The San Antonio
National Meeting

October, 2003

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215 delegates from 105 dioceses gathered in San Antonio, Texas, October 7-11, 2003, for the annual National Meeting of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions.

The meeting, jointly sponsored by the Federation of Liturgical Commissions (FDLC) and the Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy (BCL), reflected on the successes and challenges experienced in the 40 years since the promulgation of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, the first document of the Second Vatican Council.

The Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Francis Cardinal Arinze was the principal celebrant at the opening Eucharistic celebration, with Francis Cardinal George, chairman of the Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy, and Most Reverend Patrick Flores, Archbishop of San Antonio, among the concelebrants.

As the meeting’s opening speaker, Cardinal Arinze laid down the framework for several days of dialogue, exploring the vision and implementation of the liturgy constitution over the past 40 years and outlining the work still to be done. Sr. Joyce Ann Zimmermann, CPPS, S.T.D, Dr. Richard Gaillardetz, and Monsignor Kevin Irwin, S.T.D., shed light on different facets of the liturgical life of the Church these past four decades and shared a vision of the Church renewed through a fuller understanding and more profound living out of the theology of the Constitution on the Liturgy.

In the course of the meeting the Federation presented its annual Frederick R. McManus Award for pastoral liturgy to the Most Reverend Donald W. Trautman, S.T.D., S.S.L., Bishop of Erie, former chairman of the Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy and current chairman of the Committee on Doctrine. Bishop Trautman was honored for his fearless and untiring advocacy of the council’s vision of the liturgy as source and summit of the Church’s life, full participation in which is the right and duty of all the baptized. [Trautman's acceptance speech]

During the meeting the diocesan delegates adopted all three of the position statements that had been formulated during FDLC regional meetings earlier this year.

A regular feature of the FDLC meeting is a dialogue between FDLC members and those involved in liturgical formation in seminaries. This year’s dialogue centered upon the data from a survey, carried out by the FDLC in collaboration with NOCERCC, the National Organization for Continuing Education of Roman Catholic Clergy. Diocesan bishops, diocesan worship offices, and priests ordained within the past ten years responded to questions on the strengths and weaknesses of the liturgical formation of seminarians.

As a service to parish ministers from the local area, special interest sessions were offered by delegates of the FDLC on a wide range of liturgical topics on Saturday October 11.

Position Statements Approved              in San Antonio

The following position statements were developed at Spring FDLC regional meetings and submitted to the members gathered at the national meeting for approval. To pass, a statement requires a quorum of 2/3 Yes/No votes.

Position Statement 2003 A: Timely Production of Liturgical Resources

Vote: (133 Ballots) 77 Yes, 37 No, with 19 Abstentions

Preamble
Whereas, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (22, 41) affirms the diocesan bishop as the chief liturgist of his diocese;

Whereas, Liturgiam authenticam, admonishes each bishop to commit himself to "a direct, solemn, and personal responsibility" in liturgical matters (70; see also 3, 10, 18, 21, 36, 72, 87, 97,106);

Whereas, the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 2002 (22) reinforces the role of the diocesan bishop as "the chief steward of the mysteries of God in the particular Church entrusted to his care and is the moderator, promoter, and guardian of the whole of its liturgical life;

Whereas, that same document (Chapter IX) identifies the role of the diocesan bishop and the conference of bishops in establishing norms for liturgical practice in their dioceses and conferences in union with the Apostolic See;

Whereas, periti were particularly vital in advising bishops in the composition and promulgation of the documents of the Second Vatican Council;

Whereas, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (45) calls for each diocesan bishop to establish a commission to advise him on art, architecture, music and liturgical praxis (see also GIRM 2002, 291);

Whereas, the diocesan bishop may establish an Office of Worship to assist him in his role as one who promotes and regulate liturgy in his diocese;

Whereas, the aim and object of all liturgical reform is the full, conscious, and active participation of the faithful (SC #14);

Whereas, the BCL established the FDLC to "assist and engage in the promotion of the liturgical apostolate in the dioceses of the United States of America" (FDLC By‑Laws 2.1);

Whereas, "as a pastoral and professional organization, the FDLC serves as an official collaborating agent between the local churches and the Bishop's Committee on the Liturgy (ibid., 2.2);

