FATHER MARC ALEXANDER

The People of God giving witness to Jesus

Shortly after Bishop Larry Silva was ordained and installed as Bishop of Honolulu in 2005, he began the preparatory work for what would eventually become “Witness to Jesus: Diocesan Road Map for Pastoral, Program, and Facility Needs 2008-2013,” fondly called, the Road Map. Building on the foundation established by those who have gone before us, the Road Map set the direction for the future by focusing on six priorities: Leadership Development of Clergy, Lay Staff, and Volunteers; Youth and Young Adult Programs; Faith Formation; Homelessness; Repair and Maintenance of Church and School Facilities; and New Parishes and Facilities and Management of Land Assets (see www.catholichawaii.org under Road Map).

Since the promulgation of the Road Map on Jan. 25, 2008, our diocese has made measurable and substantial implementation progress, as reported last year, and as the upcoming reports for this year will summarize. One of the concrete signs of the Road Map’s success was the incredible outpouring by diocesan parishioners who pledged some $57 million toward the $30 million goal of the “With Grateful Hearts” capital campaign. The major case elements of the capital campaign were taken directly from Road Map priorities.

Bishop Silva is first and foremost our pastor, not a planner or fundraiser. Therefore the heart and foundation of the Road Map was based on listening to the People of God. He wrote in his Road Map message, “The road map presented here is the fruit of listening sessions with people from all the islands of our diocese.” The theological principle that undergirds this listening approach is the “sensus fidelium” — the “sense of the faithful.”

In a nutshell, sensus fidelium means that the belief of the People of God striving to live out the faith in their practical everyday lives, under the guidance of the magisterium (the pope and bishops), is a touchstone for authentic belief and the working of the Holy Spirit (see 1 John 2:20, 27). More simply put: We have to listen to the people in the pews!

The sensus fidelium is not Catholic democracy or an argument for putting doctrine to a vote. Rather, it is the recognition that the Holy Spirit is at work in the entire People of God who, together with their chief pastors (the pope and bishops), seek to carry on the mission of Jesus Christ. Translated to the arena of diocesan planning, Bishop Silva wanted to hear what the People of God in Hawaii thought were the top priorities for our local church. And he listened.

The implementation of the Road Map is also based on several important theological principles, one of which is the Church as the Body of Christ (see Ephesians 1:22-23 and I Corinthians 12:4-31). As the church fathers and others have said so well, we the church are the hands, feet and eyes of Christ, who seek to carry on his mission. This means we only function well and represent Christ well when we are united. It also means that all of us are needed — no one part of the body is more important than another, nor is any part expendable. We — each of us with our own gifts, talents, strengths and weaknesses — all are needed.

The importance of contributions from all extends to our six Road Map priorities. We are finding again and again in our implementation efforts that the various plan priorities overlap and nurture each other. You will note this overlap in the year-two reports shared in future issues of the Herald. For example, leadership is key to achieving all Road Map priorities. Without good leadership, youth and young adult programs will not prosper. Land is a key resource in concretely addressing the problem of homelessness. If faith formation is not properly executed, our young people will not be able to understand the faith and relate it to their daily experiences. Without proper facilities we will not have dignified places in which to worship, teach, and celebrate. It is by our continued efforts to build relationships and community by working and praying together that we the church, the Body of Christ, will implement the Road Map and become more effective witnesses to Jesus.