Good morning. A year ago last January, this diocese promulgated its Vision for the Future of our Church. Its focus is that we envision growing ever more into a dynamic community of faith. As I traveled throughout the diocese last year and the year before for Speak Up sessions I asked to hear directly from the people of the Diocese about their concerns and hopes for the future of the Church.
I heard firsthand of their desire for vibrant parishes and for the ongoing education and faith formation of parishioners, young and old. Now, I am pleased to let you know that this diocese is launching a major, comprehensive planning initiative that will shape the Church of South Jersey for years to come.
It is a grass roots, collaborative initiative with the People of the Diocese to strengthen parish life and Catholic School education in the six southern counties of New Jersey. It is collaborative and grassroots because I believe firmly in a Church that is rooted in the equality of all the baptized: By virtue of baptism, lay people share responsibility with clergy and religious for the mission and life of the Church.
Lay people, as do clergy and religious, have rights and responsibilities in the Church. I have asked the people of the diocese, through their parish and school representatives, to assume a leadership role and to work together to strengthen and revitalize our parishes and schools. These parish planning and school planning teams will in the months ahead recommend to me ways to strengthen our Church for the future. Not only is our approach to planning grass roots and collaborative, it also calls on the parish and school planning teams to look beyond themselves and their own parishes and schools by planning in groups—groups of parishes for parish planning and groups of schools for school planning—to strengthen parish life and Catholic school education for the entire diocese.
The Church believes we are saved as a people. We will plan as a people. This two-pronged planning initiative will involve two distinct processes, one for parish planning, which has the theme “Gathering God’s Gifts, and one for school planning, which has the theme “Faith in the Future.” Both planning processes will be based on the realities that confront our Church today and those we will face in the decades ahead, realities that are impacting not only this diocese, but most dioceses throughout the country, particularly those in the Northeast.
While most United States dioceses are experiencing similar challenges, few dioceses are addressing these realities in such a comprehensive manner, with a process that so extensively involves the lay men and women of the diocese. While I do not know the outcome of the planning processes—because these have just gotten underway—, I do know that, given these challenges facing the Church, the status quo will not be an option if we are to serve the needs of the Catholic people now and in the future, especially those needs identified as pastoral priorities through Speak Up Sessions. The status quo will not be an option if we are to implement the goals and strategies voted on at our diocesan assembly last month that will further these priorities.
What are the realities we face? For parish planning, we know that in ten years there will be half the current 172 diocesan priests available for ministry in the diocese. We also know that our 124 parishes serve areas of the diocese where populations have shifted resulting in declines in the Catholic population in certain areas, even as total Catholic population has increased. In other words, we, like most Northeast dioceses, have Churches and facilities that were established decades ago in areas where the Catholic population is substantially diminished.
This has created not only a financial burden, but even more importantly, it has compromised the ability of these parishes to serve our people well and to meet the demands of the future. Of course, expansion of the Catholic population in other areas of the diocese will require that we direct resources and establish facilities to serve the increased need in these growing areas. For school planning, we also know that these same shifts in population have meant declining enrollment for some schools, fiscal deficits and an over-reliance on parish subsidies to the detriment of the pastoral services of the supporting parishes.
For school planning we also know that there are currently 11,889 K-8 students enrolled in 52 elementary schools, 31 of which (or 60 percent) have enrollments below 225 students, the number normally considered necessary to sustain a single-graded school. Twenty-nine schools of the 52 schools finished fiscal year ended June 30, 2006 with budget deficits and 30 schools had parish subsidies exceeding 30 percent of the parish’s ordinary income. Meanwhile, population shifts and demographic changes have left under-utilized facilities in areas where Catholic populations have greatly diminished. This can no longer continue.
Therefore, our parish and school planners have been charged with taking a leadership role in addressing the realities of our immediate future. This will mean, at the end of the planning process, fewer parishes and fewer schools. It will mean the consolidation and merging of parishes and schools. It will mean the pooling and sharing of financial, material and human resources. It will mean a changed Church of South Jersey, but a stronger one, a revitalized one, and a more dynamic community of faith. At the same time, we will, of course, continue to work to increase vocations to priesthood to address the major concern of having a sufficient number of ordained priests to serve our people, while we will continue to seek ways to increase student enrollment in our schools.
School Planning Catholic school education is a priority that we all hold dear. In undertaking this planning process, we will address today’s challenges and, simultaneously, lay the foundation for the long-term stability of Catholic school education and the unique learning opportunity it affords our children. To this end, the 52 elementary schools have been grouped into 12 clusters. Representatives from each school in the cluster will join together to form steering committees that will develop a strategy on how to best provide Catholic school education in the cluster.
The steering committees will review demographic information, school financial reports, enrollment trends, facilities and the religious and academic programs of the schools in the cluster. Four clusters already reviewed data this fall and are in the process of submitting their recommendations to the diocese. Once the recommendations are in final form, they will be submitted to me and my advisors for review and final decision. The plan for the first four clusters will be announced next month and implemented by September 2007.
The remaining clusters, which are now beginning their planning process, will submit their recommendations to me for review by June 2007. Final recommendations will be implemented by September 2008. After the planning process is completed, a new school funding model will be implemented, which couples need-based tuition assistance with cost-based tuition. Tuition is currently set by each school and a portion of the actual cost is subsidized for every family, regardless of means, by the sending parishes. Under the new model, assistance will be more fairly applied because it will be based on the actual financial need of school families.
