The 1976 U.S. Catholic Bishops' Call To Action Conference in Detroit

A.D. 1977
Introduction to the Working Papers
The Call To Action Process NCCB/USCC

 

THE PREPARATION FOR DETROIT

The conference, A CALL TO ACTION, marks the culmination of a unique two year bicentennial celebration of the American Catholic Church. The 1200 delegates who gather in Detroit will constitute the first national assembly of the American Catholic community. They are invited to consider, debate and vote upon recommendations for action which have arisen from an extended process of dialogue and open discussion all over the country. The process, with the conference which marks its climax, is a significant and creative step in the renewal of the Catholic church in the United States. The delegates will try to carry this process forward. They have been invited to extend and deepen the collaboration of all groups within the American church, so that all can respond more fully and effectively to the CALL FOR ACTION which comes to them from the Gospel, the Vatican Council, the teachings of the church's leadership and the needs and hopes of all people. The delegates will listen carefully to the message of their church and they will listen with equal care to the voice of people in need which comes to them through this consultation. The bishops, priests, religious and lay people gathered in Detroit in the fall of the bicentennial year, will then try, as best they can, to lead their church to a fuller understanding of its mission in the years ahead. Their work is one step, and an important one, in the larger process of Christian renewal through reflection on the words and teachings of Jesus and action to bear witness to those teachings in the light of the signs of the times.

THE BICENTENNIAL CONSULTATION

At the inauguration of the bicentennial consultation in February 1975, John Cardinal Dearden explained its purpose with clarity and enthusiasm:

In the bicentennial effort which we are beginning today, the bishops of the United States invite others to join in the widest possible sharing of assessments of how the American Catholic community can contribute to the quest of all people for liberty and justice. Today, as citizens of a democratic society and members of an interdependent human community, we must assume our full share of responsibility for the economic, political and cultural betterment of all persons.

In order to accomplish this task, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops initiated a process of consultation unique in the annals of the church. Each diocese was invited to hold parish discussions in order to ascertain the needs and concerns of the Catholic people. In addition, the bishops sponsored seven national hearings at which witnesses testified to many kinds of injustice and oppression. For two years, these programs of discussion and dialogue took place around the United States as thousands of people responded to the bishops' invitation to help determine how the Catholic community might more effectively address pressing issues of peace, justice and human development. The delegates to the CALL TO ACTION conference will deliberate on the proposals for action which have risen from this nationwide consultation. They will make a series of recommendations to the hierarchy, to the Catholic community at large, and to the nation. These recommendations will form the basis for a five year pastoral plan by which the American church will then attempt to move directly and effectively to help bring about a greater degree of liberty and justice for all.

THE HEARINGS

The first, and in many ways most dramatic, feature of the bicentennial consultation was a series of six regional hearings held around the nation. At each, a panel of bishops listened for three days to testimony from invited experts and from local persons or organizations who wished to present their views. While each of the hearings focused on a particular theme, much of the testimony spilled over into other, more general issues of concern to people in that part of the country. At the end of each hearing, a month was set aside for the submission of written testimony, and then the full transcript of the hearing was printed. In July, 1976, an additional hearing was held on international issues, with testimony from invited guests from overseas, as well as from American experts and returning missionaries. The volumes of testimony constitute one important part of the consultation and provided one major part of the material on which the action recommendations for the Detroit conference were prepared. These transcripts are available at cost' to delegates and others on request.

PARISH DISCUSSIONS

The second phase of the bicentennial consultation was a program of parish discussions held in all parts of the country. Each diocese was asked to organize its own prograin in its parishes. A volume of essays was published to stimulate discussion of the issues of justice in national life. Eight general topics for discussion were suggested: Church, Family, Neighborhood, Work, Race and Ethnicity, Personhood, Nationhood and Humankind. This range of topics was seen to embrace the totality of life experience extending from issues facing each person, through the communities of family, church, neighborhood, cultural group, the workplace, the nation, and the world. Parishes were given a series of "feedback sheets" on which each group could record, in its own words, what its members thought were the major issues under the topic, and the actions they believed would best help solve the problem. The form was not a questionnaire, but a totally open-ended opportunity for the groups to indicate what they thought was wrong and what they thought might be done about it.

The issues of concern identified by the parish discussion groups, as well as their suggestions for action, were collated as they came into Washington through the spring and summer of 1976. Since the process was an openended consultation with participation determined by a voluntary response to the bishops' invitation, the results do not constitute a statistically valid sample of American Catholic opinion. They do not have the form, or the type of value, of a scientific sample, because they were not intended to provide a sociological study but to stimulate and facilitate dialogue and collaboration. The bicentennial consultation was an effort to experiment with an instrument by which the bishops could consult the faithful, hear through them the needs of our times, and join with the Catholic people in responding to those needs. Genuine pastoral concern motivated episcopal participation in the hearings and the listening process; genuine concern for the well being of church, nation, and world motivated the people who spoke up. Because the goal was not to provide a totally representative sample of Catholic opinion, but to construct a basis for collaboration and action, the process was one of listening and reflection as a basis for intelligent and effective action; its value will be determined on that basis.

