Participant Comments GEOFFREY BOISI: Your Excellency,
and hope. Then it’s relatively easy to
them greater control, greater influence.
present something. So a big part of it is
There are others that push that control
getting our ducks lined up.
out in a much more decentralized way. Where in that spectrum were you and
GENO FERNANDEZ: Then how do
your diocese in terms of centralization and
you affect your heating bill? You still need
how that played a role in your ability to do
to heat the churches.
the listening sessions, guide the strategic planning process, and navigate through
how do you think about the way that you allocate capital for projects that require a
BISHOP THOMAS DOWD: Yes,
little bit more expensive professional help
you do. But the person who asked the
between the diocese and your parishes?
question is not talking about heating
BISHOP THOMAS DOWD: Quebec
Let’s use communications as an example.
the parishes. The people who love their
is a unique jurisdiction in North America
To put together a quality communication
parish and want to keep it going, they
in that under Quebec law, every parish
team that could do some of the more
will contribute by offering their own good
has its own corporation with a board of
sophisticated things that you were just
stewardship and discipleship.
directors elected by the people. So it’s
this effectively?
not a corporation sole where the Bishop
talking about. It’s a little bit more expensive than any individual parish could put
With regards to how do you pay for larger
can have a centralized from of control over
together. How do you think about making
expenses, I found that when there is
even particular transactions. They can’t
the decision as to what’s going to be
resistance, because it is more expensive,
do extraordinary things, like they can’t sell
done at the diocesan level and then let the
then you start with the element you can
the church without going to the Bishop.
parishes share in that sort of general kind
start with so that when there’s a gap,
There is an automatic decentralization, and
of capability? And how do they contribute
people look at it and they go, “Oh, my
frankly, I have no choice but to deal with it.
to the payment for that versus how the
gosh, there is a gap. Well, we obviously
diocese pays for it?
have to fill that gap to keep these good
The issue is how do you have control
things going that just got started.” It
when you don’t even have a say in who
BISHOP THOMAS DOWD: Part of
becomes not just your decision you’re
the gatekeepers are going to be. They are
my challenge is I am just the auxiliary, and
trying to foist. It becomes a decision from
elected by their peers at a parish meeting.
so there are elements of decision-making
within the team itself to say, “Well, this
So the only way you can make it work is
that I frankly have to go to other people
is obviously something that needs to be
by setting common mission, establishing
for, some of it within the diocese, some
completed.” So it’s sometimes a bit-by-
relationships of trust, and that way, the
of it within autonomous foundations that
bit method when you’re trying to push an
discussions around the table become,
fund the Church.
idea through. That’s been my experience.
“How are we part of this family of the
But with regards to communication
Church as a whole?”
Interestingly, there are two very
specifically, I am not convinced it has to
different dynamics. With regards to the
be all that expensive. I know that it can
The temptation is to establish
autonomous foundations, I found that
be, but having an e-mail list of the priests
centralization over the things you can
they really want to know what’s going
is, honestly, not that expensive, and yet I
control as a way of offsetting a power
to happen in more detail. In some ways
would say that has been a game-changing
balance. In my experience, that tends
it’s easier to get the funding internally,
method of communication for building
to cause things to slow down because
just because we’re all part of the same
a team. Sometimes doing the simplest
people are always worried, “How do
family. But, at the same time, if a project
things well has a bigger impact than doing
we present this to the diocese to get
is presented that makes a lot of sense
the big things that affect a larger audience,
approval? How can the diocese intervene
and you have really made your case and
but it may not be the pin in the ignition.
to take care of this issue?” and it becomes governance by individual decision as
it’s one that inspires hope, I found that to be the key factor. Nobody wants to keep
PARTICIPANT: In my experience,
opposed to governance by policy. We
funding the heating bill. They want to see
there have been dioceses who do things
found we not only need to establish policy,
something that’s going to bring growth
in a centralized way, and that affords
we need to establish proper oversight.
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