The Archdiocese of Detroit is in the midst of a “missionary conversion, a change in our culture, such that every person at every level of the Church, through personal encounter with Jesus Christ, embraces his or her identity as a son or daughter of God and, in the power of the Holy Spirit, is formed and sent forth as a joyful missionary disciple.”1

This conversion requires a re-examining of the way we live our collective life as a community of faith. The Church in Southeast Michigan is responding to graces of Synod 16 and actively seeking to Unleash the Gospel in our personal lives, our families and through our institutions. One concrete way we are committed to living out our Catholic faith is by our parish and school athletic teams refraining from competitions or practices on Sundays. Athletics are a means for building up virtue, discipline and camaraderie. Sports have an important place in the life of our schools, non-school parishes and in many families in the Archdiocese of Detroit. In sum, sports bring great value to the life of the faithful in the Archdiocese of Detroit. With this in mind, we are confident that by ceasing sporting events on Sunday in our Catholic athletic programs (Catholic Youth Organization at the grade school level and the Catholic High School League), we will be able to better serve all of our families and help them more appropriately integrate all of the blessings of athletic competition into their lives without compromising their far-greater obligation to follow Jesus Christ.

Evangelization and discipleship are the highest priorities of our local Church; therefore, they are also the highest priorities of our athletics programs. We are committed to accompanying our coaches, athletic directors, parents and young athletes as they each journey to encounter Jesus Christ, grow as his disciple and witness to the power of his mercy in their own lives.

In the months and years to come, we will commit to finding and sharing new ways to make athletics in the Archdiocese of Detroit an opportunity for many to come grow closer to Jesus Christ and win the ultimate prize, the imperishable crown of heavenly glory (cf. 1 Cor. 9:23-27).The following policy is the means by which we in the Archdiocese of Detroit will live out the desire of the faithful made clear at Synod 16 and interpreted as the authentic movement of the Holy Spirit by Archbishop Vigneron in his pastoral letter, Unleash the Gospel, in Action Step 3.3C.4. We pray through the intercession of St. Sebastian and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati that this policy will enable our local Church to better witness to the good of sports and the means by which they can develop character and prepare our young people for the lifelong commitment of discipleship.

Policy
Effective 1 August 2019, athletic contests and practices will not take place on Sunday in the Archdiocese of Detroit. This policy will be in effect for all Catholic Youth Organization (CYO), Catholic High School League (CHSL) and any other inter-school or inter-parochial athletic competitions in which a Catholic school or parish—based team takes part.

Any game played on a Sunday without the approval of the Regional Moderator(s) of the participating schools or the approval of the Director of the Department of Evangelization, Catechesis and Schools will result in:

1. For any non-league game or scrimmage, the head coach would be suspended for the next game.
2. If the contest is a league game, it will also be considered a forfeit by both schools and recorded as a loss.

Practices also take away from what Sunday is meant to be. Therefore, faith-based athletic programs are not permitted to practice on Sunday. Regional Moderators and the Director of Evangelization, Catechesis and Schools may give permission for games to be made up on Sunday for extraordinary circumstances.
 
For more information on the new policy see: https://www.unleashthegospel.org/pastoral-notes/the-day-of-the-lord/
 
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1    Unleash the Gospel, Foundational Conviction.