The Tribunal of the Diocese of Davenport exists to assist the bishop in deciding matters of law within the diocese. Canon 1420 §1 states: “Each diocesan bishop is bound to appoint a judicial vicar, or officialis, with ordinary power to judge, distinct from the vicar general.”

Given the recent shuffle of priests in our diocese and our focus on welcoming and belonging in this year following on our Synod process, this is an excellent and timely question!

Encouraging people to participate in the life of the Church requires more than programming and bulletin announcements, panelists said during the diocesan Synodal Summit last month.

To welcome people and to make them feel as if they belong, “we need to get into the fielding position,” said John Cooper, pastoral associate and business manager at St. Anthony Parish-Davenport, as he crouched into position to demonstrate.

Candy Boucher’s heart ached when she read an anonymous prayer intention this past spring in which a youth described feeling alone and longing for others to know “who I really am.”

Catholics carrying banners, the Book of the Gospels and an icon of the most Holy Trinity led a procession into the Rogalski Center of St. Ambrose University for the Diocese of Davenport’s Synodal Summit on June 17.

Bishop Thomas Zinkula wondered why Pope Francis chose the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary for a moment of prayer in support of the upcoming Synod of Bishops in Rome in October. “Probably because the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth had synodal dimensions,” he said in a homily during a diocesan Mass on the feast day (May 31) at St. Paul the Apostle Church.

In my last column I included several images of the Church. In particular, I honed in on an image of the Church emphasized at Vatican II: the people of God. This image suggests that the Church’s identity is communal. In this column I want to highlight another image, that of the tent.

A single Catholic in his 20s in our diocese whose frustration with his job has its roots in loneliness, reached out on social media asking for help. “I need community,” he later told his loved ones. Loneliness is part of the human condition but its pervasiveness in today’s culture compelled the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy to issue an advisory last month. “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community” lays out the crisis and remedies...

As our diocese embarks on a yearlong journey to grow as a more welcoming Church that engenders a sense of belonging, we need to remember the married couples among us with spouses who do not share the same faith. How can we help them to feel welcome and to have a sense of belonging in our parishes, schools and other entities without the expectation that they must convert?

I’ve been bartending for almost a year now. I’ve learned much about myself, others and, maybe surprisingly, Jesus during my time doing so. I’ve met so many people and heard so many stories behind the bar.

A diocesan journey of discovery and discernment that began four years ago with Vision 20/20, paused during the pandemic, and resumed during the Diocesan Synod now embarks on its next leg June 17 with a Synodal Summit at St. Ambrose University in Davenport. There, several-hundred people representing the diocese’s parishes, schools and other entities will gain insights on how the local (diocesan) Church can grow as a welcoming Church that engenders a sense of belonging...

Our diocese’s progression from year 1 to year 3 themes demonstrates this inner logic. People progress from belonging to believing. Not the other way around. A sense of belonging functions as the soil from which belief emerges. Take away the soil and belief has no foundation in which to take root.

Epiphany is a feast of yearning for God’s presence. The example of the Magi invites us to still our hearts, to notice, and to allow ourselves to be guided to Jesus. The Magi looked to the heavens, took note of a star, and followed its course. While many expected a dramatic entrance of a Messiah who would overthrow Roman oppression, what the Magi found instead was dramatically different. In the unassuming stature of Jesus’ birth, Epiphany is not so much a triumphal entry as it is the fulfillment of a quiet, yearning heart that longs to be fully alive.