Bishop notes fourth anniversary, reflecting on the past and present but always looking ahead.
By Dc. Tom Cuskey
Editor
“Happy anniversary, Bishop!”
On Tuesday, Aug. 8, Bishop Douglas J. Lucia marked four years of service to the people of God in the Diocese of Syracuse as their spiritual shepherd. As he shares, “It is hard to believe that I am starting my fifth year!”
A brief review
Bishop was a parish pastor in his home Diocese of Ogdensburg when he got the call in June 2019 that he would head south to Syracuse to become the 11th bishop of the seven-county diocese. He served his former diocese at a number of parishes before becoming a pastor at two, St. Mary’s in Waddington and St. John the Baptist in Madrid. During his years of priestly service he took on additional roles as Director of Vocations and completed study as a canon lawyer, serving as adjutant judicial vicar and vice chancellor. He would lead the Office of Worship, serve as Director of Seminarians and eventually be named Chancellor and Episcopal Vicar. Still, with such a background of leadership and pastoral focus, the call from the papal nuncio came as a surprise. “I was just totally shocked,” he told the Sun then.
The celebration of this anniversary was somewhat subdued as the timing followed the recent announcement of a settlement, via the Chapter 11 reorganization process, totaling $100 million for the survivors of sexual abuse. The diocese, parishes and diocesan entities all participate in funding the settlement. The process of finalizing the agreement with the bankruptcy court system is among the next steps. Bishop Lucia and a team of diocesan leadership, along with legal representation, have worked more than three years to reach this point and bring some relief to the plaintiffs.
“As a Catholic family, it is our moral obligation to provide reparation and share a role in bringing healing and reconciliation to the survivors,” Bishop said in a video address announcing the settlement. He concluded by saying that “this is a significant step forward in reaching a global settlement and emerging with a plan for reorganization.”
Keep moving forward
Prior to announcing the settlement, Bishop Lucia spoke with The Catholic Sun about his four years of episcopal service to the people of the Diocese. His outlook continues on the same path he outlined for the Sun last year with the one-word summation of his hopes and plans: “Forward!”
“I think, again, we’re moving,” Bishop said, “between pastoral planning and then wanting to get ready for our own diocesan synod. I think things are starting to gel with me a little bit.”
The previous four years have had more than their share of challenging moments. In addition to the major effort put into the legal mediation process, adding to the overall responsibility of leading the Diocese on a daily basis, Bishop Lucia faced something no one was adequately prepared for: the coronavirus pandemic.
“From those very major items, I think now I feel I’m starting to be able to focus also on the pastoral,” he shared. “And then it’s almost like what I wrote about in the last edition of The Catholic Sun: patience, that I have to do that patiently.”
Bishop shares that, in the face of declining numbers of clergy, he is very proud of ongoing vocation efforts and of the pastoral life coordinators and others in parish leadership who assist the priests.
“It’s so interesting for me because I see those roles as an integral part of what is happening at St. Margaret’s,” Bishop pointed out. In addition to his role as bishop, he is also pastor of the Mattydale parish, taking that on more than a year ago. “To me, it’s a team effort for us. It’s not just me being pastor there, but it’s me working with the DRE (director of religious education), it’s me working with our musicians, it’s me working with the deacon and the parish staff. I don’t always have to be there for everything, but it’s the idea of being able to work together.”
That is a model that the Bishop wants all parishes to embrace, a pastoral structure that doesn’t require priests to “feel like they’re stretched too thin,” he added.
Alive in the Eucharist
The Eucharistic Revival that kicked off last year as a diocesan-focused effort has now shifted emphasis to the parish level, and the Bishop is excited about the prospects for growth in faith.
“I really do want to focus more on catechesis and formation regarding better understanding of the liturgy,” he said. “Again, to me, the catechesis is meant to help us have a better appreciation of the Eucharist.” This Oct. 20-22, a statewide Eucharistic Congress will convene at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Martyrs in Auriesville. As a young priest, the Bishop made retreats there; he hopes the faithful from our diocese will try to take part.
“It’s very hallowed ground,” he observed, adding that the “event can just maybe stir the flame a bit, that the gift of the Eucharist can get us excited again.” The Bishop is hopeful parishes will continue to promote adult catechesis and engage more often in Eucharistic adoration during this year of the revival.
Preparing for the synod
Yet another major event that has marked the Bishop’s first four years is preparation for the diocesan synod, a part of the universal synod — “For a Synodal Church.” The first general session takes place in October at the Vatican and our diocesan synod is scheduled to convene in 2024. The Bishop attended all 42 of the listening sessions held throughout the diocese to prepare for both events.
“I’ve shared with the administration team that in the coming year I’m looking to take the questions from the (Vatican) synod, and begin to use them as a means of focusing on our own synod,” the Bishop stated, adding that the universal themes should direct local conversation and inspiration. “I’m looking at ours coinciding with our 140th (diocesan) anniversary, which is 2026. This will hopefully help with the groundwork.”
Turning another page
With the process of the settlement and resolving Chapter 11 status underway, the Bishop looks back on some very simple aspects of his time in Syracuse that have brought him joy.
“I’m happy that people feel they can approach me,” he shared. “I think one of the things people say is that ‘you’re just like a priest,’ and I hope, well, that’s what I am. I’m just really a pastor at heart.”
Looking forward, the Bishop will continue his visitations with a goal of spending time in every parish and school in the Diocese. He is also working with the Office of Catechesis on a curriculum revision to help get more young people and families reengaged with their faith. It’s also part of an ongoing focus on collaboration among diocesan offices to better serve the people of the diocese. He added that the process of coming together is very similar to spending time in the kitchen.
“What do I have that I can make a meal from? And you take the ingredients you have. To me, we take what we have. And my first thing is prayer. … For me, first and foremost, we have to root everything in prayer.”
