Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It has been a most wonderful week around here. The Mission was challenging and inspiring. The first-ever Catholic Women's Conference was very successful. And between the last Lenten fish fry on Friday night, the "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" on Saturday night, and the Catechists' Brunch today, I'm sure that we're all going to feel like we've eaten more meals here at church than we have at home. It has been a very blessed week. I thank everyone who has worked so hard on all of these events. Plus, our new Parish pictorial directories are here! And they are awesome! Ron and Cheryl Chamberlain and their entire committee have done an outstanding job once again.

Hey, this week I need to write a little bit about a change that has gone into effect in the last couple of weeks. Two weeks ago, at a meeting of all of the priests of the Carmel Deanery, of which St. Maria Goretti is a part, an important new decision was made concerning the Sacraments, specifically the Sacrament of Confirmation. The new policy, which was agreed to by all of the nine parishes of the Deanery, is that students who are candidates for Confirmation are required to participate in the Sacramental preparation at the parish in which their parents are registered. I would say that this is not really new, but rather is now going to be strictly enforced in the nine parishes of the Carmel Deanery. As with other Sacraments, this has become a question of jurisdiction. Jurisdiction has become increasingly more important to the Catholic Church as we try to get everybody connected and a part of one of the parishes. Today, it is extremely difficult to be "floater" Catholic, just moving about from parish to parish, and not being registered. Today, living your faith this way can get you into a lot of difficulties with everything from having your baby baptized to being a sponsor or a Godparent. Every Catholic should be registered at one of the parishes. And while boundaries are not enforced today, at least in our area, the jurisdiction of registration must be enforced to avoid chaos and to be fair to all.

In our area, Confirmation has borne the brunt of this, because there are two parishes in the Deanery that currently have two very different Confirmation programs. Seven of the Deanery parishes have Confirmation programs that are very similar to ours. They have extended preparation (ours is two years), service hours, a major retreat, and on-going formation for the Sacrament that is incorporated into each parish's youth ministry program. I am personally extremely proud of our Confirmation preparation program. It is a lot more work for everybody. It asks a lot of a lot of people. But the end results are outstanding. Our young people realize very well what they are doing when they get Confirmed. And they come out of the formation more committed to their faith than ever before. The two parishes that have substantially different approaches require only six weeks of formation to get Confirmed. While this might work well for their parish communities and their expectations of their young people, it is not enough for us. I'm not telling them what to do with their programs. All I am saying is that we want a lot more for our young people. This discrepancy within our Deanery is not anything new. It can be seen in Dioceses all over this country.

The change is that now, if you are registered at one Parish, and you take your son or daughter to another Parish for Confirmation without a letter giving delegation from the pastor of your parish, it is going to be assumed that you are joining that parish, and you will be dropped from the parish where you were originally registered. Make no mistake about it. Parents who are doing end-runs around their Parish's formation processes just to get a "easier way" are being targeted here. This has massive ramifications for families in parishes that have schools and waiting lists. I urge you to take this seriously because now I assure you all of the parishes of the Carmel Deanery will be, including this one.

Perhaps this is a good time to remind every one that the parish of registration is the one that has jurisdiction and responsibility for the Sacraments. You cannot be double-registered in two parishes either. The normal place where all of the Sacraments should be given is in the single parish of registration. Other than the on-going reception of Communion and Reconciliation, all of the other Sacraments should be prepared for and received in the parish where you are registered. Many times there are good and weighty reasons why exceptions to this need to be made, and in those cases you should request a letter from the pastor of the parish to give delegation to the other parish to prepare or perform a Sacrament. I will be more than happy to write such letters for you as long as the need merits it. However, finding an easier Confirmation program for your son or daughter is not going to be a reason why I write a letter for anyone. If this is truly what you want for your son or daughter, then not only does jurisdiction demand it, but perhaps St. Maria Goretti really isn't the best parish family for you.

We ought to want more as a Church, shouldn't we? We should expect more. Have a great week. Please pray for this priest and all priests. You guys are the best!

In Christ,
Fr. Kevin

It is easier to preach ten sermons than it is to live one.