Extending Compassion
Themes from the 2025 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress
Every year since Window Light launched, I’ve written an analysis of the major themes from that year’s Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, or RECongress, the premier gathering of religious educators and faith formation ministers in the United States. Given RECongress’s importance, my thinking is that it offers a glimpse into the issues and questions percolating in the US Catholic Church. For example, in 2023, I noted that many of the presentations at that year’s RECongress focused on rebuilding the Church in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, the sexual abuse crisis, and the increasing secularization of American society. Last year’s presentations centered around the theme of the transformative power of love, with some focusing on inner transformation, others on the transformation of society.
This year’s gathering, whose official theme was “Called to Compassion,” was a natural sequel to last year’s congress. Some presentations focused on the theological dimensions of compassion or mercy, for example by describing Jesus’ ministry of compassion or explaining elements of the vocation to compassion we all share. Several others described how the faithful can embody compassion in the world, with a particular focus on the family. And others focused on having compassion on oneself.
As I’ve noted in previous years, I didn’t have the opportunity to attend RECongress. My analysis comes solely from watching the main presentations from the congress online, both in English and Spanish, and reading the descriptions of the smaller workshops in the conference program. Ironically, this year it may have been easier to produce this analysis if I had attended the gathering—it took me longer than expected to make my way through all the presentations, and now I’m only offering my reflections nearly two months after the congress concluded! Hopefully readers still find my analysis relevant. As always, if any readers did attend this year’s RECongress, I welcome your thoughts or corrections in the comments!
This year’s RECongress was deeply impacted by outside events that were frequently mentioned during the gathering’s proceedings. In the first place, the Los Angeles area had suffered several major wildfires the previous month, and so many of the participants in the congress had been involved in reaching out to communities impacted by the fires or had potentially even suffered loss themselves. Secondly, the congress opened only a few days after Pope Francis was hospitalized with pneumonia, and he suffered a major setback the weekend of the congress. The congress participants frequently prayed for the pope’s health, and these concerns shaped the tone of the gathering.
It’s perhaps fitting to begin, then, with a talk given by Sr. Marie-Kolbe Zamora, OSF arguing that “mercy” may well be the key to Pope Francis’s legacy. Sr. Zamora is a religious educator and a member of the General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops, meaning she helped organize the Synod on Synodality gatherings in 2023 and 2024, an experience that allowed her to get to know Pope Francis personally. This year’s RECongress falls during a Jubilee Year focusing on the theme of hope, but as with every Jubilee, there is also an emphasis on mercy, forgiveness, and reconciliation. In 2016, Pope Francis declared an “extraordinary” Jubilee Year, that is, one falling outside the ordinary schedule of Jubilees every 25 years. That Jubilee was focused specifically on the theme of mercy. Sr. Zamora walked through Francis’s major documents, pointing out that mercy is a strand uniting them. Interestingly, she outlined the role of mercy in Francis’s social encyclicals, such as his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’ on care for creation, and even in documents on the governance of the Church, in which more synodal structures fostering the participation of all the faithful are sometimes described as sources of mercy.
For her talk on Pope Francis, Sr. Zamora was filling in for Vatican reporter John Allen, who has been battling cancer. This meant that Sr. Zamora was doing double duty, since she also delivered the keynote address for the conference. The heart of this address was an extended meditation on Jesus’ conversation with the Rich Young Man who asks Jesus what he must do to have eternal life (Sr. Zamora drew on the version of the story that appears in the Gospel of Mark, although Matthew and Luke also include it). She used the story to reflect on how Jesus demonstrates compassion for the young man, a compassion that beckons the young man to leave behind an individualistic, works-oriented way of understanding eternal life and instead to come and follow Jesus whole-heartedly. Sr. Zamora’s keynote address paired well with the Spanish-language presentation by Fr. Rafael Capó, the Vice President for Mission at St. Thomas University in Florida, who focused on how developing a sense of calling or vocation can help us develop virtues related to compassion. Fr. Capó gave a similar talk to a smaller English-language session, as well.
Other presenters followed Sr. Zamora in looking to Jesus as a model for compassion. In a Spanish-language presentation, Auxiliary Bishop Slawomir Szkredka of Los Angeles provided an intense meditation on the emotional life of Jesus as portrayed in the Gospels, demonstrating how Jesus emotionally responded to those he encountered in showing them compassion. Bishop Szkredka went on to make the case that should model ourselves on Jesus in our own emotional and spiritual development. In perhaps my favorite presentation from this year’s congress, Sr. Kathleen Bryant, RSC offered four meditations on God’s compassion for us. In the first, she asked participants to meditate on how Christ’s wounds demonstrate his compassion for us. Second, we are called to contemplate our own wounds, learning to love ourselves as God loves us. Third, we must go out and show compassion on others who have been wounded. And lastly, we need to recognize and participate in the ways the Spirit brings healing to our wounds.
