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Reaching Inactive and Alienated Catholics
Many in our Catholic community know family members, friends and neighbors who do not practice faith. We want to welcome these people to:
- Become alive in the Good News of Jesus.
- Make their lives more fully a part of the ongoing story of salvation.
- Let Christ touch, heal and reconcile them through the Holy Spirit.
We must bring enthusiasm and zeal for our faith to this effort of reaching out to inactive and alienated Catholics. This calls for reaching out in a spirit of reconciliation. Anything that alienates individuals, groups, institutions, nations and churches can be reconciled by openness to the Holy Spirit and a change of hearts and minds.
Many programs and books exist to guide you in your efforts. What follows is a partial list of publications available from the Office of Evangelization.
Inviting Catholics Home: A
Parish Program.
(Formerly Catholics Returning Home, self-publication) Sally L. Mews,
Liguori Publications, Liguori, MS, 2002. $14.00
Why do people leave the Church? A bad experience, loss of interest, anger, misunderstanding – the list could be a long one. Once out of the Church, why do people feel the need to come back? Illness, death, good fortune, personal crisis – again, it could be a long list. But how do you come back? For some people this is a real problem – they don't know how to come back to the Church.
This book is about "Catholics Returning Home," a six-week support program that is aimed at helping Catholics return to the Church. The program uses a nonjudgmental approach that is designed to recognize the feelings of each participant, and to help all participants understand that they are not alone. Anonymous program activities point out shared experiences and help participants to view old problems in a new light. Although "Catholics Returning Home" is presented as a lay-based, team-outreach ministry to nonpracticing Catholics, the program encourages clergy participation especially in the areas of the Mass and changes brought about by Vatican II. Suggestions for publicizing the program and recommendations for follow-up with program participants combine to make "Catholics Returning Home" an effective evangelization effort.
This book will prepare you to take part in one of the most rewarding ministries in the Church today, a ministry of reconciliation and healing that begins by Inviting Catholics Home.
Reaching Out
– A Manual for Evangelizing Inactive Catholics.
Evangelization Ministry, Archdiocese of Louisville, Louisville, KY,
2002. $13.50
Reaching Out – A Manual for Evangelizing Inactive Catholics has as its focus reaching out to our fellow Catholics who have been alienated from the Church. Incorporating information gathered from diocesan offices of the Archdiocese of Louisville, the manual includes areas such as: preparation of parish teams, facilitator training information, suggested follow-up processes for integrating those who decide to return to the church, and a suggested bibliography and agency assistance sheet (adaptable to fit your needs).
While You
Were Gone: A Handbook for Returning Catholics…and those thinking about
it.
William J. Bausch, Twenty-third Publications, Mystic, CT, 1994.
$5.95
This book clearly identifies the key questions and concerns of Catholics returning to the Church after an absence of some years. Author William Bausch sympathetically deals with the changes that returnees will encounter in a way that is non-threatening and informative, all the while reassuring readers that the essence of Catholic faith has remained constant.
The
Evangelizing Catholic: A Practical Handbook for Reaching Out.
Frank P. DeSiano, C.S.P., Paulist Press, Mahwah, NY, 1998.
$11.95
A “how-to” book on individual and parish evangelization, The Evangelizing Catholic contains a wealth of information and incentives to help the average Catholic and average parish discover opportunities and practical strategies for “reaching out” in faith.
Parish
Ministry for Returning Catholics.
Patricia Barbernitz, Paulist Press, Mahwah, NY, 1993.
$6.95
This book provides practical pastoral and catechetical information that will be most helpful to parish staffs as well as parish volunteers who desire to begin ministry to returning Catholics. It sheds light on the obvious areas that need to be considered in beginning this ministry and brings to light other areas that might not be so obvious—but which experience has shown to be important. Written in ‘layman’s’ language with the inclusion of many real-life stories, Patricia Barbernitz’s Parish Ministry for Returning Catholics is an excellent resource for implementing Goal II of the newest evangelization document from the U.S. Bishops, Go Make Disciples: A National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the United States.
Re-Membering:
The Ministry of Welcoming Alienated and Inactive Catholics.
Sarah Harmony, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, 1991.
$6.95
Re-Membering is the ministry of welcoming alienated and inactive Catholics back to the Eucharistic table and to full active discipleship for Jesus Christ. It honors the process of conversion so important on this returning journey, and it respects the reconciling ministry of the entire Catholic Christian community.
St. Monica
Ministry: Spiritual exercises to help you with a loved one’s faith
crisis.
Jack Buchner, PhD, Cathedral Foundation Press, Baltimore, MD, 1998.
$12.00
What do you say to a good parent, grieving over a grown child who has left the Catholic faith of childhood? How many times do pastoral ministers face this heartbreaking situation? Dr. Buchner has prayed over this challenge, has conducted workshops for parents, and now has enriched us all by putting the results of these reflections and experiences in a book, St. Monica Ministry.
Keep the flame of faith alive in your heart.
Baptismal Rite