The need will be evaluated by an professional, independent, third party, which will administer the financial aid application and verification process. This will en
sure objectivity and confidentiality. Also, rather than directly subsidizing the schools, each parish will contribute to a fund for tuition assistance for school families. The fund will be managed by a Foundation for Catholic Education, which will also seek to enhance the tuition assistance funds obtained from parishes through fundraising. While new tuition rates have not yet been set, the average annual tuition in the diocese presently is $2,430, which falls well short of the actual cost of educating a student, which currently is about $4,000. While the diocese is working out the details of new funding model, tuition rates will continue to be set by the schools, as they have in the past.
Also, while tuition rates today vary from school to school, tuition rates under the new model — which are expected to be phased in over a three year period beginning with the 2009-2010 school year —will be uniform and will be based on the cost of educating a child. Catholic schools must be accessible for all children, including those from poor and middle class families who face major economic challenges. This new funding model will ensure that no child will be denied a Catholic school education for financial reasons. Indeed, with most families expected to qualify for assistance, the new model is designed to keep tuition affordable for those who choose Catholic schools for their children, while setting tuition at a level that covers actual costs, thereby improving the financial viability of the schools.
In addition, the schools, which will have uniform tuition rates, will move toward a policy of open enrollment, which will enhance parent choice by allowing parents to select the school of their choice, regardless of the parish in which they are registered. With open enrollment, market forces help schools identify and respond more effectively to the needs of families and students. It also encourages families to choose the school best suited for their particular situation. Seeking to build on the successes our schools have had in educating children and forming them in the faith, we will be working in the years ahead to enhance facilities, bolster curriculum offerings and to ensure that all of our schools offer first-rate academics and a strong Catholic identity.
The schools also will work to ensure that faculty compensation is competitive. Our teachers are experienced, dedicated and hard working. They must be paid a fair and just wage that recognizes their skill and importance to our educational enterprise. Under the new model, we hope to lift Catholic school teacher salaries to be more competitive with their public school counterparts by doubling their rate of salary increase in each of the three years beginning in 2009-2010. We also will require that all teachers obtain state certification—virtually all do, already—and pursue opportunities for professional development.
The new model also will affect how the elementary schools in the diocese are run. Under the current model, parish-based schools are overseen by pastors (or in the case of regional schools, sending parishes and pastor teams). New models currently are being studied and evaluated by the diocese. The introduction of various forms of school boards would have as their goal and benefit the increased participation and responsibility of laity in the decision-making for Catholic schools. In addition, the new model will incorporate an office of institutional advancement in every school to affect the kind of success achieved by Catholic universities and independent private schools across the country.
To accomplish these objectives, we are working with the Catholic Schools Development Program, a New Jersey-based non-profit corporation founded by Robert T. Healey, and part of the Healy Philanthropic Group, which provides pro-bono management consulting to help improve the financial, management, and governance structure of Catholic elementary schools both here and nationally. By acting decisively and acting now, through the reconfiguration of schools within planning clusters and the subsequent implementation of the new school model, we will dramatically strengthen this important educational enterprise. This is not only a great challenge, but also a great opportunity for the diocese and school planning teams. Parish Planning Now to parish planning:
The parish is an important focus of Church because it is where Catholic families gather to witness to their faith and to build a community of believers who recognize that God acts in their parish. Since the time when our churches and schools were established, much has changed in our localities, our diocese and in our world. As good stewards of God’s gifts, it is vital that we follow the advice of Blessed John XXIII when he called Vatican Council II to read the “signs of the times.” In the Church of South Jersey we continue to seek ways to be ever more fully a people of God, revealing the mind and heart of Jesus and developing the structures needed to do this.
Since September, parishes have been assembling planning teams and data (financial and demographic, spiritual reports) as part of a process of pre-planning. Two weeks ago, over 700 clergy, religious and lay people attended a day-long in-service day at Camden Catholic High School in Cherry Hill, which formally launched the planning phase of “Gathering God’s Gifts,” an initiative whereby the parishes of the diocese will work together to determine the best ways to serve their communities as demographics change, populations shift, material and human resources continue to be limited and the number of diocesan priests available for ministry continues to decline.
Like school planning, parish planning also is a grass root, collaborative effort. Representatives of parish planning teams will meet several times during the next five months to review data (including parish facilities and financial trends, Mass attendance, and general population trends), to gather with planning partners within their respective regions, and to formulate planning recommendations for submission to the diocese by May 15. During the next five months they will consider the mission of the church, changing demographics, stewardship of resources, and the number of clergy and ministers available for ministry. They will consider various models for parish restructuring to strengthen parish life within that region, including the merging of parishes, the clustering of more than one parish under one pastor, the grouping of parishes served by a team of priests, as well as the current, one priest/one parish model. After that, the diocesan Planning Commission will review and assess recommendations from each deanery, presenting the results of this review back to the deaneries at meetings in the fall, with implementation of the recommendations to begin in 2008.
In the meantime, I stress that no decisions have been made yet with regard to schools or parishes. Parish and school planning teams are still to offer recommendations to me. I look forward to these recommendations and thank the parish and school planning teams for their commitment, the generous offering of their time and talents to the process, as well as their wisdom and insight.
While it will undoubtedly be difficult for all of us to accept any kind of change, and the excitement we feel is understandably mingled with apprehension and the knowledge of the challenges ahead, I am confident that with God’s grace and the dedication and good work of men and women who care deeply about the future of our Church, this process of collaboration with the People will be fruitful and will revitalize our Church to be the dynamic communities of faith, hope and love that we strive to be.
Thank you.