APPROVED of Joliet February 27, 2020 Office of the

www.dioceseofjoliet.org Blanchette Catholic Center 16555 Weber Rd. Crest Hill, Illinois 60403

DIOCESAN PASTORAL COUNCIL (DPC) MEETING MINUTES Date: September 21, 2019 Time: Mass 9:00 a.m. Meeting began at 9:46 a.m. Place: Blanchette Catholic Center, Crest Hill, Illinois

Members Present: Most Reverend R. Daniel Conlon (by phone); Very Rev. Richard Smith; Rev. Keith Wolfe, Mr. Alex Rechenmacher; Ms. Elizabeth Bilotta; Mr. Steve Cardamone, Deacon Gregory Clodi, Ms. Mary Galvan; Mr. Andrew Hackley; Mr. Frederick Hafner; Sr. Linda Hatton; Ms. Kelly Heffron; Ms. Danielle Kuboushek; Mr. Nicholas LaBanca; Mr. Richard Loechl; Ms. Carolyn Love; Ms. Madeline McNicholas; Rev. Matthew Nathan (by phone); Ms. Christine Olsen; Ms. Cheryl Olshefski; Deacon Lindsey Parsons; Ms. Marguerite Pirritano; Mr. Chris Pudelek; Ms. Abbey Pursell; Ms. Sarah Reznicek; Mr. David Stejkowski; Mr. Henry Wesseler; Mr. Craig Williamson

Members not present: Br. Edward Arambasich; Mr. Michael Berger; Sr. Maureen Fallon; Ms. Evelyn Garfias; Sr. Mary Ann Hettel Guests: None

• Welcome and Introductions (All Members) o After celebration of the Eucharist at 9:00 a.m. by Very Rev. Richard Smith, and following a time for refreshments, Chairperson Madeline McNicholas opened the meeting of the Diocesan Pastoral Council at 9:46 a.m. o Madeline McNicholas had each new DPC member introduce themselves. o The Very Rev. Richard Smith conducted a Blessing of New Members at 9:54 am. o The Mission Statement was read at 9:57 am. o The minutes for May 11, 2019 were presented for approval and approved by motion by David Stejkowski and seconded by Henry Wesseler and approved by the DPC with one change (related to date of the last meeting minutes) at 9:58 am.

• DPC Chairperson Report (Madeline McNicholas) 9:59 am o Madeline McNicholas mentioned two items on the agenda that we would discuss later included the changes to the Joliet Diocesan Pastoral Council Handbook and an Assembly update.

• Pastoral Planning Committee Report 9:59 am o Mary Galvan presented the committee report. A committee meeting was held to write a survey for priests that would be sent out after the Convocation which is on November 1, 2019. The next meeting is on October 2, 2019 with the goal to finalize the survey. David Stejkowski reiterated that the committee wants to ensure the survey does not duplicate

Page 1 of 5

other surveys.

• Reports (All Members) 10:03 am

o Each Deanery submitted its report in writing or during the meeting, with exception of North Will / Kendall which did not have a Deanery meeting and Ford-Iroquois Deanery, which is without representation. ▪ East DuPage – Presented by Henry Wesseler ▪ Joliet – Presented by Fred Hafner ▪ South DuPage – Presented by Andrew Hackley ▪ South Will / Grundy – Presented by Danielle Kuboushek ▪ West DuPage – Presented by Richard Loechl ▪ Kankakee – Presented by David Stejkowski

• Assembly Committee (Madeline McNicholas) 10:17 am o Madeline McNicholas mentioned that the committee has not met in a while but will be picking a date for the next meeting today. o The Assembly is scheduled for October 10, 2020 and will most likely be at Benet Academy in Lisle. o Madeline McNicholas mentioned that all DPC members will be part of the Assembly planning and implementation and she sent around a signup sheet for volunteers. o Madeline McNicholas explained to all members that every three years the Diocese hosts an Assembly to bring the Diocese together for spiritual development and to address issues or action items such as evangelization / discipleship.

