 The Catholic Common Ground Initiative was inaugurated by the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin with the release of a statement, Called to Be Catholic: Church in a Time of Peril, on August 12, 1996. It originated in a concern that unnecessarily polarizing differences among church leaders and members hinder efforts to build the church community and to carry out its mission. The statement proposes working principles for dialogue within the church and expresses the conviction that such an effort will transform those who engage in it as well as strengthen the church for its mission in the new millennium.
The ongoing work of the Catholic Common Ground Initiative represents both a call to renewed dialogue within the church and an effort to undertake and exemplify that kind of dialogue.
The Initiative is guided by a thirty-six-member committee chaired by Most Reverend Daniel E. Pilarczyk, Archbishop of Cincinnati, Ohio.
History of the Founding of the Initiative
| February 1992 |
Cardinal Bernardin issues a statement: The Parish in the Contemporary Church |
| Spring 1992 |
Conversations between Cardinal Bernardin and Rev. Philip J. Murnion about pastoral concerns and polarization. |
| December 1992 |
Meeting of a group to discuss concerns. |
| 1993 to 1996 |
Five more meetings are held with varying participants. |
| 1995 to 1996 |
“Called to Be Catholic: Church in a Time of Peril” statement is developed. |
| Spring 1996 |
Decision by Cardinal Bernardin to establish the Catholic Common Ground Project. The committee is formed. The secretariat of the Initiative is established at the National Pastoral Life Center in New York. |
| August 12, 1996 |
Press Conference is held by Cardinal Bernardin to announce the project and to release the statement. |
| October 24, 1996 |
First meeting of the Initiative Committee. Public Address by Cardinal Bernardin spelling out the purposes of the Catholic Common Ground Initiative. |
For more detailed information, see the Introduction by Philip J. Murnion in Catholic Common Ground Initiative: Foundational Documents, Crossroad, New York, 1997 available through the NPLC online store.
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