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. 11