More than 1,300 people from the Diocese, including priests, nuns, deacons, ministry leaders and lay Catholics, responded to the survey during a four week period that ended February 20. The local consultation was done to inform the Synod on the Family that will take place in October. When the Diocese administered a similar survey for the Extraordinary Synod on the Family in late 2013 there were approximately 400 responses.
“People seem to realize from the Extraordinary Synod that there was an importance to participate,” said Father Rafael Partida, Episcopal Vicar for the Riverside Pastoral Region and a coordinator of the Diocese’s response effort. “This was illustrated by the numbers who responded to the questionnaire and by the thoroughness of their answers.”
The 2015 survey was offered in English and Spanish, and responses between the two language groups were fairly even (719 in English, 583 in Spanish). Most responses were made on-line through the Survey Monkey program. In a departure from the previous survey, however, prayer groups and ministry groups from parishes were encouraged to gather together and go through the questions and submit collective responses.
In another effort to increase participation the Diocese created an abridged 15-question version of the survey that framed the issues more in layman’s terms. The abridged survey was used by several other dioceses in California, including the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
The survey questions deal with such subjects as how the Church encourages the value of family in the face of a more secular and individualistic society; how to lead those who have only married civilly or couples living together outside of marriage to a Sacramental marriage; and how to provide pastoral care to persons who are homosexual.
Bishop Barnes devoted some time to promoting the Synod Survey in his talks at the Combined Vicariate meetings in February. He encouraged parishes to be creative in how they asked and answered the survey questions among different ministry groups.
“Get as many people as you can involved so that when the Synod is happening they know that they had a part in it,” Bishop Barnes said to parish leaders and staff of the San Bernardino Pastoral Region on Feb. 5. “Hopefully we’ll get a few more than 400.”
Sister Sara Kane, CSJ, Chancellor of the Diocese, said she was delighted with the response to the Synod Survey.
“Thank you!” she said. “Your voice was heard by the Church - locally and throughout the world!”