17 April 1996

Human nature being what it is, it is easier to deal with practical organisational matters than it is to look at the underlying truths. However, external structures cannot be reviewed without an understanding and consensus about what is essential in the life of the church.

• In order to put energy where it is most needed, a fundamental question has to be addressed. This is "What is the purpose of the Church?", or to put another way, "For whom does the Church exist?"
• In the light of the teaching of the Second Vatican Council and that of recent Popes, the first answer to this question is: evangelisation. The church exists, not principally for itself or for the benefit of its own members, but to bring the Good News into all the strata of society. If, as a church, we fail to do this, then we might as well cease to exist.
• At the heart of evangelisation are the Scriptures. Much more time and effort need spending on making the Scriptures, and particularly the Gospels, come alive and become the basis for people's faith and life.
• There is also community, which for us will always be essentially a Eucharistic community because the Eucharist is the source and summit for our Christian life. This community gathers to celebrate the presence of the Risen Christ in the one sacrifice of the Mass, and draws its life and energy from the celebration of the Eucharist. Such a community is a springboard from which to evangelise and by its very life bears witness to the Gospel.

Background to the Report.
The Pastoral Review in the Lancaster Diocese was initiated by the Diocesan Council of Priests. It followed the Emmaus meeting of priests in July 1994 which asked: "That the Diocese as a whole takes steps to plan for structural changes for mission, looking for the means towards greater co-responsibility with the laity." The Review Group of eight priests and seven lay people met frequently between May 1995 and April 1996.
This report goes hand in hand with the Education Review Report which was given to the Diocese in December 1995. The two complementary reports are intended to coordinate future planning in the Diocese.

The overview of the Pastoral Review Group

• The findings of this report may appear at first sight of pessimistic and negative. However, we believe that a deeper reflection on the report shows and underlying the current trends that are clear signs of the growth and life. Indeed, the members of the Pastoral Review Group who have compiled this report are unanimously optimistic about the future of the Church in our diocese, and hope the recommendations given here are taken seriously and implemented.
• It is impossible to mention all the points of growth in the diocese today. A list would include a deep commitment to faith and prayer; increased involvement in sacramental preparation; deeper appreciation of the Scriptures; the RCIA; a growing commitment to evangelisation. If we were to single out one positive sign above all it would be that our schools are clearly important and growing centres of community.
• The Report of the Diocesan Education Review highlighted the excellent work being done in the diocese with adults, in schools and with young people. We endorse the findings of this Review and urge its early implementation, alongside this Pastoral Review.
• Although there will inevitably be some discussion about reversing the current trends, indications are that the very complex root causes are more to do with circumstances outside the Church than with internal problems. We believe the basic question is therefore: How do we adapt to the new circumstances and see them as opportunities? And not : How do we reverse these trends?
• What can we expect to see in the future is a church with smaller numbers, less concerned about money and material resources, and more in touch with the Gospel. Like salt in the food and yeast in the dough, a strong and effective Christian presence in the world does not necessarily require quanitity in order to give 'taste' to society.

• There is excessive duplication between the Chapter, Council of Priests, College of Consultors and Dean meetings. Several people have said that they consider the meetings of these bodies as a waste of time because they have no real authority or purpose. Above all, every meeting should have a definite objective and plan a clear agenda, and be seen to be a good use of time by all participants. We recommend an urgent review of the nature and purpose of all these groups and how they relate to each other in our diocese. All duplication of time and effort should be cut out.
• A group of clergy and laity should be formed as a Pastoral Council to look as pastoral planning and development. For this, most favour a small group - a sort of steering committee rather than a large representative group.
• The relationship and cooperation between parishes in a local area must be put on a more formal footing. This is often known as clustering. The diocese should work towards the clustering of parishes into the neighbourhood groups of parishes within the next two years. This would enable a sharing of resources to ease the load of administration. It could also point the way to a sharing of human resources and leadership within the area.
• Central diocesan services will be increasingly necessary and in demand to help local clusters as they develop. This may involve additional costs but will be necessary as each priest covers a wider area.
• The various Commissions of the diocese, and their inter-relationships, need re-examining. In looking at each Commission, criteria should be used which determine whether the Commission is effective in its particular field and whether others in the diocese or simply to a particular interest group and whether the diocese could be better served by a smaller group.
• Communication needs reviewing urgently. What is the right balance between useful and necessary information on the one hand, and too much rubbish on the other?

Ministry and ministers.

