For the first time in 68 years, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is seeking advice to shape the future of the Church, and some from South Philly will be among the delegates bending Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua’s ear.
A total of 242 priests, deacons, religious orders and — for the first time in archdiocesan history — lay people are taking part in the 10th Archdiocesan Synod.
The historic opportunity for Philadelphia’s Catholics to influence the local church commenced last Sunday with a Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul. The first synod meetings were held Friday and Saturday. More are scheduled for October and November, followed by a closing Mass in December.
Among the topics up for discussion are marriage and the family, youth and young adults, evangelization, and moral and social issues.
The forums are part of a 10-year plan to evaluate the archdiocese that Bevilacqua initiated back in 1991, said Sister Janet Baker, assistant director for the synod.
"In a sense, the cardinal has said, let me talk to people who are experiencing the Church every day," Sister Baker explained, "let me ask them what the Church could be doing that would help us all become more what we are supposed to be."
A year before Bevilacqua called for the synod in December 2000, Sister Baker said, he asked individual parishes to examine themselves and issues affecting their congregations. Then he split the archdiocese into geographic groups, called clusters, and asked them to find common issues raised in parishes.
Synods normally occur about every 10 years, Sister Baker said, but bishops and cardinals are not obligated to hold them. Cardinal Dennis Dougherty called the last one in Philadelphia in 1934.
Major wars, 1965’s Vatican Council and changes in archdiocesan leadership have prevented subsequent sessions since then, but at the turn of the century, Pope John Paul II reemphasized synods as a tool to gauge an archdiocese’s strength and health.
Three South Philadelphia priests and six parishioners are among the synod delegates.
The Rev. Arthur Taraborelli, pastor at St. Thomas Aquinas, 18th and Morris streets, said he was nominated by his fellow priests. He found out earlier this year that he had been chosen for the synod and has since attended orientation meetings and last Sunday’s commencement Mass.
Father Taraborelli wanted to participate, he said, for the opportunity "to look at the Church and where we are as far as the call to holiness."
Carol Kaulinis, of the 300 block of Mercy Street, is one of the participating laity. The parishioner of St. Casimir, 338 Wharton St., is a member of the church’s parish council, a parish ecumenical representative and a Eucharistic minister. She was nominated by her pastor, the Rev. Peter Burkauskas, and then selected by the priests of Cluster 24.
Like most, Kaulinis, 51, was not familiar with the concept of the synod at first, but said the orientation meetings and literature provided by the archdiocese have been helpful.
The first round of meetings on Friday and Saturday was "wonderful," she said. Kaulinis was one of two lay people in her discussion group and one of just two residents of Philadelphia.
"It was the general consensus at my table that you could really see the power of the Holy Spirit," she said. "We came in with a little bit of doubt, a little bit of confusion … and by the end of our sessions, everyone had a very positive outlook."
Delegates range in age from 18 to 71. There are five auxiliary bishops, 70 priests, eight deacons, 24 nuns and brothers, and 135 lay people, according to the archdiocese.
During meetings, members will be divided into 30 groups of eight, and each group will have a moderator, timekeeper and recorder. Each delegate will be asked his or her opinion on various proposals related to a topic. After discussions, members will vote to accept, decline or accept with modifications each proposal using an electronic keypad hooked to a computer, said Sister Baker.
The results of each vote will be tabulated and projected onto a large screen for everyone to see.
Unlike with a synod of bishops, the results will not become policy, Sister Baker said. They are only non-binding recommendations to the cardinal and, she said, it is ultimately up to him whether they are implemented.
After each set of meetings, results will be published in parish bulletins.
