Planning principles

Our diocesan Road Map for Pastoral, Program, and Facility Needs 2008-2013 calls our community to “Witness to Jesus” as we journey toward the Father through the gifts of the Spirit. Five planning principles make up one component of the Road Map:

n   One People of God;

n   Welcoming People;

n   Quality Leadership and Service;

n   Functional Infrastructure; and

n   Performance and Shared Accountability.

Such principles are essentially rules of conduct — they help to focus our thoughts on things that are important and define limits within which we work as we move forward. These principles might raise questions such as, “What is the purpose of a planning principle — why include them in a plan for a Catholic diocese? Aren’t the only principles we need contained in the Gospels?”

While the Gospels contain all of the principles needed for our journey to God, knowing what to do on our journey is the easy part. What’s difficult is actually doing what is needed to witness to Jesus. The five planning principles can help us individually, and as a diocese, to follow our Road Map.

In its bare essentials, a plan of any sort matches three things — values, needs, and capacities — in order to get from where we are to where we want to be, or, in planning language, to the “desired outcomes.” The complexity of these desired outcomes usually means that there are more worthwhile things to do than can be reasonably accomplished in the short term. So plans attempt to set priorities.

As we move forward to implement priorities, it is not unusual to be faced with decisions that can divide our community. And we can be faced with demands for actions that were not originally contemplated, leaving us unsure about which actions to take. When faced with difficult choices, planning principles that are grounded in the values of our faith can be helpful guides.

The principles in our Road Map were not lifted from some textbook or planning guide. Rather, they emerged from a careful consideration of Bishop Silva’s vision, as expressed in his planning statement for this diocese (Sept. 8, 2006), and from parish, vicariate, and other information gathering sessions. The major recommendations of the plan were crafted within the framework established by these principles. And these principles can provide a foundation for decisions that will need to be made as we work together to implement the diocesan Road Map.

This will be the first in a series of articles looking at the five planning principles so that the path along our Road Map will be clearer.

Planning Principle #1: One People of God. The Diocese of Honolulu is blessed and enriched by the diversity of its people. But we are all aware that our diversity can also be a challenge; we can be pulled apart by our differences. “One People of God” emphasizes that our existence as one family of God can help bring a unifying perspective to difficult issues before us.

There is much that can divide us — cultural and ethnic differences, economic standing, educational attainment, political preferences — and some of these differences are sure to surface as our task forces, committees, parishes, and other entities strive to implement our diocesan Road Map. When this happens, the principle that we are one people of God calls us to step back and focus on the reality that our Church is united, not just across these islands, but across the world by a common sacramental life and a common liturgy. We may be many parts, but we are all one people bound together by the Eucharist and our faith in the Risen Lord.

In this reality we come to a deeper understanding of the importance of honoring and respecting the unique gifts represented by our ethnic, cultural, and social differences. We can begin again to pursue new and ongoing initiatives that will continue to integrate all of our diocesan communities as “One People of God.”