"I think that's really where you see a lot of the one in three people not attending Sunday Mass … is they just didn't complete that conversion process."
To help fix this, Symbolon is meant, Sri said, to "help a diocese, and help a leadership team, to form all of their parish leaders so they can be effective witnesses to Christ in the Catholic faith."
The on-going training given in parochial and diocesan partnerships, Pollice added, is matter of helping the leaders who are being trained to regard "RCIA as an ongoing conversion of forming life-long disciples. Not just getting people to the Easter Vigil, but the importance of really forming life-long disciples of Christ."
The diocesan training includes sessions several times throughout the year, as well as "webinars" every other week. Symbolon has already partnered with the dioceses of Rapid City, Denver, Colorado Springs, Toledo, and Madison. While sessions for 2013 have already filled, spots remain available for 2014 training partnerships.
The Augustine Institute considers it important to offer parish leaders on-going training and a partnership-relationship with "intentional follow-up" rather than a one-time "drive-by training" that can leave them with no support months after the training session is over.
"We're emphasizing the training, because that's really the most important part," Sri reflected. "We need better formation for all the people involved in RCIA."
"It's more important than any textbook or any handout, or any video someone may show: the most important instrument God will use to carry out the new evangelization in a parish is the local leaders, the local catechists, the local clergy."
Sri continued, "they need to be formed catechetically so they're passing on the correct form of the faith. They also need to be formed pastorally: they need the pastoral skills to know how to meet people where they're at, and how to communicate the faith in a compelling, captivating way."
"But they also need to be formed spiritually, so they can be really effective witnesses to the Gospel."
He added that "if leaders are formed well on those levels, spiritually, pastorally, catechetically, then you've got all the ingredients for a dynamic new evangelization parish to grow."
Parochial partnerships with Symbolon are available for those parishes that want to enter into a "whole parish partnership" with the Augustine Institute "over a long period of time to provide training and resources for adult faith formation and RCIA," Pollice said.
(Story continues below)
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
Carl Bunderson is the former managing editor of Catholic News Agency.