Honolulu diocese is planning to return to the traditional order of the sacraments of initiation because Confirmation of teens isn’t working well.
In a pastoral letter, Bishop Larry Silva said Confirmation is “often experienced more as a graduation from the Church than as a free gift of God’s grace”.
He cited Pope Francis’s 2013 description of Confirmation as a “sacrament of farewell” for many.
So Honolulu diocese plans to return the sacraments of initiation to what Bishop Silva called their proper order, that is: Baptism, Confirmation, and then First Holy Communion.
He invited parents, priests, deacons, youth ministers, faith formation staff and school staff to be part of education during this transition.