Insights from a Delegate in Orlando

Last updated on: July 20, 2017 at 10:41 am by Father Pablo Migone

Insights from a Delegate in Orlando 2017-07-20T10:41:16-05:00 Father Pablo Migone

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Not long after assuming the Papacy, Pope Francis published Evangelii Gaudium, an apostolic exhortation where he set forth a blueprint for the evangelization of the modern world. Unique due to its personal and colloquial tone, The Joy of the Gospel reads as a reflection of the years of Cardinal Bergoglio’s pastoral experience which he now shares with the world as Pope. When I read the document, I was pleased to find that he spent countless paragraphs giving fellow priests practical advice on homilies.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops took to heart the message of this document and began organizing an unprecedented national convocation where key leaders from dioceses and Catholic organizations would gather and deepen their understanding of Pope Francis’ call to be missionary disciples. This Convocation, now come and gone, was held during the first days of July in Orlando. It gathered about 3,500 Catholic leaders from a wide range of ministries and walks of life. The plenary and breakout sessions first aimed at identifying the landscape of the mission field we encounter today in the United States: the current political and cultural climate, the rise of the religiously unaffiliated and disconnected, individualism and indifference, the throw away culture, social media, immigration, the family and human sexuality, violence, ecumenism, and many issues that affect Catholic life today.

Since Pope Francis calls the Church to go out into the margins and peripheries to evangelize, the delegates secondly aimed to identify the peripheries of our country. These are areas where unfortunately the Church has oftentimes failed to be present. The Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, Carl Anderson, reminded the delegates that “where there is suffering, Jesus is there; and where Jesus is, I must be also. Jesus is already in the margins, will his disciples also be there? If Christ is already there, can it truly be a periphery? It is our own shortsightedness that keeps us away.” The sessions considering the peripheries included: wounded families, rural America, Catholic health care, incarceration, victims of abuse, addiction, sexual identity, the disabled, depression, gangs, discrimination, and the elderly, among many others.

In the final plenary session, Patrick Lencioni and Bishop Robert Barron provided strategies for Catholic leaders to be successful in their evangelization efforts as missionary disciples. Bishop Barron encouraged us to avoid an intellectually dumb Catholicism, presenting the faith with its full intellectual prowess. He also noted the need to recover the radical form of the Christian life, displaying the goodness which exists among the people of God. Finally, Bishop Barron described the essential role of showing the beauty of Catholicism to others, often even before sharing what we believe.

As a young priest, I was encouraged to see so many young lay men and women committed to the mission of the Church today. The conversations which emerged with fellow delegates as we considered the many excellent presentations were fruitful. The Convocation had a broad view of the Church, taking everyone out from their silos and creating a common vision and mission. I am convinced that the thousands of delegates have returned to their respective dioceses ready to become better evangelizers, responding to the call of Francis to be missionary disciples. The Convocation was a success.

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Encontrar la voluntad de Dios

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