Movement to Restore Trust, September 20, 2022

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has reported back to the Movement to Restore Trust (MRT) on the Synod on Synodality submissions for Region XVI that included the MRT’s report.

According to the USCCB, “The document (attached) is an attempt to synthesize and contextualize the common joys, hopes, and wounds called forth with the help of the Holy Spirit in the unfolding of the Synod. The National Synthesis simply tries faithfully to express what emerged from the consultations. While not a complete articulation of the many topics and perspectives shared in the listening process, this synthesis is an attempt to express the broader themes that seemed most prevalent in the dioceses and regions of our country. Its writing is the fruit of an intensive time of prayer, reflection, and discernment by those on the U.S. Synod writing team.”

There were only 112 reports from within the United States submitted to the USCCB, so the MRT is one of a relatively small number of organizations that participated in this process. There is an anonymous reference to the MRT’s work begun in 2018 that accounted for a large percentage of individuals involved in synodal discussions. The USCCB did an admirable job of summarizing what must have been a wide-ranging set of submissions.

Our thanks to the myriad MRT members who contributed to our report.

“Attentive listening in the Church provides the catalyst for engaging discernment.”

With gratitude,

The MRT Organizing Committee

Movement to Restore Trust, June 23, 2022

The MRT has compiled and submitted a SYNOD report to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. A basic question prompted and guided us: How does this journeying together allow the Church to proclaim the Gospel in accordance with the mission entrusted to Her; and what steps does the Spirit invite us to take in order to grow as a synodal Church? Our Synod Report is based on work that MRT Work Groups completed in 2018-19. We believe that we began a synodal process of listening to each other when our movement was established in the fall of 2018. MRT is continuing to advance the common themes developed by the MRT workgroups…

Pilots families begin in January

Western New York Catholic, December 2, 2021

After a year in the consultative process, the Diocese of Buffalo’s Families of Parishes are now finalized. A total of 36 families will be formed by the current 161 parishes in the diocese. These parishes will join together in small groups to share resources and staff under one pastor with an increased role for the laity.

“The goal of the families is to have lay leaders who are elevated and are in positions to share the leadership of the family with the clergy. We’re definitely going to have fewer clergy in the future and we really need them to be focused in on our sacramental and religious ministry. So, having a strong lay leader partnership is going to be a critical part of forming a family,” explained Carrie Frank, member of the Diocesan Renewal Task Force.

Families range in size from three to six parishes and can expect priests, deacons and laity working together as teams to serve the needs of the family. Two families will be split into A and B sections with two pastors. This is due to geographical distance and parishes already established working relationships. Several listening sessions have taken place over the year, along with surveys, meetings, and emails, to gather input from clergy, staff, adult parishioners and youth.

“We wanted to make sure families were not too large or too small, both geographically and parishioner base. The schools were considered while crafting the families as well,” said Father Bryan Zielenieski, vicar for Renewal and Development for the diocese. “Other than geography, we looked at relationships between parishes. Were parishes working together, were they collaborating in some way already, do they share a township, school district, is there something that naturally connects them? Do parishes have a history together, such as a mother/daughter parish. We looked at ministries, do parishes have ministries that could benefit another nearby parish? Socioeconomic data was part of our consideration. We looked at many factors when making these decisions, including the input of the vicar foranes of each vicariate, asking them who they believed would work well together.”

Six pilot families have been selected and will be activated Jan. 17, 2022. Those pilots include the parishes of Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Mary of the Assumption, Our Lady of Pompeii, St. Philip the Apostle, Blessed Mother of Teresa and St. Martha in the Cheektowaga, Depew, Lancaster area; St. John the Baptist, All Saints, Immaculate Conception, St. Brendan on the Lake in Niagara County; St. Michael, St. Isidore and Mary Immaculate in Wyoming County; Assumption, Holy Spirit, St. Margaret, St. Mark, St. Rose of Lima and All Saints in North Buffalo; Holy Name of Mary, St. Philomena and Our Lady of Peace in Cattaraugus County; and St. Martin of Tours, St. Teresa, St. Thomas Aquinas and Our Lady of Charity in South Buffalo.

Pastors will be announced in April.

“The pilots are an important part of the process as they allow the Renewal team to focus particular attention on making sure these families are successful, and learning about all that is involved in the implementation process,” Bishop Michael W. Fisher said in a letter to all priests.

The rest of the families of parishes will be activated in three phases taking place, October 2022, October 2023 and October 2024.

“The other important thing is that families do some real discerning about what they want to accomplish, what they really can be together, how can they enrich ministry, how can they build more outreach, how can they be disciples and how can they really serve people in need. Really recreating what Church means to that community as they serve as a family is a real important part,” said Frank.

The last of the families will be a Campus Ministry Family comprised of 27 campuses. This family will bring together the mission of campus ministry, but the colleges will have a territorial relationship to the Family of Parishes in which they are geographically located. The Campus Ministry Family will serve as a parent to all campus ministries, providing guidance and leadership among all of the college campus ministries.

The Road to Renewal initiative was launched in August 2020 with a goal to reinvigorate Catholic faith, more fully optimize parish and diocesan resources, and increase the reach and impact of Catholic ministries.

A full list of all 36 families can be found at roadtorenewal.org/families.

Road to Renewal Updates »

Families of Parishes announced; pilots families begin in January

Statement of John J. Hurley of the Movement to Restore Trust On the Appointment of Bishop Michael W. Fisher as the 15th Bishop of Buffalo

December 1, 2020

The Movement to Restore Trust (MRT), a movement of the lay faithful committed to rebuilding the Church of Buffalo in the wake of the clergy sex abuse scandal, welcomes the appointment of Bishop Michael W. Fisher as the 15th Bishop of Buffalo.

Bishop Fisher steps into a very challenging situation as the Diocese of Buffalo seeks to complete its reorganization in federal bankruptcy court in a manner that will provide some measure of justice to the victims of clergy sexual abuse over many decades. He must lead a process that is both legal and pastoral and create a Church that is focused on healing and reconciliation. Bishop Fisher’s job is complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic that has kept the faithful from their parishes and has exacerbated the financial challenges the diocese faces.

From its founding in October 2018, the MRT has been devoted to rebuilding the Church of Buffalo and helping the Church and the faithful recover from the devastating effects of the clergy sex abuse scandal. We are committed to being a part of the revitalization of parish life in the diocese. We seek to preserve the Church’s essential ministries in our community, ministries aimed at serving the poor and the marginalized among us. The pandemic has curtailed our public work over the past several months, but MRT members have been playing significant roles in the Diocesan Renewal Task Force which has been tasked to reimagine the organization of parishes and schools and the life of the Church.

The MRT congratulates and welcomes Bishop Fisher to Buffalo and pledges to work with him in bringing these goals to fruition. We are greatly encouraged that Bishop Fisher considers himself first and foremost a pastor. May God bless him, and the Holy Spirit guide him in his pastoral responsibilities to the Diocese of Buffalo.

5 things you need to know

Denver Newsroom, Jul 20, 2020

The Congregation for Clergy on Monday published new guidelines for the world’s parishes, which aim to encourage parishes to think of themselves as missionary communities of evangelization.

The guidelines do not publish new norms or policies for parish life, but they do encourage Catholics to think prayerfully about what their parishes are, and what they’re for.

Read the full article for themes and takeaways »