On January 11, there were two long meetings at the Archbishop's House. The first was a morning meeting of the Archbishop with the Vicar General, the Regional Vicars and the Vicars/Delegates of some of the Archdiocese Commissions.

During the second meeting in the afternoon, the Archbishop met with the Archdiocesan Personnel Board. Since decisions from both meetings will have implications for the life of the archdiocese, I have chosen to use my column this week to inform the archdiocese of the major decisions from the meetings.

Common jubilee liturgy

It was decided that beginning in 2006, at a time to be specified, there will be a Common Jubilee Celebration to honour and thank all categories of God's People who are celebrating silver, golden or diamond jubilees of ordination, profession (Religious and members of Public Associations of Christ's Faithful), marriage and also those who have chosen the single life and who have served the Church in various capacities for twenty-five, fifty or sixty years. Details will be provided at a later date through the parishes of the archdiocese.

Questionnaire on permanent diaconate

A questionnaire flowing from the Synod Resolution (No 7) that the archdiocese should consider the ordination of permanent deacons has been sent to each Parish Priest/Parish Administrator along with the description of the ministry of a deacon from the Second Vatican Council. The return date for the questionnaires is February 10, 2006.

Continuing formation for lay ministers*

It was agreed that there is a need in the archdiocese to provide ongoing education/formation for those who have completed the present training requirements for lay ministers and have been officially installed by the Archbishop as lay ministers authorised to serve in the archdiocese. The implementation of this decision will be discussed at the next meeting of the Archdiocesan Administrative Council.

*This issue is distinct from the question of Adult Formation in the Archdiocese.

Pastoral Centre

One of the issues discussed at length during the meeting was how the ministries of the recently closed Archdiocesan Pastoral Centre** were to be assigned to the various departments of the Archdiocese. The following decisions were made:

The Liturgy School has been returned to the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission. The Commission has the option of choosing to direct the Liturgy School as a Commission or to direct the Liturgy School through a committee that would be directly responsible to the Commission.

The ministry of Adult Formation has been given to five Commissions that will operate as a collaborative unit: Cathechetics, Communications, Family Life, Evangelization (includes the Touch of Christ Ministry) and Liturgy. The Archbishop has been asked to chair the Adult Formation Committee for one year.

When the programme is formulated, it will be parish-based and, similar to the preparation programme for the recent Eucharistic Congress; video tapes will be used for group study in the parish and/or for private study at home.

Correspondence courses, distance learning, homily themes for liturgy and specialised retreats for the participants to facilitate personal and communal formation are also projected as part of the adult formation programme.

It was agreed that the Course for Strategic Planning within the Vicariates must be rethought. It has been referred to the Regional Vicars and the 2006 Parish and Vicariate Assemblies that will be facilitated by the Archdiocesan Synod Implementation Committee.

**Due to low participation in the programmes at the Pastoral Centre, a request was made from the Pastoral Centre that it be closed. A significant factor in the low participation was the crime situation in the nation that has resulted in people not coming out at night, especially to a central location distant from their homes.

The need for local parish-based programming became evident. The proposal to close the Pastoral Centre was discussed by the Religious of the archdiocese and by the presbyterate, prior to a decision by the Archbishop.

The facilities of the Pastoral Centre are now being used, with the permission of the University Chaplain, Sr Monique Moniquette OP, by the Catholic Student Movement and the Archdiocesan Vocations Directors.

The archdiocese owes a debt of gratitude to the founding Director of the Pastoral Centre, Fr Michel de Verteuil CSSp, and his staff and to Fr Henry Charles and his staff. Letters of gratitude have been sent to each director.

Archdiocesan Personnel Board

Due to the death, illness and retirement of priests, and the lack of availability of personnel to be resident Parish Administrators, the Personnel Board has found it necessary to appoint the Regional Episcopal Vicar as the Administrator of vacant parishes in his Vicariate.

The Vicar will have two responsibilities:
1) To form a parish pastoral team to care for the administration of the parish;
2) To facilitate dialogue among the priests of the Vicariate to develop a plan to provide sacramental care for the parish. The Archbishop has agreed that whenever possible he will adjust his schedule and travel to vacant parishes on weekends to celebrate the Eucharist.

It is expected that the challenge of staffing will be an ongoing challenge for the Archdiocese. The Personnel Board requests the understanding and cooperation of the Archdiocesan family.

Conclusion

These decisions, some positive and some in response to challenges, point up the importance of what has been discussed in two Synod sessions and what should be on the agenda for the 2006 parish and vicariate assemblies.

The archdiocese must continue to grow through dialogue and collaborative ministry so it can be faithful to the Lord, witness to and pass on the Catholic tradition and embrace the future with confidence.