Catholic Health World

Women religious consider what's ahead for their sponsored works

By JULIE MINDA

ST. LOUIS — The Catholic health care ministry is at a pivotal moment in which vowed religious are transitioning many of their sponsorship responsibilities to lay leaders.

During this time of change, it is important for both outgoing and incoming sponsors to understand the challenges they face and fortify their organizations for what's ahead. That was the prevailing wisdom underscoring a series of presentations at the annual CHA Sponsorship Institute here last month. This year's theme was "Creating a Future: The Evolving Transformation of Sponsorship."

"We're on the cusp of change," said presenter Sr. Patricia Wittberg, SC, a professor of sociology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. "What I'm urging us to do is to see clearly what we're doing and to act intentionally."

She said since they were first formed, religious congregations have been tested during transition periods. They have been challenged by outside forces, such as societal pressures, and internal forces, such as dissention within their own ranks. She said those that have withstood the tests are the ones that had prepared themselves for change.

It's important, Sr. Wittberg said, to understand the current environment to know how to move ahead. For instance, sponsors need to consider how religious life in general is shifting in the U.S.

Lay involvement
A pattern to watch, she said, is that lay ecclesial movements are growing fast. These are church-affiliated groups through which laity devote themselves to a particular ministry. Sr. Wittberg said, "This is where the Holy Spirit speaks — when something happens, and when it happens that broadly, God's trying to tell us something."

While the Holy Spirit may be confirming that lay involvement in sponsorship is needed for this time in history, this shift is a difficult one. "There are some (sponsors) who are afraid to let go, because if you give your system over to the laity, they're going to change it in some ways."

Change can be good, though, Sr. Wittberg said, even though it may be different from what was imagined.

She emphasized that to guide the ministries through the transition, sponsoring congregations must be clear about what their identity is and how it should be carried forth. She said sponsors need to ask questions such as, "What does it mean to be Catholic? How do the changes we're undergoing affect our ability to be Catholic?"

Guiding the ministry through change
She said that by incubating change, the sponsors can help to control it. For instance, she said, sponsors can develop incentives for lay leaders to carry the sponsor mantle, form the laity well for their new roles and share ideas with one another about what works.

During a panel discussion following Sr. Wittberg's presentation, four ministry leaders gave their insights on how well Catholic health care is adapting to changes in sponsorship. The panelists were Robert Fale, president and chief executive of Agnesian HealthCare of Fond du Lac, Wis.; Sr. Louise Hem-brecht, OSF, community director of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity of Manitowoc, Wis.; Sr. Sharon Holland, IHM, a sponsorship consultant who formerly served in the Vatican's Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life; and Dr. Donald Seitz, a member of the Bon Secours Ministries sponsorship group and a CHA trustee.

Sr. Hembrecht said the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity pass on their mission and charism through training programs for executives and trustees.

The women conduct audits to ensure their mission is being spread throughout the organization. "Even though the formal education is on the trustee and leadership levels, the idea is that it permeates to everybody in the institution. So that way, everyone is caught up in the idea of mission and is being formed in that mission," Sr. Hembrecht said.

Seitz is a layman in a sponsor role. He said he believes he and other laity were well formed, not just through extensive formal training established by the sponsoring congregation and health system, but also through informal contact and example. For instance, Seitz said his perspective as a sponsor is influenced by lessons learned from teachers in the Catholic schools he attended.

Ministry leader Fale said he too received both "passive" and "active" formation training. In part, his passive training happened when Catholic sisters helped his family after his mother died when he was a boy. His passive formation continued when, as a health care professional, he worked alongside sisters in the ministry.

Preparing the laity
Sr. Hembrecht said that formation ensures individuals with a passion for the ministry can direct that energy in service to the charism of ministry founders.

Sr. Holland said that when people ask whether the laity is ready to take on responsibility for the ministry, she wonders, "How come they assume that religious were ready to do this?

"People's willingness to make a commitment has a lot to do with their seeing that their role is important and that they're taken seriously. To the extent that (the laity) have ownership and an identity and a sense of being a part of the ministry, I think people are willing then to give the time to make it worthwhile," said Sr. Holland.

Copyright © 2010 by the Catholic Health Association of the United States
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