Cardinal Tobin: We Are His Witnesses| January 10, 2025
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Vol. 6. No. 9
My dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
On January 6, 2025, the eighth anniversary of my installation as Archbishop of Newark, I published a pastoral letter entitled We Are His Witnesses. This letter, which is addressed to all the People of God here in northern New Jersey, offers some reflections on the themes of “pastoral conversion” and “missionary discipleship” that our Holy Father Pope Francis has called us to prayerfully consider since he began his ministry as the successor of Saint Peter more than eleven years ago.
Here are a few of my reflections in We Are His Witnesses:
- What is this “path” of pastoral conversion and missionary discipleship that we are called to follow as the People of God here in northern New Jersey? Jesus tells us that He Himself is the way, the truth, and the life (Jn 14:6). He invites us to repent, to change the way we live, and to follow Him. What’s more, He invites us to be His witnesses and to share His love and His truth with everyone we encounter.
- Pastoral conversion requires nothing more or less than our willingness to be open to what God’s Word is saying to us and to listen to one another. As we travel together as daughters and sons of God the Father and as sisters and brothers in Christ, united in the Holy Spirit, we are challenged to be agents of growth and change in our world. We must not be afraid to leave the comforts of home, or to risk venturing out into the world, because we are not alone. The Spirit of God leads the way, and we are accompanied by Mary and all the saints who walk alongside us as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
- The Final Document, For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission, which was approved by the Holy Father at the conclusion of the Synod in Rome last October, makes this powerful observation:
The Church exists to bear witness in the world to the most decisive moment in history: the Resurrection of Jesus. The Risen Christ brings peace to the world and gives us the gift of His Spirit. The living Christ is the source of true freedom, the foundation for a hope that does not disappoint, the revelation of the true face of God and humanity’s ultimate destiny (#14).
- We are His witnesses. We exist to bring Christ’s peace to a world at war. As missionary disciples, we are called to bring the living Christ, who is the source of all freedom and hope, to our sisters and brothers who have abandoned hope, whether here in northern New Jersey or anywhere else in the world. We are compelled to bear witness to the lost and the lonely among us, and we believe that Jesus Christ is “the face of God and humanity’s ultimate destiny.” Through Him, with Him, and in Him, God is with us, so we never have to be afraid.
We Are His Witnesses is also the name of a multi-year initiative that we are beginning during this new Jubilee Year as “Pilgrims of Hope. In my pastoral letter, I provide an outline of what we hope to achieve together in this planning process—guided by the Holy Spirit and supported by the active participation and prayerful discernment of all members of our archdiocesan family.
This new pastoral initiativewill address the following questions:
- Where are we today? What are the opportunities and challenges we face in the changing landscape of northern New Jersey? How can we more effectively embrace the concept of synodality as a way of being Church? How can we develop and sustain a bold missionary outreach here in northern New Jersey?
- Where is God calling us to go? What new opportunities is the Holy Spirit opening for us as we proclaim the joy of the Gospel in the diverse neighborhoods of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Union counties? How can we respond to the growing desire for life-long faith formation and spiritual renewal? How do we develop and sustain a deeper sense of co-responsibility and collaboration among leadership here in our archdiocese?
- How will we get there together? What changes do we need to make in our pastoral ministries, systems, and structures to meet the demands of pastoral conversion and missionary discipleship, both now and in the years ahead? How can we better use regional structures to encourage collaboration among parishes and promote the concepts of subsidiarity and solidarity? How do we engage in pastoral planning that truly is grounded in our mission?
As I say in my new pastoral letter, during this new initiative, these questions will be explored through prayerful discernment, attentive listening, and respectful dialogue. We approach this planning process without preconceived judgments or ready-made solutions. We are eager to hear the voices of all the people in our archdiocese concerning the opportunities and challenges we face as a missionary Church, both now and in the future.
