2002 HORIZON No. 4 -- Strategic planning for vocations / Responses to the sex abuse crisis

Click here to download the 2002 Horizon No. 4 Summer edition in pdf form. Theme: Strategic planning for vocations / Responses to the sex abuse crisis. Read more...

It’s never been easy to be a vocation director, but as the sex abuse crisis continues to unfold, and each day we are loathe to learn the latest news for fear of some sickening new revelation, this is surely a hard time to uphold the tradition of religious life. Yet that is exactly what you are doing. Read more...

This strategic plan for vocations was created through a one-year process of consultation with membership of the Philadelphia-based Eastern Province of the Congregation of the Mission (commonly known as the Vincentians). The impetus for developing the plan came during a province-wide convocation to discuss community renewal and vocations spearheaded by a newly-elected provincial. Read more...

As with most communities, it took time to create this strategic plan for the English speaking North American provinces of the Congregation of Notre Dame. In 1996, the worldwide congregation of CNDs chose vocations as one of their “directions” during a general chapter. Read more...

The Crosier’s strategic plan grew out of a former recruitment plan the office had been using and out of a decision at a provincial chapter to make the “quality and care of Crosier life” a priority. After the chapter the provincial asked province department heads to develop strategic plans for their respective ministries. Read more...

Our community uses a process for planning that centers on asking two basic questions around an issue: why do we want this, and what’s stopping us from achieving it? By answering these questions we can formulate a goal map. Certain pieces of this map are chosen for special focus, realizing that we cannot attend to all these needs or issues during any one year. Read more...

In preparation for a provincial chapter of the Dominican Friars of the Central Province, chapter delegates, with the support of leadership, proposed having a commission specifically dedicated to planning for vocation promotion. The vocations commission prepared a strategic plan, which was then revised and approved by the membership during the chapter. Read more...

The Toledo Province of the Sisters of Notre Dame decided to create a five year plan-including a significant section on vocations-following a general chapter of their international congregation. At the chapter, the sisters designated “to build vibrant communities for the sake of mission” as one of their three goals for a six-year period. Read more...

Like most of the communities whose strategic plans appear in this edition of HORIZON, the Adorers of the Blood of Christ developed their plan after deciding to make vocations a major priority. As an introduction to their strategic plan, this article describes how this community decided to invest big in vocations and what happened as a result of that commitment. Read more...

This operating plan was developed in 1998 once the Adorers decided to make vocations a major priority. The plan has been updated annually since then. Read more...

No one in the North American church has escaped the pain, the anger, the frustration caused by the horror of child sexual abuse cases perpetrated by clergy and religious. It is a nightmare of Kafkaesque proportions, a nightmare from which we do not seem able to awaken. Read more...

While no one really knows whether the cause of pedophilia is psychological, biological or a combination of the two, researcher David Finkelhor has suggested that four preconditions must be met for abuse to occur. Read more...

Following is the text of a letter the author sent to all of his contacts in March, 2002. Read more...

These resources represent the literature available on this topic. Appearance here does not indicate endorsement by the National Religious Vocation Conference. Read more...

When complex situations are given simplistic understandings and simplistic solutions, people will inevitably be hurt. The phenomenon of child sexual abuse, in the priesthood and in society at large, is a complex issue that does not admit of simple understandings or simple solutions. Read more...