There are many meaningful ways to put the insights from a whitepaper into practice in ministry and leadership. To help inspire you, we asked several CLI team members how they plan to use it in their day-to-day work.
"CLI’s 'Raising Disciples in an Apostolic Age whitepaper is a fantastic resource, especially the three pages of self‑assessment tools that make it easy for parish leaders to see where they’re strong and where they might want to grow, along with practical ideas drawn from leaders across the wider Church. I’ve already passed it along to leaders in diocesan, parish, and volunteer settings who are immersed in this work, and it’s been a great way to equip leaders and ignite hope in the next generation of disciples the Catholic Church."
- Gene Mangiante, Leadership Consultant
"This whitepaper is a valuable resource for my role as a Leadership Consultant, particularly in our Next Generation Parish work in the Diocese of Tulsa. Bishop David Konderla’s prioritization of Marriage and Family Life—and a renewed emphasis on family catechesis—creates a natural opportunity to help parish leaders think beyond programs and recognize the grace already at work within their parish families.
In thinking about my service at my home parish, the whitepaper humbled me by presenting children as current disciples, cultivators of faith, and revealers of Christ! It is a profound reminder that I may come to catechize, but I have the opportunity to be formed by the young people and families I am accompanying."
- Kate Sullivan, Leadership Consultant
"A desire for improved faith formation for families and children is a topic that routinely surfaces during our work with dioceses. I plan to use these insights to help diocesan leaders think more intentionally about how they support parishes and families in forming children as disciples of Christ. In my own discipleship, I’m challenged to consider how my witness and relationships can help the children in my life encounter Jesus and grow in relationship with Him."
- Rosemarie Banich, Director of Service Strategy
"Every parish I work with looks outward for an answer to the question that plagues us all: "How do we ensure our families have a lifelong relationship with Jesus in our Catholic faith?" The whitepaper allows us to not only bring our own accompaniment and sharing to this question but to bring the data, stories, and realities of so many others into the conversation. I will use the whitepaper as a springboard for our Next Generation Parish groups and a tool for coaching.
Personally, this whitepaper allows me to better serve my own family - to walk with my children in the spaces I might not always understand, to help them find their own path to Christ and to the Church, and to ensure that together, we know, understand, and can best serve our faith together with the clarity and understanding of the wider Church behind our prayers and our challenges."
- Stephanie Bosse, Leadership Consultant Manager
"The family is an integral part of the life of the Church. We cannot minister to parents, grandparents, single adults, or young people in isolation from one another; each is part of the larger parish community and the life of the Church. This whitepaper reinforces that important reality and offers valuable insights into how I can better support priests in the Eius program, helping them grow in a more holistic approach to ministry and engage the full breadth of their parish communities."
- Fr. Bob McLaughlin, Leadership Consultant and Interim Senior Director, Eius
"I plan to bring up the 'Three Key Habits of Thriving Catholic Families' with our friend group. We regularly discuss parenting issues and challenges, and these habits - and the way the whitepaper describes them - can give us good direction. Most importantly, it's something we can discuss together as we continue to support one another on our parenting journey."
Catholic Leadership Institute’s whitepapers are comprehensive, in-depth reports on key topics in the Church, specific to each moment in time. Our whitepapers are the fruit of extensive research and dialogue with thought leaders across the Church, including bishops, priests, religious sisters, and lay leaders who are subject-matter experts in each topic.
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