photo by: Christopher Dacanay

Members of the Diocese of Steubenville answered a list of questions provided by the diocese during a listening session at Holy Rosary Church in Steubenville Sunday.

The Diocese of Steubenville conducted four listening sessions for its members Sunday, inviting them to share their thoughts on how the organization can better live out its mission.

Announced to churches across the 13-county diocese, the listening sessions were hosted at Holy Rosary Church in Steubenville, St. Benedict Church in Cambridge, St. Mary Basilica in Marietta and St. Joseph Church in Ironton.

At Holy Rosary, eucharistic adoration was offered throughout the largely silent, 90-minute session, during which attendees could answer a list of questions online or on paper. A summary report for the sessions is expected to be available later in the year, said Dino Orsatti, spokesman for the diocese.

Sunday’s sessions marked the diocese’s latest input for the ongoing 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, a synod being an ecclesiastical gathering under the Catholic Church’s hierarchical authority.

Known as the Synod on Synodality, the synod is a three-year process of listening and dialogue initiated by Pope Francis in October 2021, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Its first session took place in the Vatican in October 2023, and the assembly plans to meet again this October.

Prior to the first session, churches and other Catholic institutions worldwide held their own listening sessions. Among those institutions was the Diocese of Steubenville, under the leadership of then-Bishop Jeffrey Monforton, now an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Detroit.

On Jan. 30, a second group of listening sessions was called for in the diocese by Bishop Paul Bradley, apostolic administrator, who was appointed by Pope Francis to the position in September.

Bradley will remain in the apostolic administrator position indefinitely, with the final result of a proposed merger between the Steubenville diocese and the Diocese of Columbus to ultimately decide his fate. The Steubenville diocese has reported that conversations are ongoing about the viability of a merger.

Although Bradley was appointed to continue overseeing the merger discussions, a recent statement expressed his positive outlook on the Steubenville diocese’s solvency and vibrancy.

Bradley told the Catholic news site Crux on Jan. 31: “I think what we’re finding is that while there are some who think that the Diocese of Steubenville is not able to survive, that is not what I’ve found so far.

“If I didn’t know what others have concluded themselves, I would have no basis that I can see for coming to that conclusion,” Bradley said, later adding, “and maybe there are things that I’m just not aware of at this point.”

The diocese commenced an external financial audit in early February to help determine the diocese’s viability. As part of a broader movement toward transparency, the diocese has posted its financial statements and independent auditors’ reports from the last four years on its website — a report showed approximately $2.5 million in profit during the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2023.

“The diocese continues to hold its own,” Bradley told Crux. “We’re not dipping into reserves. We’re able to be supported from the normal, regular, financial income for the diocese, based on campaigns and things of that nature.”

At Holy Rosary on Sunday, Bradley and the diocese had the prayerful support of the Rev. Matthew Gossett, who presided over eucharistic adoration and concluded the listening session with prayers for Bradley and the diocese, preceded by the rite of benediction.