• Bishop. Opinions differ to what is the desired style of leadership. At one extreme are those who think that the bishop must be involved in everything as all authority and power rests in him. At the other extreme are those who think that the bishop should delegate more, giving a general board vision to the diocese but leaving the implementation to others. Getting the right balance needs frank and open discussion. It must, of course, be realistic, allowing for the personality and capability of the individual, while using objective principles of management. The bishop should be freed from unnecessary administration in order to give him more time to preach the Gospel and lead by example.
• Priests' and deacons' training. Life long in-service training must become the norm. We recommend four new initiatives, planning for which should start immediately.
  a. More serious induction training during the first five years after ordination.
  b. Sabbatical leave for six or nine months every ten years for all priests including the bishop.
  c. Courses for in-service training which are devised for and open to lay people as well as clergy. Great benefit would come from the interaction on such joint courses.
  d. In appreciating that clergy have a cope with many new developments in church and society, some support and training should be provided to help individuals make the best use of time.
  
• Lay people are the Church and should be fully represented on all diocesan bodies. Wherever possible and as an ideal, there should be just and suitable representation of woman on all diocesan bodies.
• Religious. Male and female Religious Communities enrich the diocese. These Communities have been a valuable part of the pastoral scene for centuries. While recognising and thanking those who have been with us for many years, we recommend that new Communities should be helped to become quickly integrated into and fully part of the existing diocesan family.

Finance and buildings.
Pastoral considerations in a wider area than the individual parish should be considered before money is spent on maintaining buildings. A longer term pastoral plan for an area is to take precedence over immediate 'patching'. At the same time, lay people have financed these buildings in the past and can expect to have a say in their disposal. Sharing buildings with other denominations is also to become more widespread. We can no longer afford the luxury of large expense on maintaining non- viable buildings, including church building. There is no doubt that some buildings will have to close but all this needs much further exploration and discussion, financially and pastorally.

• Priests and lay people are becoming increasingly overburdened and are in danger of trying to spread themselves too thinly. As numbers decrease, trying to do everything will lead to failure or breakdown.
  The solution is as follows:
  a. Using available energy and resources in a more targeted way, and not pretending that more energy can be easily and endlessly drummed up.
  b. Reducing workload by reviewing priorities. Priests want to have a right to return to what they were ordained for - namely, in general terms, to pray and to be a pastor of the people.
  c. Rationalising and simplifying the administration, paperwork, and meetings. Diocesan structures in particular need to be simplified.
  
• There is a widespread view that all meetings are a waste of time. We believe this is only true of those meetings which are not focused and which do not have a worthwhile purpose. Meetings, properly prepared and conducted, which lead to development and to a furthering of the basic purpose of the Church are valuable and necessary. Action at every level must always emerge from consultation and joint responsibility.
• Existing parishes should never be forced to close or merge, except in the rare case where the population has moved elsewhere.
• Every parish may not be able to be served by a full time priest but each community will need a priest to be available for some time during the week. In general, it is not good practise for a priest simply to visit a church to say Mass on Sunday with no other contact during the week.
• A sharing of responsibilities at every level between priest and people must become the norm rather than the exception. This requires change of attitudes on all sides.
• On-going adult formation is essential for priests and people. Growth in the knowledge and love of God and the Church must not end when formal schooling ends, nor, for priests, must it end when they are ordained.
• Programmes aimed at increasing vocations and church attendance have not significantly reversed the trend of declining numbers in the past. However, there needs to be a renewed and vigorous promotion of vocations to the priesthood now. In all these matters, an ever deeper reliance and trust in God needs to temper our activity.

Some projected statistics

These figures are based only on current trends. They do not present a balance picture because they do not take into account the probable change in the trends nor the many new signs of growth.

• In five years time, there will be about 23,000 people coming to Mass every week in the diocese. In ten years time there will be 18,000.
• In financial terms, the income of the diocese from the offertory collection is now £2,237.000. This will almost certainly fall and the 80's and early 90's may well be looked back on as 'the years of plenty'.
• In five years' time, there will be approximately 100 priests to staff 110 parishes in Lancaster diocese. In ten years' time there will be 75 priests.
• Given that some priests will be needed for chaplaincy work in prisons and hospitals, and that a few priests will be working in prisons and hospitals, and that a few priests will be working temporally outside the diocese, in the five years' time about 15 of our existing parishes will not have a resident full time priest. In ten years' time, 40 existing parishes will be without a full time resident priest.

