Pastoral conversion and the missionary option

My dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

In his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Pope Francis has some challenging things to say to bishops, priests and all who have pastoral responsibilities in the Church.

We are not to be closed in on ourselves. We are not to use the sacraments or Church teaching on morality as clubs to beat people with or chase them away from the community of faith. Mercy, love for the poor, humility, a welcoming spirit and a genuine and enthusiastic proclamation of Gospel joy should be our defining characteristics.

The Holy Father urges us to be “Spirit-filled evangelizers” (#259), and while the work of evangelization should take place everywhere—including our homes, our workplaces and the public square—the parish has a special role to play in giving witness to the joy of the Gospel.

Pope Francis writes, “I dream of a ‘missionary option,’ that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation. The renewal of structures demanded by pastoral conversion can only be understood in this light: as part of an effort to make them more mission-oriented, to make ordinary pastoral activity on every level more inclusive and open, to inspire in pastoral workers a constant desire to go forth and in this way to elicit a positive response from all those whom Jesus summons to friendship with himself”(#27).

I can’t imagine a clearer articulation of our mission as parishes and as an archdiocese. We are called to be missionary disciples, and whatever we do to renew our structures and initiate new pastoral activities must unquestionably be for “the evangelization of today’s world” and not for “self-preservation.”

Continue reading Cardinal Joseph Tobin’s latest newsletter.