(Radio Iowa) – The Archdiocese of Dubuque is in the midst of a major planning initiative to reshape how the Catholic Church meets the needs of parishioners. Archbishop Thomas Zinkula says they surveyed parishioners last fall and then brought in a consultant to set up some models of possible changes. “We gathered data and did all this stuff and we have these models now that have been vetted. They’re reasonable, but they’re not the final thing, it’s just something to start with. Now we need to hear get the input of the parishioners,” he says. Zinkula says the changes in the demographics of northeast Iowa is one of the factors that led to the effort.

“There’s been a big shift in, in population and then also in the ages of the folks in the pews. There’s also been culturally we’re becoming more increasingly secular. and the pandemic sort of kind of didn’t help that, you know, in terms of less people going to church because during the pandemic and not all of them came back,” he says. Zinkula says they also don’t have as many priests as they used to have to cover all the parishes. He says they’ve talked about these issues for years and now are moving ahead to make changes to adapt. “We’re organized and structured and staffed in a way that’s not working for us as well these days for us to evangelize. I mean, at the heart of it is our mission. You know the Great Commission go out to all the world and tell the good news,” Zinkula says.

Zinkula says it’s the type of review that many organizations have to do. “So it’s kind of reading the signs of the times and let’s go act together so we can better evangelize,” he says. Zinkula says they will hold listening sessions this fall to gather input on the proposed models for the parishes. “They’re on the ground, they know more about their parish than I do in terms of lived experience. And so just what do you think about these groupings? How would you draw those lines? ? What parishes would you put together. A then they ‘ll give us their feedback. Anybody can give their feedback, on the website there’s a feedback button,” Zinkula says. Zinkula says they will make a decision on what models to use by the spring.

“Ultimately it will be my decision as to kind of how we’re going to group parishes. But you know, I’m listening to the people, but also listening to the Holy Spirit. And that’s just as important or more important than where is the spirit leading us and how can we go wrong if if we truly do this in the spirit, he’s not going to steer us wrong. So that’s kind of going to be very, important.” Zinkula says. Zinkula says they will not be closing any parishes with the decision. They will make changes and decide later on if there needs to be parishes closed.

You can find out more about the process and how to give your input the Our Journey in Faith website at dbgjourneyinfaith.org.