I am pleased to announce that Auxiliary Bishop Michael A. Saporito, Regional Bishop for Bergen County, will lead this initiative. Bishop Saporito will oversee and coordinate all aspects of the planning process, ensuring effective communication with pastoral leaders and their communities, and facilitating broad consultation in a transparent manner.
In my pastoral letter, I include the names of the members of our newly formed Commission on Pastoral Planning. These gifted individuals have generously volunteered their time and talent to assist Bishop Saporito in the design and implementation of this comprehensive initiative. Their leadership and insights will help us foster collaboration and co-responsibility among all members of our archdiocesan family.
While Bishop Saporito, the Planning Commission members, and archdiocesan staff will facilitate the day-to-day operations of this pastoral planning initiative, it is important to note that everyone in the Archdiocesan of Newark will have a role in responding to the opportunities and challenges of the future. As this initiative moves forward, we will provide additional information on how you can participate. In the meantime, I invite you to begin by praying for the success of this initiative. We Are His Witnesses will only be effective in addressing the questions outlined above if we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us and join together in prayer as sisters and brothers united in Christ for the good of all.
Our proposed timeline aims to present a unified pastoral plan by the summer of 2026. Together, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we will shape a future rooted in Christ’s mission and responsive to the needs of His people here in northern New Jersey.
Please join me in praying for the success of We Are His Witnesses. Together, we will respond in faith to the changing circumstances of our time and continue to be the people that God calls us to be here in the Archdiocese of Newark.
With confidence in the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and with the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints, let us go forth in hope to proclaim the joy of the Gospel to all.
Have a Merry Christmas and God’s peace in the New Year!
Sincerely yours in Christ the Redeemer,
Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R.
Archbishop of Newark
A Message from Pope Francis: Words of Challenge and Hope Pastoral Activity and Conversion
(A selection from the Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel)).
25. I hope that all communities will devote the necessary effort to advancing along the path of a pastoral and missionary conversion which cannot leave things as they presently are. “Mere administration” can no longer be enough. Throughout the world, let us be “permanently in a state of mission”.
26. Paul VI invited us to deepen the call to renewal and to make it clear that renewal does not only concern individuals but the entire Church. Let us return to a memorable text which continues to challenge us. “The Church must look with penetrating eyes within herself, ponder the mystery of her own being… This vivid and lively self-awareness inevitably leads to a comparison between the ideal image of the Church as Christ envisaged her and loved her as his holy and spotless bride (cf. Eph 5:27), and the actual image which the Church presents to the world today… This is the source of the Church’s heroic and impatient struggle for renewal: the struggle to correct those flaws introduced by her members which her own self-examination, mirroring her exemplar, Christ, points out to her and condemns”. The Council presented ecclesial conversion as openness to a constant self-renewal born of fidelity to Jesus Christ: “Every renewal of the Church essentially consists in an increase of fidelity to her own calling… Christ summons the Church as she goes her pilgrim way… to that continual reformation of which she always has need, in so far as she is a human institution here on earth”.
There are ecclesial structures which can hamper efforts at evangelization, yet even good structures are only helpful when there is a life constantly driving, sustaining and assessing them. Without new life and an authentic evangelical spirit, without the Church’s “fidelity to her own calling”, any new structure will soon prove ineffective.
27. 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. As John Paul II once said to the Bishops of Oceania: “All renewal in the Church must have mission as its goal if it is not to fall prey to a kind of ecclesial introversion”.
28. The parish is not an outdated institution; precisely because it possesses great flexibility, it can assume quite different contours depending on the openness and missionary creativity of the pastor and the community. While certainly not the only institution which evangelizes, if the parish proves capable of self-renewal and constant adaptivity, it continues to be “the Church living in the midst of the homes of her sons and daughters”. This presumes that it really is in contact with the homes and the lives of its people, and does not become a useless structure out of touch with people or a self-absorbed group made up of a chosen few. The parish is the presence of the Church in a given territory, an environment for hearing God’s word, for growth in the Christian life, for dialogue, proclamation, charitable outreach, worship and celebration. In all its activities the parish encourages and trains its members to be evangelizers. It is a community of communities, a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey, and a centre of constant missionary outreach. We must admit, though, that the call to review and renew our parishes has not yet sufficed to bring them nearer to people, to make them environments of living communion and participation, and to make them completely mission-oriented.
