Communicating Catholicism by Maier Craig T.;

Author:Maier, Craig T.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
Published: 2012-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Part II

The Response of Ecclesial Leadership

In the first part of this book, I sought to create a foundation for the study of ecclesial leadership as a rhetorical phenomenon. I began by situating American Catholic dioceses within a multifaceted rhetorical situation that requires them to expand their conceptual repertoire. Within this context, diocesan institutional rhetoric emerges as the communicative confluence of three discursive streams: evangelization, through which a diocese challenges people to live a life of faith in an increasingly secular society; cooperation, through which a diocese builds relationships among organizations and institutions inside and outside of the Church; and decision-making, through which a diocese creates appropriate forums to gather information and make choices that enable the life of the Church to continue. But even if it understands its rhetorical situation, and even if it succeeds in evangelizing persons, building relationships, and making wise choices, a diocese can never forget the fundamental responsibilities of the theological stewardship of the Catholic faith and the pastoral care of persons. Without these responsibilities, without these roots, diocesan institutional rhetoric loses its distinctive character and human face.

“Part II: The Response of Ecclesial Leadership” begins to respond to the challenges and opportunities present in the moment of postmodernity. Michael J. Hyde (2006) has observed that the call of the moment—the “Where art thou?” that brings communicative life into being—is always incomplete without a rhetorical response, in which persons are invited to meet those challenges and opportunities with a “Here I am!” Such a response, however, requires both discernment and courage. Though I recognize that dioceses do face important challenges, I will strive in this section to recognize postmodernity not as a time of despair but as a time of potential, potential that Richard John Neuhaus (1987) has described through the metaphor of the Catholic Moment. In chapter 4, “The Historicity of a Catholic Moment,” I use Neuhaus’s work to understand the potential for ecclesial leadership that exists in contemporary American society. Then, in chapter 5, “Diocesan Institutional Rhetoric and Administrative Play,” I describe an administrative style through which dioceses can respond to the emergence of Catholic Moments, and in chapter 6, “The Joy of Ecclesial Leadership,” I invite dioceses to engage postmodernity as a time of pastoral richness—and even joy.

Chapter 4

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.