January 22, 2010

2009 Accountability Report

To the People of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis

Dear Friends in Christ:

As we begin 2010, I pray that your new year will be filled with every grace, blessing and happiness!

Last year brought its share of challenges as economic uncertainties, the continued threat of terrorism on our country’s soil and the on-going war weighed heavily on many people’s minds, but trying times can lead us to an even deeper faith. Although difficult circumstances can cause distraction and anxiety, we need to remain faithful in prayer and confident that God will never abandon us.

I hope this annual archdiocesan accountability report will be a reminder that we have much to be grateful for in our archdiocese. In this report you will find an accounting of our stewardship of the human, physical and financial resources for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis for the 2009 fiscal year. We’ll also take a brief look at the year ahead.

Archdiocese’s 175th Anniversary

On May 3, 2009, nearly 25,000 people gathered at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for our Jubilee Mass in celebration of the 175th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. This was a beautiful and impressive experience for our local Church and an opportunity for us to invite others to learn about the Catholic faith and to follow Jesus Christ.

It was awe-inspiring to witness 2,800 young people and adults receiving the sacrament of confirmation. We also recognized about 200 couples for 50 or more years of married life and children who had recently received their first Communion. Religious jubilarians in the archdiocese also were honored for their many decades of faithful ministry and consecrated life. The presence of Cardinal Francis E. George, Archbishop of Chicago, and several of my brother bishops, priests and archabbots made the event all the more special.

Looking back on the founding of our archdiocese, which was originally established as the Diocese of Vincennes on May 6, 1834, was a great opportunity for us all to thank God for the many blessings he has bestowed upon the Church in central and southern Indiana. It is truly amazing to see how far we have journeyed since the days of our first bishop, the Servant of God Simon Bruté. Let us pray that the next chapter in our archdiocese’s history will be as blessed and fruitful as the 175 years we just celebrated.

Vocations

We ordained five men to the priesthood in 2009—our largest ordination class since 2002 when we also ordained five men.

We continue to do well in encouraging our people to consider how God might be calling them to a life of service as a priest, deacon or religious. We currently have 13 seminarians at St. Meinrad School of Theology in St. Meinrad and 15 seminarians enrolled at Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary in Indianapolis.

Our Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary, which was established by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis in 2004 to prepare college seminarians for major seminary, has been a great success. In addition to our own seminarians for our archdiocese, four other dioceses are now sending seminarians there as well. We have been renovating the seminary to accommodate the growing enrollment and likely will have to expand the building as the number of seminarians continues to increase.

In addition to our seminarians, a second group of men who are studying to become permanent deacons are continuing their formation classes. We expect to ordain these 17 men in June of 2012. As permanent deacons, these men will be able to baptize, witness marriages and preside at funerals. At Mass, they will be able to proclaim the Gospel and preach, but will not serve as celebrant or consecrate the Eucharist. In the ministry of the Word, the deacons will teach the faith and provide pastoral guidance. The deacons’ primary ministry, however, will be focused on charity.

Pray that God will bless our archdiocese with more vocations and pray for all men and women who are discerning a call to the priesthood, permanent diaconate and religious life. More information about vocations can be found on the archdiocesan web site at www.archindy.org.

Catholic Charities

On Oct. 1, 2009, the archdiocese kicked off a yearlong ministry of social renewal called SHINE, which stands for Spreading Hope in Neighborhoods Everywhere. More than 600 participants from parishes, schools, agencies and institutions throughout the archdiocese attended the event to learn more about how they can help expand the social ministry of the Church to respond to the needs of the suffering through the ministry of charity.

More information about SHINE can be found under Catholic Charities on the archdiocesan web site at www.archindy.org.

One way the archdiocese carries out the Church’s social ministry is by caring for homeless families. After six years of planning and fundraising, the archdiocese opened the new Holy Family Shelter next to Holy Trinity Church in Indianapolis on Nov. 19, 2009.

The demand for services had outgrown the old shelter near Sacred Heart of Jesus Church. The new 30,000-square-foot facility, which is operated by Catholic Charities, has 23 bedrooms, a medical examination room, a case management office, an employment and housing classroom and many other rooms and resources for the families.

Over the past 25 years, since the original shelter opened, Holy Family Shelter has housed and cared for more than 9,000 families.

New education initiative

On Dec. 9, 2009 the archdiocese applied to the Mayor’s Office in Indianapolis to create two public charter schools in the center city in Indianapolis, which we hope to open with the start of the

2010-11 school year. We are awaiting approval of our application from the city. If the application is approved the Archdiocese of Indianapolis would become the first Catholic diocese in the country to oversee the operation of charter schools.

The creation of these two charter schools would cause us to change the status of two of our six Mother Theodore Catholic Academies—a consortium of schools dedicated to educating children in economically challenged, urban areas of Indianapolis. Under the plan, St. Anthony Catholic School and St. Andrew & St. Rita Catholic Academy, would become charter schools. The cost of operating our center-city schools is about $3.8 million a year above our current funding sources.

The decision to pursue this course was made after consulting with parents, educators, clergy, parish leaders and community leaders. It was a difficult decision to make because as public charter schools religion must be removed from the curriculum. Religious education, however, can be offered before or after school.

We believe this charter school option gives us the best opportunity to continue to serve poor children in the center city and to help them break the cycle of poverty. For more information about how we arrived at this decision please read my “Seeking The Face of The Lord” column on page five of this issue of The Criterion.

Archdiocesan priest named bishop

It was a great blessing for our archdiocese when one of our own priests, Father Paul D. Etienne, was appointed bishop of Cheyenne, Wyo., by Pope Benedict XVI on Oct. 19, 2009. His Episcopal ordination took place in Cheyenne on Dec. 9, 2009.

Conclusion

In addition to some of the highlights I have covered from the past year, this report also includes a letter from the archdiocese’s Chief Financial Officer, Jeffrey D. Stumpf, which gives more detailed information about our financial operating results as well as information about our annual stewardship appeal and other stewardship efforts. You will also find a financial statement inside and other charts that highlight the archdiocese’s financial position.

We have much to be thankful for and let us pray that God will give us the wisdom to continue to be good stewards of all of our resources in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Let us wisely use our ministry resources to serve those most in need and may we all continue to work for the common good of the archdiocese and our society.

Thank you for your support and God bless you!

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Rev. Daniel M. Buechlein, O.S.B.
Archbishop of Indianapolis

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