 | Vision Statement
According to ancient tradition the clergy of the Catholic Church are formed in a three-fold hierarchy of bishop, priest and deacon. These orders are each distinct in their service to the church, yet they share a communion of life and purpose with Christ as head of the church and with the community of all the faithful as the Body of Christ.
The deacon’s place in this hierarchy and communion is to share life and service by becoming a public sacramental sign of Christ the servant. He is to assist the church in its efforts to evangelize the world. In turn, the deacon is to remind the world that all its legitimate interests and work are founded on God.
Sacramental service takes certain forms in the diaconal order according to the Christian tradition. As a minister of the word, liturgy and charity the deacon carries out his office in and for the church. He is sent by the bishop who oversees all the ministries of the local church. The deacon ministers in communion with the members of the presbyterate who extend the bishop’s three-fold office of governing, teaching and sanctifying to particular faith communities. The deacon’s teaching, sanctifying and service of charity extends the church’s mission by reaching to people, places, and circumstances untouched in other ways by the Gospel. Under the bishop’s pastoral care for the whole flock, priests and deacons work together in a common endeavor of service to God’s people.
To fulfill his office the deacon must be formed humanly, spiritually, intellectually and pastorally to reflect Christ and his service in all that he says and does. He must foster his own relationship with God through Christ and in the church. He must exhibit talents and skills that assist others to live their Christian vocations, while he also stands with them to be nourished himself by the life of the church. He must respect and collaborate with all those serving the church, both ordained and lay people. Finally, the deacon brings to the ministry he assumes a set of prior relationships in such institutions as marriage and family, employment, civic organizations, and professional societies that shape his life and to which he is responsible. His formation must lead him to integrate and balance these dimensions of his life in witness and sacramental service to the church and the world.
In the Diocese of Greensburg, this vision of the diaconate calls for certain qualities in the men who would present themselves for formation and service as permanent deacons. They would normally have earned a bachelor's degree prior to entering the formation program. The program will encompass at least four years of study, as well as pastoral and spiritual formation. It will incorporate projects for charity and justice that exhibit the deacon’s competence in understanding, skill, and leadership for this dimension of the church’s mission. For married men their wives and families will be included in an ongoing and appropriate way throughout the formation process. Advancement towards ordination will occur in stages with the approvals of the deacon’s spouse, a formation board, the formation faculty and ultimately the bishop who assumes final responsibility for issuing the Call to Orders.
After due consultation, the bishop appoints a deacon to a specific diocesan assignment with its duties and responsibilities clearly stated. Whether based in a parish or in another setting the deacon exercises all the ministries of his order with a view to building up the church in charity and justice. He works in collaboration with all other ministers, clergy and lay individuals involved in his particular assignment. He is expected to be open to serve wherever and however the needs of the diocese require with careful consideration of his gifts and talents, and with sensitive regard for his family, marriage and other obligations.
The diocese is committed to providing the pastoral care and ministry of all in the diocese. This is the context for the permanent diaconate. In no way does the incorporation of this order into the life of the local church intend to diminish its commitment to the recruitment and formation of ordained priests or to the proper ministry of the laity in the church. The establishment of the permanent diaconate completes the picture of the universal call to service needed to advance the mission of Christ in the Greensburg diocese. |