Progress on First Year Goals of the
Pastoral Plan of Action
By the National Black Catholic Congress
(Page 1 of 10)
In September 2003, the NBCC surveyed Catholic
arch/dioceses to determine their progress in planting the seeds to implement
each of the eight principles of our Pastoral Plan of Action. Arch/diocesan
offices of Black Catholics were asked to assess their progress for each action
step for the first year of the Pastoral Plan. The responses reported substantial
vigor and activity, with over 80% of the dioceses reporting more progress than
not, on the Action Plan.
METHODS
Survey Instrument
A straightforward, two-page survey
instrument enabled us to collect both quantitative (ordinal-level) data
and qualitative responses. For each of ten action steps, respondents
(typically the director of the Office of Black Ministry) were asked to
assess their diocesan level of progress on a scale of "no progress,"
"some progress," or "advanced progress," and then to note both the
"Challenges" they had encountered in accomplishing the action step and
the "resources needed" to accomplish the step.
Nearly all the responding offices provided
the quantitative data (that is, ranked their progress on the three-point
ordinal scale). The majority also provided qualitative input on
challenges and resource needs for at least some of the ten action steps,
and a few provided detailed narratives of their programs and goals. We
are grateful to all who took time to respond to the form.
Reliability of the Findings
Here we report findings of the survey. This
is a self-selected subset of all dioceses in the country, not a
statistically random sample. We believe, however, that it provides us
with a good picture of what is going on in most of the major communities
where African American Catholics live and worship. The respondents
include twelve (12) archdioceses and forty (40) dioceses, from every
area of the country and with diverse characteristics (some in large
metropolitan areas; others primarily rural). Responses came in two
waves-the first (n=30) in response to our requests in Fall 2003 and the
rest (n=22) in response to an additional solicitation in Spring 2004.
Both early and late responders included
dioceses with high levels of activity and progress, as well as dioceses
simply reporting "no activity." It appears, therefore, that the more
active dioceses were not necessarily the most likely to respond to the
survey and also that the least active dioceses were not necessarily
reluctant to answer the survey. Consequently, we can have confidence
that the survey findings were not biased by so-called selection effects.
Non-responding dioceses are not necessarily non-progressing ones. Given
that we polled the universe of NBCC dioceses rather than a randomly
drawn sample, it is remarkable how consistent the findings were between
the two "waves." For nine of the ten action steps, the relative strength
of "no progress," "some progress," and "advanced progress" responses did
not change when the twenty-two late-coming responses were added to the
data. For these reasons, we can be confident that the survey has given
us a reliable overall picture of the level of progress around the United
States. That is, we would not expect the overall pattern of progress to
be different if we were to hear from more dioceses or if we were to
carry out the same survey again.
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