Some priests were notified about the worldwide Eucharistic adoration

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Jun 06, 2013

Responding to my On the News comment about the Vatican's failure to provide advance notice of the worldwide hour of Eucharistic adoration on June 2, a friendly priest from Oregon tells me that I was mistaken. In his diocese, he informs me, priests were notified on May 15 about the Vatican's plans, and thus had enough time to coordinate their own parish events. My friendly information suggests that if there was a problem in communication, the Vatican is not to blame.

In part I agree. But only in part.

If the Pontifical Council for New Evangelization did provide advance notice to dioceses, and diocesan leaders failed to pass the word along to pastors and parishioners, that's unfortunate. But frankly, it's also not very surprising. How many times have we heard belatedly about some Vatican initiative that failed to filter down through the hierarchy to the people? 

There is a simple solution to this problem. If diocesan chanceries sometimes create a bottleneck, blocking the flow of information from Rome to the Catholic world, the Vatican can simply address the people directly. Don't just send a memo to the world's bishops. Call a press conference, and tell the world at large. Post a notice on the Vatican web site. Publish an article in L'Osservatore Romano. 

If ordinary Catholics had been informed about the planned hour of Eucharistic adoration a month in advance, they might have asked their pastors to make plans so that they could join in the event. If the goal was to enlist many thousands of participants worldwide, why not spread the word as widely as possible? If the top-down model of communication isn't working, try a direct appeal to the grassroots. 

You might call it... Oh, I don't know, maybe the New Evangelization.