North Florida Catholic Listening Assembly

Moving Beyond a Church in Crisis:
Visioning the Renewed Church We Need and Seek
A Dialogue of the Baptized
Grounded in the Vision and Spirit of Vatican II
ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST PRE-REGISTER
Registration Deadline: 5pm Wed, Feb. 16
Click Here to REGISTER ONLINE
Or register via US Mail by printing this FLYER
Overview of Our Day of Dialogue:

8:30     Check-in / Registration
9:00     Gathering Prayer, Welcome and  Introduction
9:30     Keynote Presentation:   VATICAN II in a Nutshell
                                                        (Sallie Latkovich, CSJ)
10:10     Break
10:20     Dialogue 1:  Building on the Positive
11:20     Dialogue 2:  Needs and Challenges
12:15     Lunch w/Panel Presentation
1:15     Dialogue 3:  Toward a Catholic Bill of Rights & Responsibilities
2:45     Afternoon Break
3:00     Plenary:  Along the way to Detroit:   
                           Action Steps to Transformation
3:45     Closing Prayer and Ritual
4:00     Adjournment
ABOUT OUR GUEST SPEAKER:  
    Sr. Sallie Latkovich is a Sister of St. Joseph, born in Cleveland,
    where she taught theology and was department chair at Lake
    Catholic High School. She earned her MA in Theology from St.
    Norbert College in DePere, WI and was a member of the Pastoral
    Team at Church of the Resurrection before entering the Sisters
    of St. Joseph. She later moved to Southwest Florida in 1985
    where she became Co-Director at Mother of God House of
    Prayer. She subsequently earned a Doctorate in Ministry in
    Scripture and Spirituality from the Graduate Theological
    Foundation in Donaldson, IN.

In more recent years, Sallie served as Assistant Professor and Director of Spiritual
Formation at the Rice School for Pastoral Ministry of Barry University in the Diocese of
Venice in FL.  In August, 2009, Sallie moved to Chicago where she accepted a position
as Director of the Holy Lands Study Programs at Catholic Theological Union and where
she also serves as an Assistant Professor. Sallie has given many presentations,
workshops and retreats across the United States. She has also presented at other
local/regional ACC Listening Sessions across the country.
Location with Map & Driving Directions:
University Center, Univ. of North Florida  (Free Parking)
Registration Donation: $25 (College Students $15)
Covers direct costs of lunch, program expenses and facility rental;
Check in begins at 8:30am with coffee/tea, program starting
promptly at 9am and concluding by 4pm;
University Conference Center, University of North Florida , Jacksonville  -- Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011  /  8:45am-4pm
WHO CAN COME? This is a regional Listening Session promoted
throughout North Florida and surrounding area, open to all
Catholics (laity, religious and clergy) who hunger to reclaim the
vision of Vatican II and are concerned about the growing reversal
in the Church away from that vision. It is open to all sincerely
motivated and concerned Catholics who wish to engage that
dialogue, particularly those from the following Dioceses:
  • Dioceses of St. Augustine;
  • Diocese of Savannah;
  • Eastern end of Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee
    (Tallahassee area);
  • Northern end of the Diocese of Orlando;
To Learn more, visit the following websites:
To Sign-up for the monthly ACC E-newsletter,  Click here
Who we are and how this gathering came to be
in Jacksonville:
We are local lay leaders, deeply rooted in the Church. We love the
Church and we love our bishops and priests.  We convene the
North Florida Catholic Listening Assembly solely in our capacity
as practicing faithful Catholics, without sponsorship from any
particular organization. All costs are born by members of the local
committee and those who choose to register as participants.
Though we promote our dialogue in the context of the American
Catholic Council, our initiative is rooted in our local experience of
Church. We chose to affiliate with the ACC because it is a
nationwide grassroots lay-driven movement bringing together a
network of individuals, organizations and communities across the
country to consider the state and future of our Catholic Church. We
believe our Church is at a turning point in its history and we believe
the ACC can be a vehicle of the Holy Spirit to facilitate needed
change in church governance.

