Priests to meet on future planning

The event, Nov. 4-6 at the Friar Tuck Inn in Catskill, will bring together between 200 and 250 diocesan and order priests for presentations and small group discussions. Dr. Donald Rudinger, who has worked extensively with priests in Detroit and Saginaw, Michigan, will serve as main presenter and facilitator.

Presentations will also be given by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard; Rev. Kenneth Doyle, chairman of the Presbyteral Council and pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Church in Albany; and Sister Kathleen Turley, diocesan chancellor of planning and pastoral services.

Priests will explore ways to plan for the future as the number of clergy declines and the need for greater involvement by laypersons at the parish and diocesan level increases.

Another topic on the agenda is the Presbyteral Council and how it can more effectively function as a sounding board for the concerns of priests throughout the Diocese, according to Father Doyle.

The Presbyteral Council consists of seven elected members representing regions of the Diocese, five members appointed by the bishop and four ex-officio members. Ideally, topics for the Presbyteral Council's five meetings throughout the year would come from the monthly deanery meetings held in the Diocese.

In previous years, the convocation has served as a spiritual retreat or has focused upon Sunday Scripture, with a presentation by a Scripture scholar. Although the event keeps clergy busy, there also is time for recreation and socializing, Father Doyle remarked.

"Part of the goal and the benefit of the convocation is that it's an opportunity for priests to get together and see one another," he said. "When you get caught up in the work of your own parish you sometimes go months and months without seeing other priests."

In the event of an emergency or funeral, retired priests will be available to serve parishioners during the convocation, Father Doyle said.

(10-29-98)

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