May 11, 2007

Evangelization Supplement

‘Shout Catholic’

By John Valenti

Part of my role as associate director of evangelization and faith formation for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis is to communicate the message of evangelization.

Jesus said, “Go and make disciples” (Mt 28:19). That seems straightforward enough and quite simple. Our commission is to welcome people to Christ, specifically through the Catholic Church.

Having labored in the home-mission territory of the South, where a 1 percent to 3 percent Catholic population is not uncommon, there is a general acceptance that the “Bible Belt” has had some serious historical resistance to Catholicism.

Catholics represent approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population. However, north of the Mason-Dixon Line, only three Catholic dioceses have fewer than 10 percent Catholic population. If you draw a line on a map of the Midwest from Indianapolis to Lafayette, Ind., then over to Steubenville, Ohio, this geographic triangle grows lots of corn but few Catholics.

At a recent collaborative meeting with our Catholic education, Catholic Charities and Catholic health care officials, we discussed all the wonderful things that are accomplished in the name of Jesus through our Catholic schools, social justice ministries and hospitals.

More than 20,000 kindergarten through 12th-grade children and youths are served in our 70 Catholic schools. We are committed to serving the urban poor in education with our consortium schools and the new Providence Cristo Rey High School.

Our Catholic Charities programs are committed to supporting groups of

low-income individuals as they work to break the cycle of poverty as well as to improving communities through counseling, homeless shelters, child advocacy, adult and youth programs, pregnancy and adoption services, crisis intervention, refugee resettlement, food banks and education for justice.

St. Vincent Health, Indiana’s largest health care system, is celebrating 125 years of dedicated health care service to central Indiana residents.

St. Francis Hospital and Health Centers not only provides medical and education services, but also has a collaborative partnership with St. Elizabeth/Coleman Pregnancy and Adoption Services in Indianapolis, a Catholic Charities agency which provides domestic and international adoption, free pregnancy testing, prenatal and neonatal medical care, home-based and community-based outreach services, adoption and parenting counseling.

The general consensus is that we have something to “shout Catholic” about in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

We do not minister to God’s people because they are Catholic. We provide outreach and service because we are Catholic.

What is unfortunate is that in the state of Indiana—where our Catholic schools represent the fifth largest school district, tens of thousands of people receive social services and millions of dollars are freely given in health care—not everyone who benefits from great, Christ-centered education and loving care even considers actually joining the Catholic Church.

We are not in the business of proselytizing, but we are in the business of “making disciples.”

Maintaining brick, mortar and steel is not the mission. Jesus is the mission, the message and the messenger who is asking us to draw people close to him.

That starts with an invitation to explore what it means to be Catholic. Ministry and service open the door. All we have to do is ask, “Would you like to join me at my church this Sunday?”

We have every reason to be proud to be Catholic. We have every reason to have a high opinion of our Church, our parish programs and our outreach ministries. We must not neglect this most vital lifeline to evangelizing new people.

St. Francis said, “If given only a sip of water and a few berries, a bird will sing all day.” Say it and sing it. We have every reason to “Shout Catholic.”

(John Valenti is associate director of evangelization and faith formation for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.) †

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