Staff Report

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati Pastoral Council met at Sept. 6 in the Bartlett Center at the Athenaeum of Ohio. The meeting was the last one for nine members of the council whose terms have expired.

“I do want to thank all those who have served on this Archdiocesan Pastoral Council who have completed their term,” Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr said. “It is very important for ministry in the archdiocese for me to hear from you.”

The leaving members were Deacon Jerry Cain, Diana Feldman-Smith, Brother Hugh Henderson, June Landrum-Springer, Father Daniel Meyer, Yvonne Peay, Marilyn Ross, Father William Stockelman and Robert Zimmerman.

The new members replacing them at the next meeting will be Deacon Michael Thomas, Anne Keefe, Brother Gene Mayer, Father Scott Wright, Joy Gunza, Linda Mulvaney, Father Ted Kosse and Ronald Sayler. A replacement for Springer had not been named as of the meeting.

The meeting’s main presentation was by the Stewardship Office.

During the open forum, the leaving members of the council expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve during their previous terms and others mentioned a range of activities taking place around the archdiocese.

Precious Blood Brother Hugh Henderson, one of the departing members of the council, brought up the the declining number of non-ordained professed male religious in the United States. In 1970, Brother Henderson said there were 79,000 religious brothers in the country, while that number is now just 54,000. The Archdiocese of Cincinnati has 114 brothers.

With the Year for Consecrated Life scheduled to begin Nov. 21, Brother Henderson urged people to remember consecrated life includes not just priests and nuns, but also religious brothers.

Bishop Joseph R. Binzer  reported that he spent much of his summer filling in at weekend Masses around the archdiocese and noted that he would be spending two weeks in mid-September at the Vatican for “new bishop school.” Bishop Binzer said he had received invitations each year since his elevation to the episcopate but this year was the first time his schedule allowed him to go.

Archbishop Schnurr said that he and Bishop Binzer will combine to preside at roughly 100 confirmation services throughout the archdiocese this year, with the confirmation season beginning in September.

The archbishop also spoke about Proclaim, an early October convocation for priests and other parish leaders throughout the archdiocese to learn more about the New Evangelization.

“We’re hearing a lot about the new evangelization but what exactly does that mean and how do we fit into the picture…,” Archbishop Schnurr said. “The Holy Fathers, all of them since Pope Paul VI, have said we need to do better and that’s what we’re looking for in this convocation with priests and other parish leaders.”

The next meeting of the council will be Saturday, Nov. 15 at the University of Dayton Riverside Campus.

This article originally appeared in the October 2014 print edition of The Catholic Telegraph.

Posted Oct. 3, 2014