THE DATA

Over 800,000 parish respondents have indicated the issues which they consider worthy of the bishops' attention. It is important to note that the word "respondent" is used to identify each person each time that he or she participated in a group discussion and proposed issues or actions. The unstructured nature of the consultation makes it impossible to know how many persons are represented by that figure of 800,000 because each person could register an opinion on several issues and/ or actions. The material that has been collected in this form has come from eighty dioceses, only one half the nation's total. It has been supplemented, however, by other types of submissions, such as diocesan or regional hearings, results of parallel processes of consultation, and the independent testimony of parishes, individuals or organizations. The Detroit assembly will further expand participation in the process by adding delegates representing over 125 dioceses, and another 100 representing an equal number of national organizations.

Discussion centered around the eight topics, each chosen to represent a level of community in which all participate. As originally submitted, participants in the parish phase of the consultation chose to discuss the topics as follows:

TOPIC	NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS	% OF TOTAL
CHURCH	177,192	21.1%
NATIONHOOD	120,727	14.4
FAMILY	120,492	14.4
PERSONHOOD	115,835	13.8
NEIGHBORHOOD	81,667	9.7
HUMANKIND	80,813	9.6
ETHNICITY & RACE	66,918	8.0
WORK	66,537	7.9
MULTIPLE TOPICS	8,749	1.0

Not everyone defined these topics the same way, and a good deal of overlapping was inevitable. "Family Activities in the Parish" might be discussed both under Church and under Family, while issues of human rights might surface under Nationhood, Personhood, and Humankind. In order to organize consideration of the material, specific issues were assigned to a topic area, even if they had come in under another heading. In other cases, issues were assigned to more than one topic area for consideration.

PREPARING FOR "A CALL TO ACTION"

The results of the parish consultation, the transcripts of the national hearings, and a large quantity of independently submitted papers, reports, and transcripts of diocesan hearings, constituted the basis of information which resulted from the bicentennial consultation. The bishops then arranged for the establishment of eight writing committees, one for each of the topic areas, to receive this material and to prepare working papers and action proposals for the CALL TO ACTION conference.

These committees were asked to analyze the findings from the parish consultation, study the transcripts of the hearings, and read summaries of all the other materials received. They met to discuss the meaning of the issues raised and the actions recommended. They debated the possible ways of responding to what the people had said, and they prepared the documents and proposals for action for the Detroit conference. Each committee had eight to fifteen members. Each of their reports include: 1) An introduction placing the topic in the context of Catholic tradition and experience: 2) A summary of the materials received, together with some interpretation; 3) A reflection on the meaning of these materials in the light of Catholic teaching, combined with some assessment of their significance in terms of contemporary American Catholic life. Finally, they prepared three or four recommendations for action for consideration by the delegates.

The committees have considered the number of respondents who mentioned each issue and suggested each action, both as issues and actions were linked together by the participants and as they emerge in total across all issue and action categories. They have looked as well at the quality and force of testimony at the national hearings and at hearings held in the dioceses. They have tried to place all this within the context of the very complex life of the contemporary American church, and the equally complex nature of contemporary Catholic theology and the recent social teachings of the church. Their reports had to be brief, relatively simple and straightforward, at once specific enough to respond to the concerns expressed and general enough to allow for consideration by the entire American Catholic community. They have tried, as best they could, to provide a foundation for deliberation by means of which the delegates to the CALL TO ACTION conference could come to grips with the issues and concerns expressed by the Catholic people.

The recommendations are deliberately not all addressed to the American bishops. Many issues, by their very nature, call for local resolution-in parishes, dioceses, schools or in a variety of informal situations. Not all the actions suggested need await a decision on the part of the national hierarchy. It is the hope of the bicentennial committee that action will be undertaken by dialogue and decision on the local level as well as the national, The precedent set in the national consultation itself should inspire confidence in the value of participatory decision-making in smaller groups. The writing committees have. therefore. addressed their recommendations to different levels of church authority and church membership. It may well be that instruments for action other than those mentioned will evolve in the months ahead. In some ways it is less important who does the things suggested than that the action gets underway. "Doing Church," as some express it today, it not an easy or clearly defined way of action; it is ongoing openness to the Spirit and unity among the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ who constitute the "People of God."