• Report of the Presbyteral Council (Rev. Keith Wolfe) 10:21 am o Rev. Keith Wolfe presented the report. Rev. Wolfe indicated at their last meeting on September 4th the agenda included the following items: ▪ New officer elections; ▪ Review of the Deanery reports from Priests; and ▪ Discussion of the School Task Force Report. o The next meeting is scheduled for October 7, 2019

Action Item – Addition of New Liturgy Coordinator Position 10:22 am o Madeline McNicholas explained that this new position would be the person to coordinate the liturgy for the DPC masses (instead of the and Commissions) and in order to assist with that coordination information regarding what skills or commissions our members possess is needed. Therefore, a list asking members to document if they are a Eucharist Minster, a Reader, a Sacristan, a singer, a musician and / or a server was passed around the meeting. o Madeline McNicholas asked that anyone interested in becoming the Liturgy Coordinator to please contact her. o A motion to add this position was motioned by Richard Loechl and seconded by Marguerite Pirritano and approved by the DPC at 10:25 am. . Review of 2019-2020 Handbook 10:26 am o Madeline McNicholas went through the handbook in the binders that were provided to all members. Madeline McNicholas recommended that all members become familiar with the handbook which includes: the Deanery responsibilities, the chart and agency directors, the liturgy planning checklist, the sample letter of invitation to council presidents, a sample Deanery meeting agenda, a sample Deanery report and the implications of the Second

Page 2 of 5

Diocesan . o Madeline McNicholas suggested the Deaneries have more than 3 meetings (possibly the Deaneries could meet before and after the DPC meetings).

Old Business – Schools Task Force Report and Follow Up 10:30 am o Bishop Conlon provided an update indicating that the final report has been issued. The Advisory Commission which is to implement the overall plan will be in place for 1 year to assist the handful of schools that are stressed financially and with enrollment and to help ensure that resources (personnel and physical items) are shared more effectively. o The Grant Commission (a 5-member commission) had their first meeting and the commission is not only to receive applications for grants, but to also work with the schools office, the Board of Education, and the stressed schools to attempt to reduce the needs for the grants. o Bishop went over the “Draft” Statement Regarding New Parish Assessment for Schools and asked at this time that this document stay “Confidential”. The Bishop will issue this Statement once it is finalized later in the Fall. o Bishop asked if there were any questions: o Henry Wesseler asked if there is no “out of parish rate” how are the families of children / students that are not Catholic and do not go to mass going to contribute to the assessment? The Bishop mentioned that possibly there could have to be a special tuition for non- catholic students. o David Stejkowski asked if an additional statement could be added to reiterate strongly the Diocese’s commitment to excellence in Catholic schools. The Bishop mentioned that unfortunately he cannot promise / guarantee that every Catholic school in the Diocese will be a model of our Catholic excellence due on this assessment. o Others asked when can this Statement be shared with our Deaneries? Alex Rechenmacher answered that once the Statement is finalized and the Bishop releases it, the Statement can then be provided to the Deaneries. The Bishop mentioned that he will be discussing it at the next Presbyteral Council Meeting in October.

Bishop’s Forum 10:40 am The Bishop’s Forum included the following topics: o The Bishop apologized for not being at the meeting in person, but he will be back in the Diocese tomorrow. o The Bishop indicated that he is extremely grateful to all who are at the meeting and he values their roles in the DPC, at their parishes and in the Deaneries along with our wisdom, advice, and knowledge. o The Bishop mentioned that he met with the priests from the Kankakee Deanery and the priests from the Ford / Iroquois Deanery and it was a unanimous decision to stay separate Deaneries due to the following factors: the combined Deanery would be too large geographically, and there was a concern that the Ford / Iroquois Deanery might be “swallowed up”. The Bishop shared with us that he did spend a month in the Ford / Iroquois Deanery area from June 25 to July 25th and had some down time to read and pray and celebrate mass at some of the parishes. He did become more familiar with the parishes, the area and their needs. o The Bishop indicated that the transfer of the St. Rose Chapel in the Kankakee Deanery to the Association for the Preservation of St. Rose Chapel has been finalized and that it will be used for the exposition / worship of the Blessed Sacrament and will host occasional masses. A retired priest has agreed to serve as their Chaplain and provide spiritual guidance to the Association. Hopefully they will be able to raise enough money to continue their mission for the chapel. o The Bishop mentioned that he finished his parish visits in May at St. Pats in Joliet. With the conclusion of his parish visits, the Bishop will be able to visit other locations in the Diocese

