Road to Renewal...continued

ROAD TO RENEWAL

The Road to Renewal is in progress and has officially structured the family units of the “Family of Families” within our Diocese. As announced formally more recently, the Road to Renewal leadership has specifically established the design for the Southern Tier. As many of you know, the Basilica of St. Mary of the   Angels, St. John the Evangelist and St. Bonaventure are asked to form a linked family community in Cattaraugus County as we model ourselves after the Holy Family during this Year proclaimed by our Pope honoring family unit. With confidence and trust, we turn to Jesus who is the center of the Holy Family and the center of our lives and of parish life to guide us and provide us wisdom. We also call upon the intercession of Our Lady under the title of Mary,   Undoer of Knots (see her image above) to help us engage and move smoothly through the transitioning process of renewal. At this time, parishioners with various roles and leadership will gather with our Vicar Forane on Wednesday, Sept. 22nd, to go over our goals and objectives.

Why do we, as the Catholic Church in Buffalo need Renewal?  As I had promised, each week I will be addressing why the Catholic Church and specifically, why the Diocese of Buffalo is in need of renewal and transformation. The first and foremost reason regards our mission, as we want to fully bring the presence of Our Lord to our area. To accomplish this critical mission, we must examine the current beliefs and attitudes held by society about the importance of the Catholic faith and other faith traditions to lead its members through God’s direction in bringing a moral and spiritual foundation to community life. There exists a changing attitude about our faith belief traditions and teachings and many of the faithfuls’ commitment to the Church developed over the last 40 years affecting the embrace of religion and religious practices. These changes in attitudes and practices can be mostly attributed to the rise of secularism and western societies’ emphasis on individualism and misguided “humanism.” These changes of attitudes and behaviors have led to current attitudes and supported behaviors of governmental policies and societal practices are often in opposition to the moral example set by the Holy Family and those foundational teachings of Christ and His Church. Secular society has been allowed to set the nation’s moral compass as Christ’s mission is often said to be, at the very least, limiting and at the most decried as discriminatory.  Also, these secular views often look for immediate and simple answers and individual convenience. Therefore, long held religious beliefs, structures and practices come to be viewed as inadequate and unnecessary.

It appears that the traditional religious institutions and structures have been caught up in a cultural shift and have become stagnant in response or have modified their core beliefs to a level that seems more reflective of a superficial response to spiritual needs than responses to the faithful that adhere to faith and Tradition. The rise of secularism, individualism and institutional response have all contributed to a decline in membership among mainline and fundamentalist churches.
These trends have not only affected peoples association to religious institutions but also the quantity and quality of the leadership of the church and our sacramental practices. Here are some statistics recorded by the Diocese of Buffalo and the Franciscan Order:

· Weekly attendance at Mass in the diocese: In 2011 the average attendance at weekend Mass was: 158,300; in 2019, the average attendance was: 93,134.
· Number of Baptisms in the Diocese: in 2011 there were 4,050 Baptisms; in 2019 there were: 2,844.
· Number of Marriages in the Diocese: in 2011 there were 1,436 church weddings; in 2019 there were, 926.
· Number of active diocesan priests*: In 2011 there were 179 active diocesan priests. In 2019, there were 144 active diocesan priests. The average age of active priests is around 67 years old.

*“The number of diocesan priests available to provide parish leadership and the Sacraments is declining. Diocesan statistical projections indicate that (barring unforeseen circumstances and premature deaths) by 2030 the Diocese will have 100 active priests to serve 161 parishes.  The Family of Parishes [Families] model seeks to utilize our priests as efficiently as possible and engage the laity, rather than closing of parishes. Certainly now, more than ever, we need to pray for an increase in vocations” Roadtorenewal.org, 2021.  
The importance of our response. . . More to come ......  Fr. John