30. Each particular Church, as a portion of the Catholic Church under the leadership of its bishop, is likewise called to missionary conversion. It is the primary subject of evangelization, since it is the concrete manifestation of the one Church in one specific place, and in it “the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of Christ is truly present and operative”. It is the Church incarnate in a certain place, equipped with all the means of salvation bestowed by Christ, but with local features. Its joy in communicating Jesus Christ is expressed both by a concern to preach him to areas in greater need and in constantly going forth to the outskirts of its own territory or towards new sociocultural settings. Wherever the need for the light and the life of the Risen Christ is greatest, it will want to be there. To make this missionary impulse ever more focused, generous and fruitful, I encourage each particular Church to undertake a resolute process of discernment, purification and reform.
31. The bishop must always foster this missionary communion in his diocesan Church, following the ideal of the first Christian communities, in which the believers were of one heart and one soul (cf. Acts 4:32). To do so, he will sometimes go before his people, pointing the way and keeping their hope vibrant. At other times, he will simply be in their midst with his unassuming and merciful presence. At yet other times, he will have to walk after them, helping those who lag behind and – above all – allowing the flock to strike out on new paths. In his mission of fostering a dynamic, open and missionary communion, he will have to encourage and develop the means of participation proposed in the Code of Canon Law, and other forms of pastoral dialogue, out of a desire to listen to everyone and not simply to those who would tell him what he would like to hear. Yet the principal aim of these participatory processes should not be ecclesiastical organization but rather the missionary aspiration of reaching everyone.
32. Since I am called to put into practice what I ask of others, I too must think about a conversion of the papacy. It is my duty, as the Bishop of Rome, to be open to suggestions which can help make the exercise of my ministry more faithful to the meaning which Jesus Christ wished to give it and to the present needs of evangelization. Pope John Paul II asked for help in finding “a way of exercising the primacy which, while in no way renouncing what is essential to its mission, is nonetheless open to a new situation”. We have made little progress in this regard. The papacy and the central structures of the universal Church also need to hear the call to pastoral conversion. The Second Vatican Council stated that, like the ancient patriarchal Churches, episcopal conferences are in a position “to contribute in many and fruitful ways to the concrete realization of the collegial spirit”. Yet this desire has not been fully realized, since juridical status of episcopal conferences which would see them as subjects of specific attributions, including genuine doctrinal authority, has not yet been sufficiently elaborated. Excessive centralization, rather than proving helpful, complicates the Church’s life and her missionary outreach.
33. Pastoral ministry in a missionary key seeks to abandon the complacent attitude that says: “We have always done it this way”. I invite everyone to be bold and creative in this task of rethinking the goals, structures, style and methods of evangelization in their respective communities. A proposal of goals without an adequate communal search for the means of achieving them will inevitably prove illusory. I encourage everyone to apply the guidelines found in this document generously and courageously, without inhibitions or fear. The important thing is to not walk alone, but to rely on each other as brothers and sisters, and especially under the leadership of the bishops, in a wise and realistic pastoral discernment.
My Prayer for You
Please join me in praying to our Blessed Mother Mary in these words from The Joy of the Gospel:
Star of the new evangelization,
help us to bear radiant witness to communion,
service, ardent and generous faith,
justice and love of the poor,
that the joy of the Gospel
may reach to the ends of the earth,
illuminating even the fringes of our world.
Mother of the living Gospel,
wellspring of happiness for God’s little ones,
pray for us.
Amen. Alleluia!