Statement
It is the position of the delegates to the 2003 National Meeting of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions that the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the FDLC collaborate with other pastoral, professional, and scholarly bodies, (e.g., the Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy, the USCCB Secretariat for the Liturgy, the Instituto Nacional Hispano de Liturgia, the Notre Dame Center for Pastoral Liturgy, the Georgetown Center, the Pastoral Life Center, the Society for Catholic Liturgy, and the Catholic Academy of Liturgy) so that they might produce and or identify resources, in a timely fashion, which provide pastoral advice, scholarly analyses, and historical research. This information/advice will be shared with diocesan offices of worship and diocesan liturgical commissions so that they might, in turn, assist their bishops particularly as the bishops prepare to address the liturgical agenda items often presented at the June and November meetings of the USCCB.

Position Statement 2003 B:   FDLC List-Serve for Advice and Sharing

Vote: (133 Ballots)123 Yes, 8 No, with 2 Abstentions

Preamble
Whereas the stated work of the FDLC includes “to establish and support a network of diocesan liturgy personnel” (Bylaws, Article 2.3.2);

Whereas PS 2000A called for development of the interactive capabilities of the FDLC website;

Whereas list-serve technologies on the Internet provides a valuable tool in this regard;

Statement
It is the position of the delegates to the 2003 National Meeting of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions that the Board of Directors of the FDLC instructs the National Office to provide and manage a list-serve in order to facilitate advice and the sharing of resources on diocesan issues. Those included in the FDLC directory would be invited to be a part of the list. Membership would be updated annually.

Position Statement 2003 C:   Development of an Internet Catechetical Project on the Liturgy

Vote: (133 ballots) 98 Yes, 21 No, with 14 Abstentions

Whereas December 2003 will be the 40th anniversary of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy;

Whereas catechesis of all the faithful on the liturgy is a specific mandate of the Constitution (cf. CSL, 35);

Whereas catechesis encompasses multiple and various disciplines, e.g. music the arts, the written word, etc. (CF GCD, 119-124; NCD, 249-266; CT 51; GDC 71 and 202-214);

Whereas the delegates to the 2002 National Meeting of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions repeatedly called for the development of educational/formational materials on liturgy for the purpose of catechizing the faithful (cf. Issues from Inter-regional Table Discussions, Indianapolis 2002 National Meeting of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions. (Provided by the Board of Directors representatives to the springs 2003 regional meetings.);

Whereas the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions has produced good, solid and insightful printed educational/formational materials;

Whereas the National Meetings of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions, co-sponsored by the BCL and the FDLC, have produced a collection of talks and presentations on many aspects and elements of liturgy;

Whereas the FDLC has established a website, in part, to offer assistance to members of the Federation and those whom they serve.

Statement
It is the position of the delegates to the 2003 National Meeting of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions that the Board of Directors of the FDLC marks the fortieth anniversary of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy by developing an Internet based catechetical project. This project would communicate to the faithful the basic principles of Roman Catholic liturgy as articulated in the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. It would accomplish this by means of a free and easily accessible web page which would feature such catechetical materials in English and in Spanish as the resources of the Federation permit. This web page would be housed on the FDLC website, be updated regularly, and the updates would be communicated to the FDLC membership by the National Office. Each diocesan office of worship or diocesan commission that is a member of the FDLC would communicate this resource to parishes and communities within its (arch) diocese.

The FDLC Board’s Executive Committee formulated the following resolution as one response to the members’ discussion inspired by the major addresses:

Executive Committee Resolution ECR 2003-1

Vote:  (114 Ballots) 97 Yes, 7 No, with 10 Abstentions

Preamble
Whereas the recent catechesis on the GIRM (IGMR 2002) in some dioceses focused on the external signs and actions of the liturgy rather than on the theology of the Eucharist reflected in the GIRM;

Whereas the formation on the GIRM provides a opportunity for catechesis on the Eucharist;

Whereas the 40^th anniversary of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy motivates us to further its vision which identifies the liturgy as the source and summit of all the Church’s activities;

Statement
It is the position of the delegates to the 2003 National Meeting of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions that, in preparation for the 50^th anniversary of Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, we, in collaboration with the BCL, rededicate ourselves to liturgical catechesis on various dimensions of the Eucharist for all age levels.