Archbishop’s Message « The Daily Mass

Search for:
You are currently browsing the archives for the Archbishop's Message category.

TheDailyMass.com is a
ministry of

Archive for the ‘Archbishop's Message’ Category

Deanery Visits Have Been Educational, Fruitful

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

By Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond

You have visited all 10 deaneries in the archdiocese to meet with priests and deacons, get feedback from them on some of their pressing issues and share with them some of your future plans. How have those visits gone?

It’s been wonderful visiting each deanery, and I’m planning to make this an annual practice. It’s been enlightening to me that each deanery has different issues that it considers the most important. For example, when I visited the St. Bernard Deanery last week, the three pastors expressed to me how they were reaching out to the fishing families whose lives have been turned upside down by the BP oil spill. Their incredible ministry at the parish level cannot be taken for granted. I am well aware that the real ministry of the local church does not take place at the archdiocesan administrative offices on Walmsley or Howard avenues but in our parishes, schools and Catholic institutions. One of my goals is to help our administrative staff – whom I like to call coworkers in ministry – realize that their main role is to work for and support our parishes, schools and institutions. We in administration need to provide the proper resources and embrace the attitude that we are here to serve.

You said last August at your installation that you would wait about 10 months before making any major decisions. Can you share some of your plans for the coming months?

There are a few hopeful things in the planning process. We have been in discussions with the Benedictine monks at St. Joseph Abbey on a plan to restore and upgrade the buildings at Camp Abbey. I believe Camp Abbey is sorely needed as a year-round facility for school, confirmation and parish retreats and also as the site for the boys’ and girls’ summer camps that were extremely popular in past years. We plan to lease the Camp Abbey buildings from the Benedictines and begin an extensive renovation in September, with the hope of having Camp Abbey reopened for the summer of 2011. We have received a major gift from a donor and a gift from a foundation to allow us to begin the renovation. The abbey has the Christian Life Center to accommodate married couples retreats. Sometimes couples can’t get away for a retreat because they can’t find someone to care for their children. With Camp Abbey coming on line, perhaps the children could be cared for there, and the entire family could get together for a dinner or barbecue on Saturday night. That would allow the entire family to get away for a spirit-filled experience.

You’ve been a big proponent for continuing education, especially among priests. Do you have any plans in that regard?

We need to cultivate unity among priests and honest communication between priests and bishops. I hope to offer a dialogue for priests that will require about a year to lay the groundwork. The process will start with small group meetings among priests to talk about their expectations. We also will survey priests about what they think are the best ways to foster unity. Then, in the fall of 2011, we will hold a three-day workshop for all the priests of the archdiocese. It will truly be a celebration of priesthood. As males and as priests, we tend to have an independent streak, and I think that has grown after Katrina because we’ve all been in survival mode. This is an opportunity to see ourselves as brothers and collaborators. I’m very excited.

Anything else?

I have begun to look at the administrative structure of the archdiocese, and it seems to me we could benefit from something along the lines of a Ministerial Council, which would do strategic planning across a multitude of departments to determine what our top priorities should be as an archdiocese. Also, I hope to use Lent 2011 as an opportunity to invite inactive Catholics to come back to our family and be active in the church. The present and future of the Catholic Church in New Orleans is bright. It is a privilege for me to serve as shepherd and to collaborate with so many dedicated clergy, religious and laity in ministry.

Archbishop Aymond welcomes questions from readers. Please e-mail questions to [email protected]

Tags: Archbishop Gregory Aymond, archdiocese of new orleans, Catholic Church, clarion herald, daily mass, daily mass online, deanery
Posted in Archbishop's Message | Comments Off

Archdiocese to Help Oil Spill Victims with Direct Aid

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

By Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond
(Clarion Herald – 5/22/10 – English; 6/5/10 – Spanish)

You have authorized a special collection to be taken up at churches throughout the Archdiocese of New Orleans for the purpose of helping families affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. What will the money be used for?

The money will be used for direct assistance to the people most in need. Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans already has helped more than 1,000 people by providing food, direct assistance, crisis counseling and case management, but we know the needs are going to increase. Our Catholic community always has been extremely generous in helping others whenever the need is great, and this certainly is the case now. Some people might wonder why we didn’t take up a special collection sooner. We could have, but we really wanted to evaluate what the specific needs were. We’ve also asked other people besides parishioners to make donations to this effort.

What sites for relief services have the archdiocese established?

Catholic Charities and Second Harvest Food Bank have set up three sites at St. Bernard Church in St. Bernard, St. Thomas Church in Pointe a la Hache and St. Patrick Church in Port Sulphur. Mary Queen of Vietnam Church also has hosted seminars for the Vietnamese fishermen. We’ve had incredible leadership not only from Catholic Charities and Second Harvest but also from the pastors whose people have been most affected: Father John Arnone at St. Bernard, Father Joseph Man Tran at St. Thomas, Father Gerry Stapleton at St. Patrick, Father Vien The Nguyen at Mary Queen of Vietnam and Father John Ryan at St. Anthony in Lafitte. Our gratitude goes out to them and their staffs for being pastorally sensitive and for standing by their people. This environmental crisis calls for prayer. We are on the front lines offering food, counseling, case management and whatever else we can to the fishing families, but also we want to offer them our spiritual support.

What are your thoughts right now on the oil spill?

One of the difficult things to assess is the effect on the coast. I believe it is a miracle thus far that more of the oil has not washed ashore and gotten into the marshes. That easily could have happened in the last three weeks. So many of us have been asking God to preserve our coastline. For the most part, with some exceptions, the wind shifts have been to our advantage and not to our disadvantage. And so, once again, I ask people to continue to pray to God and to ask Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, to pray for us and with us that we will be spared this great tragedy.

Have you spoken with civil authorities?

Our staff has been in touch daily with the civil parish presidents and I have visited and spoken with St. Bernard President Craig Taffaro and Plaquemines President Billy Nungesser. They know we stand ready to help in any way we can.

Some have suggested that the oil below the surface is almost like a Godzilla, lurking and ready to be washed ashore in the next tropical storm or hurricane.

The uncertainty has everyone on edge. In uncertain times, we are called to put our trust in God and to know that God walks with us in the darkest times as well as in the brightest times. It’s never easy to say, “Let’s wait and see.” Those of us who are simply watching the news at night and getting reports about the spill are affected in one way. I cannot imagine what it is like for those families who have to deal with the prospect of putting their lives on hold. They realize that if the oil does come ashore, the destruction could affect many future generations. Some have suggested this calamity could be as bad as Katrina.

So, keep praying?

We need to pray – and take care of our neighbor. Those who miss the special collection at their parish can give directly to our relief efforts at www.ccano.org.
Archbishop Aymond welcomes questions from readers. Please e-mail questions to [email protected]

Tags: Archbishop Gregory Aymond, catholic charities, clarion herald, oil spill aid, oil spill relief
Posted in Archbishop's Message, News | Comments Off