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| October 20, 1999 Foundations Take Cooperative Look at Catholic Church in U.S. and Lay Personnel Washington, D.C., Private foundations with interests in Catholic programs have joined together to study how they can best help lay people who wish to serve the church in the U.S. as ministers, managers, and leaders. The study follows in the wake of a symposium conducted by FADICA last June during which over forty foundations were briefed by leading members of the U.S. hierarchy, educators, and pastoral experts on the massive transition now occurring in which retiring religious and priests are being replaced by laity. Recent research conducted for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops indicates that upwards of thirty thousand Catholic lay people are now participating in some form of ministerial preparation. FADICA's new study, expected to be completed this winter, is being conducted by Dr. Zeni Fox of Seton Hall University, an expert on lay ministry. Dr. Fox is also a principal advisor to the NCCB Committee on the Laity, and will guide the U.S. bishops during their November 15-18 meeting here when this group also considers the future of lay ministry. The FADICA objective is to canvass diocesan and other programs for lay formation and education as well as those underway in the Catholic health, education and welfare sectors in order to identify strategies and programs in which foundations could be helpful. Last spring's FADICA symposium documented a host of challenges: a lack of clarity about the role of lay ministers, their relationship to clergy and bishops, low levels of awareness among rank and file Catholics on the current personnel transition, meek financial resources for lay education and formation among other issues. Funding for the FADICA project has been made available through the Raskob Foundation, the Allegany Franciscan and SC Ministry Foundations. Return to List of News Releases | Back to Top |