REFLECTION ON "A CALL TO ACTION"

Theologically, this bicentennial process seems to have already helped portions of the American church to achieve a new level of self -understanding. As several theologians have suggested, the process itself, if it becomes a truly on-going one, could be as significant as the decision to begin Catholic schools in the United States. The Detroit assembly is one step in a new awakening of the American Catholic community to the fact that it has collective responsibilities to the nation which, while they transcend political parties, are a very important part of the political process. The title is not accidental. It is an attempt to relate the assembly's work to the "Call to Action" issued by Paul VI. His words are clear and imperative:

It is up to the Christian communities to analyze with objectivity the situation which is proper to their own country, to shed on it the light of the Gospel's unalterable words and to draw principles of reflection, norms of judgment and directives for action from the social teaching of the Church.

We American Catholics must begin this task by increasing our knowledge of the manifold concrete contexts in which we and our fellow citizens live out our daily lives. By reflecting on that experience together, and relating it both to our religious faith and to our civic responsibilities, we can develop norms by which to evaluate public issues and act upon them. We can begin to link the prophetic mission of Jesus to the making of public policy. In this way we can try to fulfill in today's complex world our Christian responsibility to "love one another." We share, as the bishops of the world have reminded us, in "the church's mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation." This process, hopefully, will allow the Catholic community in the United States to define that mission in terms of specific goals and begin effectively to help bring about the Gospel's vision of justice, peace and love into a greater reality in our world.

The bicentennial process, and the theology which it reflects and exemplifies, involves what one writing committee member calls "collaborative pluralism." It affirms the diversity of our ethnic, racial and cultural backgrounds; it respects our very different parish, diocesan and regional experiences. The process calls to the attention of the entire community the diverse gifts and offices and ministries we perform in the church, and it calls forth the gifts and talents latent in our people. It acknowledges our need for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our efforts to work together, respecting our differences and affirming our varied richness, in building up the Body of Christ.

The process is filled with risk, the risk of being confronted with mistakes, of being wrong. But, there is also a risk involved in holding to the status quo, in accepting injustice in silence. The people of God in the Old Testament celebrated their jubilees by giving to the poor, the widows, the orphans. Our American bicentennial should also be an occasion for recognizing and defending the rights of the powerless. The CALL TO ACTION is a challenge to secure "Liberty and Justice for ALL." It requires, as Cardinal Dearden has noted, a dialogue between church and nation, but it also requires a dialogue among American Catholics conducted with the purpose of enhancing the pastoral life and social ministry of the church and shaping its posture in the public dialogue. Having begun that process, having taken the risks, the task now is to continue to move forward in the ever present challenge of living the Gospel in the life of the world. Again, we recognize with Cardinal Dearden, that "to do less is to fail both God and man, and in that failure to betray ourselves."

 

A NOTE TO THE U.S. BISHOPS

The "Call to Action" process has relied upon open debate and honest sharing of ideas. It was an act of trust on your part to initiate it. The delegates you chose for Detroit, amply fulfilled your trust in their free and forthright public debate and voting. 1500 observers brought support and encouragement to the entire assembly. The open debate, with observers present, made a powerful contribution to the honest and courageous recommendations which came forth from Detroit.

It would be a mark of continued confidence and boldness on your part, and a response of fairness to the Detroit process, if you welcomed observers to your Chicago meeting in May, 1977, and if you used the same dynamics of open debate and voting which has characterized the "Call to Action" process up to this point.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Giving thanks is like describing a vision -seek words and they are inadequate. We nevertheless wish to try.

Special thanks to all who have brought the "Call to Action" process to its present vigor - to the bishops who mandated the consultation, held diocesan programs and who will respond to the Detroit recommendations -to Cardinal Dearden, for his unfailing support and encouragement -to Bishop James Rausch, Mr. Francis Butler, Sr. Margaret Cafferty, their staff and writing teams of the Bicentennial Committee, for 2 years of intense work - to the many people who took part in the national hearings and local programs -to the Detroit delegates, whose openness and sharing surpassed expectations -congratulations to all.

Our warm thanks to the many people who share publication and distribution of these documents - to Sr. Vicky Reeves, for her warm and easy handling of the design, layout and printing -to Dave Gibson of Origins, for generously sharing the resolutions - to John Willig and Mark Peterschmidt, for the excellent photographs -to the Committee for the Bicentennial, for their support and cooperation-to the people of Good Shepherd parish for their many offers of help with packing and shipping-to the 150 people and groups who ordered 30,000 prepaid, prepublication copies and confirmed our own belief in the life and hope contained in the Detroit recommendations.

Our special thanks to John Callahan, Gerri Doonis, Cathy O'Toole, Jean Ann Gnall, Cam and Dorothy Fair, Eileen Milby, Lewella Daigle, Mary Burke and Eileen Olsen for the many moments in which their worthwhile suggestions, collating fingers, stamp-licking tongues and happy presence touch the life of the Quixote Center.

A final thanks to Cervantes for the man of LaMancha, who with his spirit of crazy adventure, mocks our pretensions, encourages us to risk, and so befits a dreaming Church that follows Jesus.

 

Reprinted with permission of the Quixote Center.