The Synod takes shape

By Laureen McMahon

The arrival in Vancouver of Co-adjutor Archbishop J. Michael Miller, who automatically becomes Vicar General, and the ongoing process to adopt Archdiocesan Synod propositions have fuelled changes to curial administrative positions.

Last week’s B.C. Catholic carried the announcement of some of these changes including the appointment by Archbishop Raymond Roussin, SM, of former Vicar General, Monsignor Mark Hagemoen, as the first Episcopal Vicar for Pastoral Services. Monsignor Hagemoen remains Moderator of the Curia.

As Episcopal Vicar for Pastoral Services, Monsignor Hagemoen told The B.C. Catholic, he will continue to deal with many of the issues that used to come under the heading of administration.

“It was Archbishop Roussin who decided to go with the title Pastoral Services given the focus on pastoral planning following the promulgation of the archdiocesan synod,” he said.

Church administration, Monsignor Hagemoen explained, “is intended to follow a pastoral model with planning carried on with a view to pastoral outcomes.

“For work to be spiritually formative, we need to move from a maintenance model to a mission-oriented model, a focus that was stressed many times by Archbishop Adam Exner.”

The focus, he said, is not merely to make administrative changes and to plan goals and objectives to carry out the synod propositions, “but that the implementation of the synod be infused with the mission of the Gospel.

“Just as parishes do pastoral planning to implement synod propositions with an aim to teaching the faith, celebrate the Church’s liturgy, develop community and fellowship, etc. “so will the pastoral offices of the curia of the archbishop, do pastoral planning.”

“Pastoral planning must be infused with the mission of the Church in all that we do in terms of our goals and objectives to support parishes,” said Monsignor Hagemoen.

Advisory boards already in place for many curial offices, he added, will look to the synod propositions “to help guide their advice regarding how an office carries out its mandate.”

Monsignor Stephen Jensen, who has served as Episcopal Vicar for Education for several years and more recently as a vicar general,

‘Everybody needs to be evangelized, catechized’

has now been appointed Episcopal Vicar for Evangelization and Education by Archbishop Roussin.

Monsignor Jensen told The B.C. Catholic the Office of Evangelization was created earlier this year under the direction of Pat Gillespie.

“It was an obvious requirement, given the synod document which stressed the need for more emphasis on evangelization,” said Monsignor Jensen. “In the organization of the archdiocese, every area of service is overseen by one of the bishop’s vicars. My updated title reflects the fact that the Office of Evangelization has been established as part of the support offered to parishes by the archbishop.”

An interim board established by Gillespie, he said, has begun formulating a plan so the new Office of Evangelization can assist parishes and church organizations in their evangelization program.

“Everybody needs to be evangelized and catechized. First, we evangelize to bring people to the point of commitment to God and to the Church. Then, the process of catechesis serves to deepen and strengthen a person’s relationship to God and help him see its implications for every area of living,” said Monsignor Jensen.

The Archdiocesan Synod, he added, also featured recommendations which affect religious education, especially adult faith formation.

The archdiocese, he noted, has already dealt with expanding support for adult faith formation through the appointment of Kyle Neilson to the Office of Religious Education.

“Kyle has been helping parishes with their RCIA program which, of course, includes evangelization and catechesis. However, the synod pointed out that we need to be doing a lot more in this area so his job has now been expanded into a full-time position to help parishes in their work of on-going catechesis.”