KEEPING CHRIST’S SACRED PROMISE: a PASTORAL FRAMEWORK FOR INDIGENOUS MINISTRY is meant to help bishops “refocus and invigorate ministry among Indigenous populations in the United States,” said New Ulm’s bishop Chad Zielinski, chair of the USCCB’s subcommittee on Native American Affairs. Bishop Zielinski presented the draft framework on Thursday afternoon, June 13. “It [the document] gives shape to ideas that Catholic Native leadership has been voicing for the past several years in listening sessions sponsored by the subcommittee,” Bishop Zielinski said.
LOUISVILLE, KY. - The U.S. Catholic bishops recently approved a document at their spring meeting June 12-14 that apologizes to Catholic Indigenous communities for a “history of trauma” caused in part by their “abandonment” by the Church and proposes a way forward that takes into account the “unique cultural needs” of these communities.
New Ulm’s bishop, the Most Rev. Chad Zielinski presented the new document to the body of bishops for the vote. Bishop Zielinski serves as the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Subcommittee on Native American Affairs. “The framework encourages bishops, dioceses, and local Catholic Indigenous communities to work together, using the framework as a reference while developing their local pastoral plans that are sensitive to the vast cultural differences among the various Native and Indigenous Tribes,” said Bishop Zielinski. “It covers a broad range of issues and concerns such as missionary discipleship, evangelization, the role of catechesis, sacramental and liturgical questions, youth and young adult ministries, and social justice issues. And it also addresses difficult topics such as reconciliation for any mistreatment and wrongs done during the boarding school period,” he continued.