John Breunig: A diocese sets a new course

By John Breunig
News Times
August 04, 2014

http://www.newstimes.com/opinion/article/John-Breunig-A-diocese-sets-a-new-course-5667672.php

There's no need to worry if you don't understand what it means that the Bridgeport Diocese is convening a synod. My entire academic education was in Catholic schools, and I accepted an invitation to have it clarified for me at the Catholic Center in Bridgeport last week. For that matter, church leaders within the diocesan nerve center acknowledge they are still working out the fine details.

If poorly executed, a synod could be perceived as just another closed-door process. So far, this one is being defined by dialogue, by an effort to create transparency through the stained-glass window.

The process is modeled on Pope Francis' synod on the issue of the family. The Bridgeport Diocese synod began with a listening session at Trinity Catholic High School in Stamford on May 5, with the results to be revealed Sept. 19, 2015 at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport. The synod will draw input from clergy, consecrated women, parishioners at the 82 churches in the diocese, teenagers and many others to advise Bishop Frank Caggiano on how to -- in his words -- "make our Church more responsive to our current needs and to plan our future together." He has called the dialogue a "freewheeling experience."

It is the fourth time the diocese, which represents 460,000 registered Catholics, has convened a synod. The others were in 1961, 1971 and 1981, so there hasn't been one in 33 years. The reputation of the diocese has since been stained by scandals involving sexual abuse and theft of parish funds by clergy.

Since he was installed as bishop of the diocese in 2013, Caggiano's charm and perseverance have won over skeptics. Members of Voice of the Faithful, a group of Catholics urging reform in the diocese, will be represented by three delegates to help shape the synod during working sessions in September, November, February and May. Such cooperation between the diocese and the Voice of the Faithful was unimaginable before Caggiano's arrival.

The process can be transformative for this troubled diocese; it also has the potential to have a profound impact on the lives of many non-Catholics. Catholic Charities, which addresses a host of needs from homelessness and immigration to adoption and mental health, is second only to the state itself in providing social services in Connecticut. The client base of this charitable work is not limited to members of the faith. Nor are the desks in Catholic schools. Some 30 percent of students at Trinity Catholic are not Catholic, a figure that rises to 40 percent at Kolbe Cathedral High School in Bridgeport. For these and other reasons, the diocese is inviting representatives from other denominations to attend synod sessions as observers.

This synod has the feel of a corporate reinvention of a neglected product. When we met at the Catholic Center on Tuesday, Monsignor Dariusz Zielonka handed me his business card as Diocesan Synod Director. It's the first business card I've ever gotten from a priest.

He and Deputy Synod Director Patrick Turner stress that the synod is "not pre-programmed," so no one knows what it will produce. The process began with seven 90-minute listening sessions throughout the county, while additional feedback was gathered online. The result was some 4,000 comments seminarian Christopher Ford helped organize into 10 topics by using an algorithm that identified common words or phrases. Bishop Caggiano synthesized the list into four themes: Empower the young church; Build up communities of faith; Foster evangelical outreach and; Promote works of charity and justice.

The thousands of comments came in many different languages. The church reached out to the Portuguese, Haitian, Polish, Vietnamese and Brazilian communities. During a recent session at the Haitian-American Catholic Center in Stamford, for example, they heard from families working multiple jobs who want their children to attend Catholic schools, but can't afford the tuition.

Monsignor Zielonka and Turner use phrases such as "best practices" and "revitalize" while outlining the synod. It even has a tagline: "Building a Bridge for the Future." I eventually toss in some corporate lingo of my own.

"I know this can be a dirty word, but a process such as this usually has a facilitator," I say. "A third party to keep things on track."

"I hope I'm a facilitator," Turner responds quickly. "I look at that as a real compliment."

Turner, a layman, wandered from the church before returning two decades ago. He eventually worked with Caggiano in Brooklyn, N.Y., and says he jumped at the opportunity to collaborate again on the synod.

"It's being able to step back and share my faith journey story and being able to say that we hope to be able to craft a space where people feel welcome, where people feel at home," Turner says.

If this were a corporate makeover, it would be about restoring trust in the brand. The key word in this algorithm, of course, is not "trust," but "faith." Monsignor Zielonka raises his hands, palms up, to emphasize that this is a "process coming from the bottom up, not from the top down."

"It has to come from the people," he says. "Because Greenwich needs and Bridgeport needs are not the same."

It does not escape my notice that an hour passes before anyone says "Jesus Christ." Ultimately, the meetings, spread sheets and consultants will be set aside as Bishop Caggiano prays for guidance to navigate through the thousands of voices and set the diocese on a new path.

A healthy dialogue always has the potential to be restorative. "The people" have waited for decades to be heard. I get the sense they are equally anxious to listen.

With so many voices in this conversation, though, it's vital that the needs of the neediest -- the homeless, the immigrants, the mentally ill -- not be hushed. A good business must never forsake its core clients.