Representatives of Renew International’s Why Catholic?/¿Por Qué Ser Católico? spent the first week of December in South Florida, imparting information about the program, in English and Spanish, to more than 600 pastors, deacons, religious and lay parish staff.

The goal: to get as many parishes as possible signed up for the four-year series of study sessions aimed at helping individual Catholics deepen their knowledge of the faith and increase their involvement in the Church. Why Catholic? aims to do that by creating small communities of prayer and study within parishes — communities that will continually grow new leaders and attract new members. 

“We want to grow the leadership bank in every parish so that they’re not always the same people,” said Sister Marie Cooper, of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny, who serves as program director and project leader for Why Catholic? 

“You’re going to discover talent in your church you didn’t know existed,” she told parish representatives gathered at the Pastoral Center Dec. 4 for one of seven informational sessions that were held Dec. 2-5 throughout the archdiocese.

“Small Christian communities are at the heart of what we do,” said Greg Kremer, director of diocesan program sales for Renew International. The goal of the 35-year-old ministry is to foster spiritual renewal in Catholic communities. Renew International is now active in 24 countries and has worked with 85 percent of U.S. dioceses. 

Kremer cited a study from CARA (Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate) showing that 93 percent of Catholics who are involved in small groups — also known as ecclesial base communities — say they experience God’s presence more in their lives. Another 87 percent said they value the Church more; 91 percent feel a stronger sense of belonging to the parish; 75 percent said they go to Mass more often; 76 percent are more active in their parish; and 80 percent said they are “more aware” when they attend Mass.
Small communities help people slow down and “pay attention,” Kremer said. “God is always present. Participation in small communities makes them more aware” of that presence.

“The small community creates a sense of family,” said Father Alejandro López-Cardinale, a priest of the Archdiocese of Caracas, Venezuela, who is coordinator of Hispanic programs for Renew International.

He led the informational sessions in Spanish, and will return with Sister Cooper Feb. 10-15 to begin training the parish teams. These team members will be the initial leaders of the Why Catholic?/Por Qué Ser Católico? small groups that will begin meeting in the fall of 2014.

The groups, consisting of between 8 and 12 people, will meet in private homes 12 times a year for four years: six weeks in the fall and six weeks during Lent. Each meeting takes 90 minutes, and each year participants focus on a different “pillar” of Catholicism: prayer; beliefs (the Creed); celebration (sacraments); and life (personal and social morality). The lessons come from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Scripture.

Father López-Cardinale said the goal of those lessons is to help Catholics “articulate the language of faith and be able to express their experience of faith… What we want is for Christian Catholics to be adults in the faith.”

Membership in the small groups will not be static. Participants will be encouraged to ask friends and neighbors to join in, especially those who are not already active in or connected to the church. As membership expands, new groups will be formed, and those who have been members longer will take on additional leadership roles.

“We’re creating a whole new team of leadership people who are going to have leadership skills to serve in other areas of your parish,” Sister Cooper said. “It’s an opportunity for the parish to have lay people trained who might not be in ministry yet, but have the potential for it.”

Why Catholic?/¿Por Qué Ser Católico? will cost each parish $2,400 a year, which includes frequent training visits and ongoing support by Father López-Cardinale and Sister Cooper. The materials kit for each parish costs $299 and is available in English and Spanish. The leaders’ handbooks and individual faith-sharing books — one for each year — are $14.95 each and also are available in Creole, Portuguese, Vietnamese and Chinese, as well as an edition for the visually challenged.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski is so committed to Why Catholic?/¿Por Qué Ser Católico? that the archdiocese will pay for each parish kit and help financially challenged parishes offset the $2,400 annual cost.
“He’s experienced it before in previous dioceses. He knows what it can do,” said Kremer. “It’s just such a good fit with what the Synod called for.”

“We’re riding on the wave of the enthusiasm that came out of the Synod, and that’s a very good thing,” Sister Cooper said. “I truly believe Why Catholic? can bring something wonderful to every parish in this diocese.”