Synod members gather at St. Aloysius Church in downtown Detroit during the opening Mass of Synod 16 in November 2016. Among the fruits of the synod was the clear call for a greater focus on evangelization on the part of the Archdiocese of Detroit, which Archbishop Vigneron hopes to accomplish with the help of the newly established New Evangelization Council. Photo by Mike Stechschulte | The Michigan Catholic Detroit — When Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron released his pastoral letter during the Pentecost vigil, he made it clear it was not just another “church document.”
“We can’t just plan to plan to have a plan,” the archbishop said often during the buildup to the letter’s release. Rather, the efforts of Synod 16 and the pastoral letter, Unleash the Gospel, must lead to a systemic change in the Archdiocese of Detroit.
To accomplish this, Archbishop Vigneron called for the establishment of the New Evangelization Council, a permanent consultative body that will monitor the archdiocese’s implementation of the pastoral letter.
Bishop Gerard BattersbyHeaded by Auxiliary Bishop Gerard Battersby, the New Evangelization Council is not an evangelization program in and of itself, but rather an archdiocesan “ombudsman” to ensure the archdiocese’s efforts are as effective as possible.
“The archbishop’s vision is that there is one single group of individuals who will monitor the implementation of the new evangelization platform, if you will, for the entire archdiocese,” Bishop Battersby told The Michigan Catholic. “This pastoral letter is not simply another pastoral letter. It’s a charter for the entire Archdiocese of Detroit moving forward in ‘unleashing the Gospel.’”
The letter called for the New Evangelization Council to be formed by Aug. 1, and Bishop Battersby said the council will consist of both clergy and laity.
(For a list of members of the council, announced Aug. 21, see page 3.)
“The archbishop was very concerned we draw from various competencies,” Bishop Battersby said. “Not all of the members will be employees of the archdiocese. The archbishop would prefer to draw from outside Central Services.”
The New Evangelization Council will provide ongoing advice to the archbishop and suggest any changes necessary to ensure that evangelization remains the local Church’s No. 1 priority.
“Part of the genius of the pastoral letter is it doesn’t envision new structures or new programs; it envisions a mission with the structures or programs that are already in place,” Bishop Battersby said. “It’s about changing attitudes.”
Fr. Stephen PullisFr. Stephen Pullis, the newly named director of the archdiocese’s Department of Evangelization, Catechesis and Schools, is among the members of the new group.
“The council’s role is to look at how we’re doing all the work we are doing now and asking, ‘Is it helping people encountering Jesus?’” Fr. Pullis said. “Is it creating that fertile soil so when the seed is planted, it can grow?”
Fr. Pullis said the council will be working closely with evangelization leaders “on the ground” at the parish and family levels, coordinating with them to offer aid and support.
“The best evangelization program is the one you are already doing,” Fr. Pullis said. “The most effective way to do evangelization is to start talking about Jesus. Not just doing plans or programs, but start living the Gospel.”
That mission is clearing the way for people to have a close, personal encounter with Jesus within the context of the Catholic Church, Bishop Battersby said, introducing — or reintroducing — Christ through the Catholic Church to a people who need to hear His message.
“My hope for the council is that the sons and daughters of the Archdiocese of Detroit will allow with a docile spirit this new Pentecost the Holy Spirit has in store for us,” Bishop Battersby said. “When the archbishop spoke prophetically about the Archdiocese of Detroit in the pastoral letter, he called upon the Holy Spirit to bring life to these ‘old bones.’ It’s about bringing Christ into the peripheries of life, so that he is the center of everything we do. Not just implicitly, but explicitly as well.”
New Evangelization Council
