Columbus, Ohio, Mar 1, 2021 / 20:01 pm
The Diocese of Columbus announced Monday a strategic planning initiative meant to discern the future of the local Church, encouraging evangelization and missionary discipleship.
"This really is our plan – all of us together," Bishop Robert Brennan of Columbus said March 1. "Our goal is to identify the needs of our Diocese for the 21st Century and how we meet those needs, and to expand Catholic presence to all our people, which is going to take some creativity. That's at the heart of it. We want to make the presence of the Lord, the experience of the Sacraments, the encounter with Christ – we want to make that more available to people."
The initiative, "Real Presence, Real Future", was announced to parishes and schools in the diocese Feb. 27-28, and to priests Dec. 1, 2020.
The diocese said that "this initiative aims to reimagine how the Church serves her people through a process of listening to their needs, ideas, concerns, and desires. This planning and consultation phase will be held throughout 2021 and the findings will be implemented over the next few years. The full scope of the 'Real Presence, Real Future' initiative will prepare the Diocese to increase its Catholic presence over the next 10 to 20 years."