From the outset of our planning over a year ago, our committee
sought to maintain open dialogue with Bishop Galeone of the
Diocese of St. Augustine.  Representatives of our committee met
with the Bishop on several occasions. Last May, the Bishop was
formally invited to participate and advised the committee that he
hoped to attend as an observer to the process. However, in late
November 2010, the Bishop reversed himself and has since issued a
pastoral advisory across the Diocese, discrediting the aims and
purposes of this Listening Session and discouraging participation.
To learn more about the background to this Listening
Assembly, the Bishops actions,  and our committee's
response, please CLICK HERE.
For More Information about the Feb. 19th Listening Session in
Jacksonville, EMAIL: accnfa@gmail.com  
Planning Committee: Janet Allen (Gainesville), Natalie Cornell (Gainesville); Michelle
Donnelly (Gainesville), Amy and Patrick Finn-Schultz (Jacksonville), Tina & John Flores
(Jacksonville), John Frank (St. Johns); Cathy Gueverra (St. Johns), Kathy Kidder
(Gainesville), Robin Kilgour (Gainesville),  and Tom Umlauf (Gainesville).
In solidarity with the American Catholic Council, we respond to
the Spirit of Vatican II by summoning the Baptized to  seek
personal conversion and to  renew our Church to conform to the
authentic Gospel message, the teachings of our Church, and our
lived context in the United States. ACC's reading of the “signs of
the times,” its plan of action, and its agenda are set out in the
Declaration of Reform and Renewal and the developing draft
of a Catholic Bill of Rights and Responsibilities
HOTEL INFORMATION: We have secured an excellent rate for
guests who may be needing to stay over Friday and/or Saturday nights, Feb.
18 and 19, at $61/night. Includes breakfast, free WIFI and other amenities:
WINGATE INN SOUTHPOINT  (5 miles from UNF Conference Center)
  4681 Lenoir Ave., South, Jacksonville, FL
 Ph: 904-281-2600; Ask for Rooms held under UNF/ACC
  Please book directly with hotel by Feb. 8, when rooms will be released.
What kind of Catholic Church will pass to our
children and grandchildren? For their sake,
we're listening ...
You are invited to join thousands of
faithful Catholics across the US and
Canada who have been meeting in
local "listening sessions" to prepare
for an historic national gathering of
laity called the American Catholic Council.  The ACC will convene
in Detroit on Pentecost Weekend this June to celebrate and
remember the 50th Anniversary of John XXIII's call for opening
the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), and to chart a course for
much-needed reform in Catholic Church governance and increased
accountability of the institutional church.

Vatican II was a meeting of historic proportions as bishops across
the globe charted the vision for a renewed Catholic Church in the
modern world. Central to that vision was the universal call to
ministry of all the baptized, and that we, the People of God, are
the Church.  As such, the clergy and bishops are servants to the
People. Today, there is a serious dysfunction as our bishops are
increasingly distant, removed and out of touch with the voice of
the faithful. These listening sessions and the ensuing national
gathering in Detroit are driven with the hope that the Holy Spirit is
speaking through the People and that they will be heard.

                On February 19, Catholics in North Florida will
               gather for a day of reflection and dialogue as we
               tune into the sensus fidelium (the sense of the
               faithful) and reclaim the promise of the Holy
               Spirit manifested in Vatican II. Our gathering in
               Jacksonville is one of over 60 that have taken
               place thus far across the U.S. All laity, religious
               and clergy are welcome.

  • Do you sincerely love the Church but want to see it change?
  • Do you desire a church that welcomes ALL who gather in the
    name of Jesus, the Christ?
  • Are you a disillusioned “Vatican II” Catholic who feels the Church
    has regressed from the call for reform and renewal envisioned by
    the Spirit of the Second Vatican Council convened nearly 50
    years ago?
  • Are you struggling with a Church in “crisis” due to the fallout of
    the clergy sexual abuse quagmire and the dysfunction of
    centralized hierarchical and clerical systems that lack
    transparency and accountability?
  • Do you find yourself asking questions about structural reform of
    the institutional Church that can impact developing models of
    governance and leadership?
  • Do you hunger for more collaborative models of leadership that
    more effectively give voice to the laity?
  • Do you imagine how the Catholic Church here in the United
    States can be shaped by the cultural context of our unique
    experience as Americans?
What was so special about Vatican II?
The proceedings of Vatican II, known as an Ecumenical Council,
set a new course for the Church. Among its primary motifs are
the following:
  • The primacy and importance of Baptism—through baptism, all are
    called to conversion and to ministry;
  • The primacy of a well-formed conscience—the key element in
    decision making, particularly moral decision making;
  • Collegial and responsible decision making that respects all
    individuals and their Spirit-filled gifts;
  • The Church is in the world, not above it;
  • Sincere, open-minded ecumenism and respect for theological
    diversity;
  • Enculturation—adaptation of liturgy/prayer/spirituality to local
    custom (use of vernacular), respect for cultural diversity in
    education, governing style, worship, prayer and praxis;
  • Openness to all peoples: saints, sinners, women and men and a
    view which sees sacraments as food for life’s journey;
  • Renewed emphasis on Sacred Scripture revealing the life model
    of Jesus as a standard for personal life and for justice;
A note to clergy, religious and lay employees in Diocese of St. Augustine:
Our aims present particular problems for clergy, religious and laity employed
by the Church. Participation in the Listening Session poses a difficult decision
for many who have been previously aware of our efforts and have been
supportive. We are deeply aware that their participation in our gathering is
not without risk. We appreciate the difficult place they are in.  We treasure
their countless gifts and all that they bring to the vitality of the church and
we long for their input in our listening process. We appeal to their
conscience to support us in ways they are able to. For those who
courageously choose to participate in good conscience, we assure them our
confidence and deepest respect. There will be no public listing of participants.
Day of Prayer and Fasting on Wednesday, Feb. 9
We invite all those who plan to participate in the North Florida
Catholic Listening Assembly in Jacksonville to take time to
prepare their hearts and minds so that we be open in our
sharing, that our actions be loving, and that the Holy Spirit
anoint our dialogue with wisdom and that it be gift to the
Church we love. Click the link below for suggested scriptures,
prayers and meditations to prompt your reflection:  
               PRAYER/REFLECTION RESOURCES