News

DIOCESAN PASTORAL COUNCIL MEETING

5 April 2025    

Present:

Bishop W. Shawn McKnight, President         

Very Rev. Brad T. Berhorst, Judicial Vicar – ex-officio

Jacob Luecke, Director of Communications – ex-officio       

Helen Osman, Consultant for Communications

Colleen Abbott, Chair – term of office expires: fall meeting 2025

Southwest Deanery – 1^st term expires: 27 February 2026

Sarah Robinson, Vice-Chair – term of office expires: fall meeting 2025

Central Deanery – additional term expires: 30 June 2027

Cristhia Castro, Deacon and Hispanic Communities – 1^st term expires: 30 June 2027

Ruth Hughes, North Deanery – 1^st term expires: 30 June 2027

Sr. Ruth Ann Klauser, SSND – 1^st term expires: 30 April 2027

Kent Korthas, Southwest Deanery – 2^nd term expires: 30 June 2027

Russell Kremer, Southeast Deanery – additional term expires: 30 June 2025

Sheri Stormer, Southeast Deanery – additional term expires: 30 June 2025

Jonathan Pund, See City Deanery – 1^st term expires: 26 April 2027

Kelly Wheeler, Central Deanery – 2^nd term expires: 30 June 2027

Bernadette Adams, Recording Secretary 

Absent:

Rev. Msgr. Robert A. Kurwicki, Vicar General – ex-officio

Benjamin Roodhouse, Chancellor – ex-officio

Very Rev. Christopher L. Cordes, Vicar for Priests – 1^st term expires: 16 January 2027

Deacon Enrique Castro, Deacon and Hispanic Communities – 1^st term expires: 30 June 2027

Kevin DeHaan, North Deanery – 1^st term expires: 15 January 2027

Justin Franka, Newman Center – 1^st term expires: 3 May 2026

Elizabeth James, See City Deanery – 1^st term expires: 30 June 2027

Barbara Prasad, Dir. of Women’s Ministry – 1^st term expires: 22 November 2025

Guests:

Very Rev. Daniel J. Merz, Chair of Liturgical Commission

1. Opening Prayer:
2. Most Rev. W. Shawn McKnight opened the meeting with prayer.

1. Welcome:                                
2. Colleen Abbott welcomed and thanked the members for their presence. 

1. Minutes Published:
2. The meeting minutes of 16 November 2024, having not yet been published.

1. Chrism Mass: 
2. Reminder that the Chrism Mass will be held 15 April 2025, 3 p.m.; RSVP’s are requested for the Mass and reception.
3. Representatives will carry the deanery banners in the procession and recession. The banner stands will be in the baptistry and those carrying the banners are asked to gather at the back of the church by 2.45 p.m. 

• Consultation – Use of Liturgical Music:
  • Discussions:
• Bishop McKnight shared his remarks of the listening sessions report and the initial CARA report; a more complete CARA report will be provided at a later date. 
• The draft decree identifies certain modifications from last October/November that are a result of the consultation process:
  • It is the obligation of the diocese to provide proper formation. 
  • The music of credibly accused composers will be prohibited at diocesan events, but each parish will discern their own policy. 
  • Mass Settings and Hymnals:
    • One of the four Mass settings is no longer printed in the OCP hymnals. We need to think of how best to provide or present the needed resources to parishes. The diocese may need to explore obtaining the rights to help supplement the Mass settings that parishes are missing from their hymnals. 
    • The consultation process has made the bishop realize how important music is to the liturgy and the importance of allocating real resources to promote participation.
    • Rev. Daniel Merz clarified that the traditional Latin Chant Mass setting originally put forth is based on the Latin music, but is the English chant; he recommended clarifying the wording in the draft documents. 
    • Bishop McKnight clarified that the bilingual Mass setting is for all parishioners to become familiar with and is not only to be sung at Spanish Masses.   
  • Decree and Instructions:
  • Bishop McKnight stated the reason for both a decree and instruction is because the decree is the law and the instruction is an official guidance that directs how it is to be fulfilled. 
• Deficiencies of Certain Hymns:
  • The criteria provided are to help direct an appropriate selection of music for parish Masses; there will not be a list of appropriate (or banned) songs provided by the diocese. 
  • Formation and education for the priests is planned for the Priests’ Institute regarding policy making and using the criteria for song selection. 
• Formation of the Laity:
  • The diocese is committed to providing significant resources for music minister formation including:
    • Hosting a national speaker for a diocesan conference and/or regional workshops. 
    • Building up our local chapter of the National Pastoral Musicians. 
    • Eventually creating a more robust catechetical formation program to include a music minister track. 
  • A recommendation was made to include our Catholic school music teachers in all formation opportunities. 
  • The requirement of a strong background in sacred music should shape the position of Director of Pastoral Liturgy that the diocese is looking to hire. 

• Decisions or Actions:
• To provide stability for the parishes regarding the availability of the Mass settings, Bishop McKnight recommended that the diocese try to obtain a three-year permission for diocesan-wide use.
• Bishop McKnight will edit the decree and the instructions to state that the list of the common Mass settings will be reviewed by the Diocesan Liturgical Commission every three years for possible revisions and a recommendation be made to the Diocesan Bishop. 
• The language in the draft documents will be changed to accurately reflect the required traditional Mass setting as: Roman Missal Chants (Latin, English, or Spanish).
• Regarding the obligation to have a policy at the parish level, Bishop McKnight stated that pastors with multiple parishes should have a synodal consultation process that involves all of their parishes and can result in one policy, or are encouraged to have one policy.
• The next Diocesan Pastoral Council meeting on May 17^th [2025] will be used to discuss what music formation will be done over the next year. 
• Bishop McKnight asked the council if they recommended the draft decree and instruction for approval by the bishop.
  • The council unanimously recommended both documents for Bishop McKnight’s approval. 

• Concluding prayer:                                                                      
• Bishop McKnight closed the meeting with prayer.

Respectfully Submitted, 

Bernadette Adams, 

Recording Secretary

Future Meeting Dates:

17 May 2025

2 August 2025

15 November 2025

Minutes approved:  12 May 2025.