The broader context

• Our world is changing rapidly. There are forces at work today that we know will bring violence and destruction. Often the values of the Gospel seem swamping by the self-interest and greed of society. The Church must be courageous in serving this complex world which more than ever needs to hear Good News.
• These complex and frightening changes in our worlds are happening at a time when the Church itself in our country is numerically getting smaller. We have to face the fact that after more than a century of expansion and growth, the Church in this country is decreasing in numbers. We are an organisation that is contracting not expanding.
• At the same time, there is a growing hunger for spiritual values, especially among young people. Materialism has been tried and found unsatisfactory. In our world today, "the fields are white for the harvest".
• This requires a totally different pastoral strategy. The old methods, devised for and appropriate to an expanding structure, are no longer valid in this new situation.

Note: The two paragraphs above need to be taken in context. In the projected statistics, the numbers given are guesses based on current trends. They take no account of "bottoming out" which we know will happen sometime, nor of the many areas of new life and growth in the Church. The broader context is to simply give a flavour of the fact that the Church exists as part of a complex society, not in isolation.

• Mutual acceptance and affirmation of all who are striving to live and work for the Gospel, lay people, priests and bishop, are essential. There is no room for in-fighting between groups in the Church. When problems and frustrations arise, blame is often laid at someone else's door. Clergy blame laity, laity blame the clergy; individuals, priest and lay, point the fingers at others; the bishop or bishops generally, are sometimes made scapegoats. Accepting ' collaborative ministry' is essential if the Church is to have a viable future. There are enough problems proclaiming the Gospel in today's world without the added distraction of feuds, argument and mistrust between individuals and groups within the church.
• There needs to be a renewed trust in God regarding the future rather than in further programmes and processes. This is not a charter for laziness or, worse, apathy. Marthas and Marys both need to be eager and active!
• There is no place for parochialism in the Church. The main aim of the Church, the spread of the Gospel, will be best served if there is a greater sharing of resources, human and material, and an awareness of a Church that is greater than any of its parts. Parochialism can occur between parishes, or areas of the diocese, or between this diocese and others. The needs of the whole Body of Christ have to be constantly kept in mind.
• The sharing of resources, human and financial, with other churches is also a requirement as we travel on pilgrimage together. Attitudes that reveal an underlying desire for a return to Catholic separateness considerably weaken our witness in the world.

Changes of attitude in the clergy.

• The priest or pastor of the people is to call forth, enable and affirm lay people for their mission in the world. It is necessary for priests to let go of some areas which have been seen as theirs and work towards parish communities which can, if need be, continue without a priest.
• There is no room in the Church for cynicism or negative approaches to new ideas and new practices. A spirituality based on a humble openness to Christ and acceptance of new possibilities for the Gospel and the Kingdom, must become the hallmark of every priest.
• Attitudes of clericalism in which priests place themselves in a 'clerical caste' above the people, are damaging the Church in its mission. At the same time, clergy views need to be respected and taken into account. The task of the priest is to serve people, not rule over them.

Changes of attitude in lay people.

• To be a baptised lay person is to have responsibilities to God, to the Church and to the world, and the duty to exercise these responsibilities. It is no longer acceptable for anyone to be a "passive" recipient in the Church. The gifts and talents of all are to be used for building up the Body of Christ and the preaching of the Gospel. This is not an option.
• The idea that 'The Faith' is something a person gets and keeps safe is not valid. Knowledge of the Faith, spiritually, prayer and a moral life require development, growth and change throughout life. Each individual is responsible for their own progress in this.
• As well as taking responsibility for growth in personal faith, lay people need increasingly to bring their faith to bear on daily life. In this sense also, faith is not something to be kept; it is to be shared more freely with others.

The Review Group, present this as the complete and final report. However, we intend to produce some short supplementary papers on topics arising from the report. Such topics might include:
a. The role of the permanent diaconate in the church
b. Reducing the physical plant of the diocese.
c. How to begin clustering parishes. Who will decide the clusters?
d. The development of sabbaticals and in-service training for priests and deacons.
e. The role which convert Anglican clergymen will play.
f. Further initiatives for promoting vocations to the priesthood.
A summary of the consultation will not be published but a list of all those who contributed and a summary of information received about Pastoral Reviews in other dioceses will be made available.

Parishes and diocesan bodies will now want to absorb this report and develop their thinking in response to its contents. We strongly recommend that in May 1997 a Diocesan Convention be held to evaluate the practical developments which have taken place as a consequence of this report and the Education Review.