As we begin the Christmas Novena that ushers in our celebration of the Nativity of Lord and then begin counting the days until the New Year begins, we look back to a year of surprises in our Church. On February 28, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI resigned. On March 19, the Jesuit Jorge Cardinal Bergoglio, who chose the name Pope Francis was installed. From his first public moment on the balcony,…
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Pope Francis Defines a New Phase of Evangelization
In his recently published Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (Joy of the Gospel), Pope Francis reflects on the work of the XIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which took place October 7-28, 2012, and expresses his own “concerns about this particular chapter of the Church’s work of evangelization.” (#16)
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Pastors Discuss the New Evangelization and Web Presence
Last week I had the pleasure of facilitating a focus group set up by my pastor with five other pastors from the Diocese of Cleveland. They are committed to the New Evangelization and want to see how their parish web presence can support that mission. Each of the pastors had completed a survey that I had sent ahead of time. They represented suburban parishes of 1800 to more than 3000…
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Ten Quality Control Questions for Parish Facebook Pages
Last week I received a phone call from a parish council member wondering about “quality control” of their parish Facebook page. The pastor had given the go ahead to set-up a Facebook page, but he does not have the time to review or approve content before it is uploaded. The small group working on this feels that they have a “handle” on what is appropriate, but are wondering if they…