Page 3 of 5

including our high schools, universities, Catholic Charity facilities, nursing homes, and hospitals. Some are already scheduled and others will be scheduled over the next 2-3 years. o The Bishop indicated that he has established a panel for misconduct of priests and deacons related to misconduct with adults. It consists of 5 members including 3 clergy members and their first meeting was this week. o The Bishop indicated that the (We are the light of the World) issued by Francis in May was discussed at the US Bishop’s Conference this past June to reaffirm agreement with the Holy Father’s protocols. The also need to ensure that protocols are in place to locally address accusations and implement the requirements set forth by the Holy Father. o The Bishop indicated that the Final Report by the AG’s office will be coming out soon and it is the Bishop’s understanding that the investigation did not find any violations of the state laws but will include recommendations on how to handle accusations. The Bishop indicated that the Diocese will study and review the recommendations and attempt to follow the recommendations while still being in compliance with the church’s rules / laws. o The Bishop mentioned that the Curia has been reorganized and Dr. David Castronovo is the Director of Communication Office and Alex Rechenmacher is now the Public Communication Officer to deal with the media. Bethany Duckworth is the Digital Communication Officer to deal with the webpage and other digital media. o The Bishop mentioned that he is currently at an evangelization conference and there are 40 Bishops in attendance along with other well know evangelization groups and persons. The task for all the Bishops was to sit and pray and to determine where are we to go within our own for the next 30 years. Our Diocese does have a team within the Diocesan Curia for evangelization efforts headed by Father Masters. However, a short term goal is for each Deanery and each parish to have a team to focus on evangelization since this is essential to our church’s work. We can no longer assume that the faith will be passed on from one generation to another in a family. The Bishop thought incentives to develop these teams could include quarterly rallies of the teams to pray, for witnessing, to encourage, and to celebrate. The Bishop mentioned that a graph was presented at the conference that indicated that typically in an organization 16% of people will jump on board immediately on any initiative; 34% of people will eventually get on board; another 34% will take awhile but will get on board and another 16% will never get on board.

Questions / Comments for the Bishop included: o A thank you from Madeline McNicholas regarding the statement made by the Bishop regarding the abortion doctor from Crete, Illinois. The Bishop mentioned that the Resurrection Cemetery in Romeoville has a special section for aborted children and are prepared to receive all of the remains but the process could take one year to complete. o David Stejkowski mentioned that the transition of the St. Rose Chapel is still in the beginning stages but it appears to be a win-win at this point for the Diocese, parishes, and Association.

New Business 11:03 am o Bishop recognized Fr. Wolfe and indicated that he is proud of him as being the Chair of the Presbyteral Council and it speaks volumes of the caliber of our young priests. o Madeline McNicholas mentioned there will be a DPC retreat for prayer and socialization during Lent this year and more to come in the future. o Danielle Kuboushek addressed a question by several Deaneries regarding how do we get more people to our meetings. She indicated that what has worked well in South Will / Grundy Deanery is attending parish council meetings and personally inviting members from parish councils to the Deanery meetings and explaining to them what the Deaneries are doing. o The Bishop mentioned that he will be seeking input from the DPC members on his idea of

Page 4 of 5

establishing evangelization teams and the rallies. o Andrew Hackley reiterated that if anyone has information or questions regarding communication tools / options for Deaneries, please contact him and he has been in touch with Dr. Castronovo. o David Stejkowski suggested that Bethany Duckworth should be invited to attend the next DPC meeting. o Alex Rechenmacher welcomed back Sr. Linda Hatton. o Madeline McNicholas invited everyone to lunch and asked for anyone interested in becoming the Liturgy Coordinator to please contact her and that the Assembly Team needs to stay after the meeting to set our next meeting.

Closing Prayer by Bishop – 11:12 pm Adjournment – 11:13 pm

Respectfully submitted by: Elizabeth Bilotta, Recording Secretary

Page 5 of 5