PEORIA MAGAZINE October 2023

“It will take us probably several years to actually implement what we discern,” he said. “It’s necessary, though, and what’s freeing about it is that it was something the priests and the parish ioners themselves felt that we needed to do. I’m not sitting here in my office with a map of the diocese and saying this, this, and this is going to change. “So, it’s not like a decision being made in a vacuum. It’s a process that has en gaged the parishes. And it’s all rooted in prayer.” ‘HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION’ According to some active parishio ners in the Peoria area, it’s rooted in transparency, as well. Steve Driscoll, a member of St. Mon ica’s Catholic Church in East Peoria who was surveyed in the first phase, appreciates Tylka’s pragmatic approach to guiding the diocese into the future and how diocesan leaders are seeking input from the faithful. Driscoll is active in several minis tries at St. Monica’s, including its St. Vincent de Paul Society, which makes home visits and provides services to the poor. He personally is optimistic about the future of the Catholic Church, at least in the Peoria area. For example, he likes what he sees regarding Mass attendance, whether at St. Monica’s or other local parishes. Recently attending St. Jude’s in Dunlap for the Feast of the Assumption of Mary on Aug. 15, he found the sanctuary packed. “It was not quite standing room only, but fairly close,” Driscoll said. “I think the diocese is headed in the right direction,” he said. “There’s a wave of these 20-something and 30-some thing-year-olds who have families and want their children raised right. I think that they’re leading them in a better direction and the church is the foun dation of that.” Cullen and Deanna Casey, longtime parishioners at St. Mary of Lourdes Catholic Church in Germantown Hills, also expressed optimism. “Bishop Tylka is doing a tremendous

job in trying to be more open about where the diocese is and needs to be,” said Deanna Casey, who serves in music ministry and the parish’s Ladies Society. “There’s progress.” Lay involvement, the growing number of permanent deacons, programs like Teens Encounter Christ and Cursillo, and vigorous priest recruitment efforts “help keep us energized and healthy,” added Cullen Casey. Meanwhile, Driscoll said he appre ciates how diocesan leaders are now responding to the abuse charges that have shaken the church over the past 20 years. “(Diocese of Peoria leaders) have ad dressed it, identified it, published the names,” Driscoll said. That particular challenge returned to the headlines earlier this year when Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul released a report on the credibility of various allegations leveled against cler gy over many decades. The Diocese of Peoria issued a statement in the wake of that report that emphasized the “sig nificant changes that have made the Church safer for children. “To the Diocese’s knowledge, there is not a single priest of the Diocese with a substantiated allegation who is cur rently in ministry or who has not been reported to authorities,” according to the May 23 statement. The bishop and the diocese “remain committed to our efforts to heal the wounds of those who have suffered abuse and to the pro tection of God’s children everywhere.” SUPPORTING SCHOOLS, SEEKING PRIESTS Another challenge the diocese faces is lagging support for some schools in the face of population shifts. More than 8,100 students are educated in diocesan schools. “In some areas where we have schools, the population has diminished,” Tylka said. “Obviously, the financial issue is a big challenge. We have a very great con cern that the sunset is due for tax-credit scholarships, which have been a great gift to families in our schools.”

That credit, allowed through Illinois’ Invest in Kids Act, is set to expire at the end of 2023. “We’re working very hard to convince the Legislature not to let that sunset,” Tylka said. Meanwhile, another challenge faced by the U.S. Catholic Church in general is a priest shortage. Currently, 126 ac tive priests serve the Peoria Diocese’s 155 parishes. The Growing Disciples initiative also will confront that situa tion, though Tylka is encouraged about vocations in the near future. “We are blessed to have 22 seminar ians entering the seminary this year,” Tylka said. “We ordained four priests in May (2023) and will ordain another four priests next May. It’s still not enough, though.” Tylka expressed confidence that within five years, “we’ll have gotten to the point of fully implementing the new structure of parishes. “My biggest hope is that we will have really begun to have a better appreci ation and understanding of our calling to be disciples of Jesus Christ and be evangelists, missionary disciples out spreading the love and encounter of Jesus,” he said. “I hope there’ll be a lot of renewal in people’s hearts of their own deepened, intimate relationship with Jesus, and a willingness to share that with others.” Bishop Louis Tylka at the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception

Michael Miller is a former Peoria print journalist and is newsletter editor for a health care sharing ministry

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