Andrew Huck
Published: December 3, 2008

DUBUQUE — The face of the Catholic Church throughout the world is changing. The decline in the number of priests is requiring members of the parish communities to play a larger role in faith formation.

A few weeks ago I took a look at the status of vocations to the priesthood in the Archdiocese of Dubuque. This week I took a look some of the challenges facing the parish communities and how the faithful are being called on to respond in the second part of my series Angles of the Archdiocese.

Monsignor James Barta Serves as the Vicar General for the Archdiocese of Dubuque. He has experienced the changes in the role of Catholics at mass.

“Fifty years ago it was a little bit more Jesus and me. I went to mass because it was good for me. Well now you go to mass because this is the community worshiping God together,” says Monsignor Barta.

The church is actively promoting adult faith formation and involvement in the parish but there are challenges still remain.

“It’s a challenge to get people to participate you want them to, you don’t want them to make the mistake of saying this is all I need to do,” explains Monsignor Barta.

The shortage of priests has opened up opportunities for the laity to become more active participants in their parish.

“To rely on the laity more not as an emergency measure but rather recognizing that this is what the laity always should have done,” adds Monsignor Barta.

Vocation Director Father David Schatz explains the importance of sharing your time and talents in service to the church.

“That’s the richness of life is when you find the needs of the church, the needs of the world, and your gifts fit,” says Father Schatz.

Parish involvement ranges from assisting at mass as a liturgical minister to serving on parish councils. Opportunities for faith formation exist all throughout the Archdiocese of Dubuque to find out more information contact your parish.

Andrew Huck can be contacted at Andrew.Huck@lctv13.com