parish and family life, faith formation and education, and Catholic social teaching and service.
They then had opportunities to speak about their thoughts on where the archdiocese is currently in those areas and where God may be calling it to be in the future.
One participant noted that, in her parish, youths have regular experiences of the Church beyond their local faith community.
“I think that is so important,” she said. “People have to realize that our faith goes beyond our parish boundaries. So, we engage our young people in opportunities, whether it be in Indianapolis, World Youth Day or anywhere in between, to allow them to experience that.”
Another spoke of her experience of attending the 10th National Eucharistic Congress from July 17-22 in Indianapolis with her two children, ages 12 and 16.
“They saw unity and community at its finest at that,” she said. “Having those opportunities available to us and affordable to us as young families is so important. Anybody who wants to know what community looks like, attending things like that is so important.”
One participant spoke of how her own parish and others learned during the COVID-19 pandemic the value of the internet in evangelization, helping local faith communities spread the faith far beyond their boundaries.
At the same time, she noted the continued importance of a one-on-one personal approach in sharing the Gospel, mentioning in particular the “Walk with One” initiative announced at the congress, encouraging Catholics across the country to reach out to one person they know who may be away from the faith or doesn’t have a church home, and to invite them to a closer relationship with Christ and the Church.
This initiative was mentioned by another listening session participant who praised the vitality of the faith shown by the 50,000 people who gathered in Indianapolis for the congress.
“When you have that fire and you walk alongside someone and you love them where they’re at, when you’re constantly praying to God, ‘Show the right moment,’ you know that the Holy Spirit will show you,” she said. “That concept helps overcome a lot of barriers.
“Even when you’re busy—a mom and working—you can still have coffee with someone twice a month. You become equipped … .”
A participant reflected during the session on how vital nurturing a relationship with Christ is to proclaiming the Gospel.
“If you ask a bunch of Catholics who have never really developed a relationship with Christ to go and evangelize, they’re not even going to know what that’s about,” he said. “They don’t have any good news to share that’s not an abstract catechetical approach to the faith, which has won precious few people over the centuries.”
At the close of the listening session, Archbishop Thompson affirmed the importance of leading Catholics to an encounter with Christ.
“As I listen here and discern, I think the challenge is how do I have an encounter with Jesus that I can truly bring to others,” he said. “If I have that encounter, if that’s what I’m bringing to others—not my agenda, not my ego, not myself, but Christ—that’s what’s going to transform us going forward.”
Anything that comes out of the planning process that succeeds, Archbishop Thompson noted, will not happen “on our human merit.”
“It’s on the Spirit,” he said. “And we can’t make the Spirit do what we want. We have to be docile to the Spirit and not try to make the Spirit docile to us.”
Archbishop Thompson thanked the participants for coming to Batesville for the meeting.
“I’m impressed listening to you and your faith,” he said. “Your faith is important to you and is real to you. That encounter [with Christ] is something that you take very seriously. I thank you for being here today. This is a great start.” †
