2017 USCCB Convocation Participants Guidebook and Journal | Page 16
Who’s Who
ministry to all. Bishops are a sign of the Church’s unity. They
carry out three basic offices or tasks in the Church: teaching, gov-
erning, and sanctifying. In each of these tasks, the bishops serve
the Church by nurturing communion among the faithful and
among particular Churches.
Pope Francis recognizes the bishop’s role in strengthening the
unity of the Church: “The bishop must always foster this mission-
ary communion in his diocesan Church, following the ideal of the
first Christian communities, in which the believers were of one
heart and one soul.” 16 True unity—communion—fosters mission-
ary outreach, and mission nurtures and strengthens unity. As St.
John Paul II noted, “Communion and mission are profoundly
connected with each other, they interpenetrate and mutually
imply each other, to the point that communion represents both
the source and the fruit of mission: communion gives rise to mis-
sion and mission is accomplished in communion.” 17 The bishops
help to build up a Church of missionary disciples in many ways,
including by cultivating and encouraging unity and mission.
The bishops of the United States have called the Convocation of
Catholic Leaders to chart a path forward as a Church “perma-
nently in a state of mission.” 18 During the event itself, the bishops
will teach, but they will also be participants, listening to and
learning from the rich experience of each other and of other
Catholic leaders. The bishops hope that new bonds of friendship
will be forged among participants and that everyone will be able
to get to know some of the fruitful initiatives that are occurring
around the country. As Pope Francis has noted, “Missionary dis-
ciples accompany missionary disciples.” 19 The Convocation will
truly be a time to accompany one another and to collaborate for
the good of the whole Church.
Delegation Leaders at the Convocation
In addition to the bishops, others participating in the
Convocation include ordained, consecrated, and lay leaders.
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