The presenters did not neglect the sacraments. In particular, Fr. Dave Dwyer, CSP, the Executive Director of Busted Halo Ministries, discussed seven ways the Eucharist prepares us to show compassion toward others. He discussed, for example, how at Mass we are expected to listen more than we speak, a habit necessary for developing compassion for others, and to recognize Jesus in unexpected places—at Mass, in the Eucharist, and outside of church, in all those we encounter, particularly those in need. Fr. Dwyer also emphasized that the Mass ends with a call to mission, to live out Jesus’ love and compassion in the world. Theologian and church historian Timothy Matovina also spoke on the Eucharist in a Spanish-language small group presentation. In an English-language presentation, Fr. Richard Leonard also spoke on the sacraments. Although this presentation was less connected to the theme of compassion, Fr. Leonard nevertheless offered some tips for communicating the significance of the sacraments to others.
Several of the presentations focused on how we as Christians can live out the mission to live out Jesus’ compassion in the world which Fr. Dwyer linked to the Eucharist. In his presentation, Protestant minister Rev. Terry Hershey returned to a theme he had emphasized in his talk at the congress last year, finding grace in the present moment, but this time adding that receiving God’s grace means being a “light to the world,” a beacon of compassion for those around us.
Fr. Tony Ricard, the campus minister at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans and a frequent presenter at RECongress, made a similar point, emphasizing the radicalness of God’s call for us to truly love one another as He loves us. Fr. Ricard then turned in what I thought was a bold and unexpected direction. He noted that today there is opposition to the ideas of diversity, equity, and inclusion, but he insisted that these are really Catholic principles: God created differences in humankind to reflect His goodness and beauty, God calls us to work toward providing everyone with a fair chance, and similarly we are all called to be welcoming and loving toward everyone, including those who are different from us. He suggested, somewhat tongue in cheek, that our recognition that we are created as Imago Dei should be linked to a commitment to DEI. I thought this was arguably a more powerful message regarding Christians’ social commitments than some of the other talks focused on more specific ways of showing compassion.
Some of the presenters in smaller sessions focused on topics that could be considered DEI-related: Patrick Saint-Jean, SJ presented in both English and Spanish sessions on building spiritual foundations for racial justice work, and Yunuen Trujillo, also presenting in both English and Spanish, spoke about how ministers can implement an intersectional approach to ministering to those with what she called “intersectional wounds,” or, in other words, to those who belong to multiple vulnerable or underprivileged groups. Both James Martin, SJ and Michael O’Loughlin spoke on the role of LGBTQ Catholics in the Church and what the Church can learn about compassion from their experience.
In a good pairing with Fr. Ricard’s talk, Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ, the founder of Homeboy Industries, the organization focused on the rehabilitation of gang members in Los Angeles, likewise talked about how embodying God’s compassion can transform the lives of those in violent and impoverished circumstances.
Fr. José Román Flecha Andrés—echoing Sr. Bryant’s third principle, that we should seek out the wounded—surveyed several groups in particular need of compassion, including the elderly, children, the poor, immigrants, and those who are mourning, among others, suggesting that Christians should learn how to show compassion toward each of these groups. In a small workshop, Steve Botsford discussed how parish groups can translate compassion into service in the community. In a workshop I wish I could have attended, ValLimar Jansen presented on “building compassionate workplaces.”
In another Spanish-language talk, Katherine Angulo focused in particular on the family and the local church community as places in which to foster compassion, describing practices that could help in that effort. Dora Tobar Mensbrugghe discussed how parish communities can more compassionately minister to families. Several smaller workshops, in English and Spanish, likewise focused on ministering to families or parents. Dr. John Yzaguirre—who likewise spoke at last year’s congress and, in my opinion, always has good advice for married couples—offered practical guidance on how spouses can show compassion to one another, growing to imitate the perfect love of the Trinity.
Although not particularly focused on the theme of compassion, Fr. Agustino Torres, CFR gave an interesting presentation on how parishes and evangelizers of different kinds can inculturate catechesis for young people, which will require learning about the distinctive cultural characteristics of Gen Z and “Gen Alpha” (or whatever name people settle on). Torres gave this presentation in Spanish in one of the full sessions, while also offering it in English at a smaller workshop.
For the past two years, I’ve remarked that there has been a noticeable focus on self-care for ministers, and that theme reemerged at his year’s gathering. For example, musician and speaker Sarah Hart talked about “self compassion,” learning to see and love ourselves as God does. This focus on self-care was connected to a broader emphasis on mental health. For example, in a Spanish-language presentation, Julia Cano Valero introduced parish ministers to how they can incorporate basic concepts from mental health into their pastoral work. Similarly, in a small workshop, Wendell Callahan presented on parish and diocesan “mental health ministry.”
I can’t close without noting that friend of the newsletter Hosffman Ospino gave two presentations, one explaining how catechists can inspire students to be missionary disciples, and the other on how Christian compassion must be paired with prophetic witness against suffering and injustice. And Brett Hoover, who I noted in the last edition of the newsletter was a participant in last week’s virtual event hosted by the Catholic Theological Society of America, presented on how Catholics must respond to the moral blindness in American society regarding the dignity and rights of immigrants. Guy Consolmagno, SJ, the Director of the Vatican Observatory, was a particularly noteworthy presenter in a small session, speaking on how the scientific method of inquiry can inform the journey of faith.
If you attended RECongress this year, please share your experiences or reflections in the comments!
Thanks for the great service you did us here, sharing these heartening people and their good work.