The Paulist General Assembly - On the Whole, A Positive Experience - June 19, 2022

This past two weeks I have been involved in the Paulist General Assembly in Washington, DC. This is a gathering of elected representatives from the entire Paulist Community that takes place every four years.

We prepared for this General Assembly with “pre-assembly gatherings” to gather input and suggestions from the Paulists themselves and from the people with whom we minister. There were three such meetings via Zoom, one for the East Coast, one for the West Coast, and one for the middle of the country. Diane Zbasnik, our Parish Administrator, was one of the lay representatives.

From the document collating the results of the Paulist Pre-Assembly we are given this description:

Three Paulist pre-assemblies took place via zoom over three days in the Fall of 2021. A total of 87 Paulists and 35 Lay representatives participated. Participants were asked to reflect on four questions and shared in small groups using a contemplative listening and discernment process. After each small group there was a large group discussion where the reflections of each group were shared with the whole group. On the final day, each small group advanced two priorities for the General Assembly and among those, the whole group indicated their three top priorities.

I was able to participate in portions of two of these pre-assembly events. We then held the actual General Assembly in Washington, DC, over the last two weeks. Several issues were addressed, some of interest only to internal Paulist concerns, but several beyond the Paulists. There was much discussion about inclusion of laity and other clerics in our mission and some steps taken in that direction. But the pre-eminent issue of the three pre-assembly meetings, and of the General Assembly, was how to address the caustic state of division and opposition in our country, church, and society. Much thought and prayer went into the discussion of this issue, and later I will share with you the results of our discussion.

On the whole the General Assembly was a positive experience. There was a great sense of brotherhood, and less division and dissension than I recall in some previous General Assemblies. Having the beautiful installation Mass for Fr. René Constanza as our new Paulist President, which I hope you saw, was a great and positive way to set the tone for the deliberations that followed. Nonetheless, I am glad the Paulist General
Assembly is over for another four years, and I am back and involved in our parish.

On a more local note, I want to inform you that even though my term as pastor here at St. Austin Church is up at the end of this month, having completed the full term of 12 years here, the Paulist General Council made an exception and assigned me another two years here as your pastor. So you are still stuck with me.

Try to stay cool in the midst of this heat, and God bless! 

There are faces we remember among those gathered for the Paulist General Assembly, among them,  Fr. Bruce, Fr. Bernie, Fr. Ivan, Fr. Tom, Fr. René, Fr. Dat, Fr. Larry, Fr. John, Fr. Bob, Fr. Chuck, Fr. Eric, Fr. Steve, Fr. Rick.