Archbishop Dolan admitted that four years ago when he was appointed archbishop of Milwaukee, he expected not to like conferral of the sacrament at age 16 or 17.
He came to us from the Archdiocese of St. Louis which confirms in the seventh or eighth grade, presumably for a reason.
Discussion concerning the age began after Archbishop Dolan received written requests, including a letter signed by 500 to 600 Catholics, requesting that the age for reception of confirmation in the archdiocese be lowered to junior high age.
They shared what was known to be Archbishop Dolan's opinion. In response, he launched what is called a consultation process in two sessions.
...the first on Jan. 28 at Dominican High School was a study day where the 230 participants heard about the history of the sacrament and the practices of dioceses across the United States.
If Milwaukee Catholics complained that their time was being wasted with pointless meetings, the Archdiocesan staff would invite them to a Saturday of studying the issue. Or maybe two.
Part two was held at the Cousins Center on Feb. 25, open only to those who had participated in part one. During this gathering, individuals with similar thoughts on the proper age were grouped and formulated written proposals defending what they believe to be the proper age for reception of the sacrament.
The participants voted overwhelmingly for the status quo. Then
...the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council unanimously recommended the practice of young people receiving the sacrament at age 16 or 17 be continued.
So what we thought was Archbishop Dolan's opinion and that of 500 to 600 Catholics in the Archdiocese could not get one vote in the APC.
The bishops accepted its recommendation.
Bishops? I missed the announcement of Bishop Sklba becoming coadjutor.
Why the unanimous vote in the APC?
Archbishop Dolan said he found it interesting the so-called "professional religious educators" were virtually unanimous in wishing that the age remain as it is.
"The major thrust of those who felt it should be changed were parents. ..."
And parish councils and the APC are not structured to represent the concerns of parishioners but to shield the staff from them. Note the story cites no specifics on how effective the current confirmation programs are or how they measure up against any standard or against other dioceses. The Archdiocese's web site has these numbers
Baptisms: 9,560 (Infant 9,213; Adult 347)
First communions: 8,607
Confirmations: 6,038
Given our stable population, that looks like over 2,500 a year who are not confirmed.
Ignoring the fascistae DRE's who have inflicted themselves on the majority of the Archdiocese, we had FOUR confirmed this year, ages 18, 16, 14, and 12.
ReplyDeleteLooks like another very long 20 years, eh?