From the Cardinal: Pastoral conversion and the missionary option| July 26, 2024
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Vol. 5. No. 22
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.”
The Holy Father goes on to say that “the parish is not an outdated institution; precisely because it possesses great flexibility, it can assume quite different contours depending on the openness and missionary creativity of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” (#28).
As parishes and as an archdiocese, our primary purpose is to proclaim the Gospel—to be missionary disciples who witness to Gospel joy. Our goal is not self-preservation, although we do have to be responsible stewards of the human, physical and financial resources entrusted to our care. Our stewardship of the Church’s resources is never an end in itself. It must always be dedicated to the mission we have been called to carry out in Jesus’ name.
Pope Francis reminds us that we are called to be “the Church incarnate in a certain place, equipped with all the means of salvation bestowed by Christ, but with local features” (#30). The Holy Father goes on to say that both parishes and dioceses are challenged to step outside of their comfort zones, and to be ambassadors for Christ both close to home and in the farthest corners of the world.
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to continue to accompany our parishes and our archdiocese, so that all of us may be missionary disciples who give eloquent witness to the joy the Gospel.
Sincerely yours in Christ the Redeemer,
Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R.
Archbishop of Newark
A Synodal Church in Mission: Synthesis Report
A Selection from the 2023 Synod Synthesis Report’s Part II: All Disciples, All Missionaries, #11. Deacons and Priests in a Synodal Church
a) Priests are the principal collaborators of the bishop, forming with him one presbyterate (cf LG 28). Deacons are ordained for the ministry of serving the People of God in the diakonia of the Word, in the liturgy, but above all in the exercise of charity (cf LG 29). The Synodal Assembly wishes, first and foremost, to express to priests and deacons a deep sense of gratitude. Aware that they may experience loneliness and isolation, it encourages Christian communities to support them with prayer, friendship, and collaboration.
b) Deacons and priests engage in ministry in a wide variety of pastoral settings: in parishes, in evangelization, among those living in poverty and who are marginalized, in the world of culture and education, as well as in the mission ad gentes, in theological research, at retreat centers and places of spiritual renewal, and many others. In a synodal Church, ordained ministers are called to live their service to the People of God in a disposition of proximity to people, welcoming and listening to all, while cultivating a deep personal spirituality and a life of prayer. Above all, they are required to reconsider the exercise of authority, modeling it upon Jesus, who, “though he was in the form of God, […] emptied himself, taking the form of a slave” (Phil. 2:6-7). The Assembly acknowledges that through their dedication many priests and deacons make Christ, the Good Shepherd and the Servant, present.
c) One obstacle to ministry and mission is clericalism. Clericalism stems from a misunderstanding of the divine call, viewing it more as a privilege than a service, and manifesting itself in the exercise of power in a worldly manner that refuses to allow itself to be accountable. This distortion of the priestly vocation needs to be challenged from the earliest stages of formation by ensuring close contact with the People of God and through concrete service-learning experiences among those most in need. The exercise of priestly ministry today cannot be conceived of except in harmony with the bishop and the presbyterate, and in profound communion with other ministries and charisms. Unfortunately, clericalism is a disposition that can manifest itself not only among ministers but also among the laity.
d) In order to exercise ordained ministry in a context of co-responsibility, it is necessary to be aware of one’s own capacities and limitations. For this reason, it is important to ensure that a realistic approach to human formation is integrated with the cultural and spiritual dimensions of formation, as well as formation for discipleship. In this regard, the contribution of families of origin, and the Christian community, within which a young man’s vocation is fostered, as well as that of other families that accompany his growth, cannot be underestimated.
A Message from Pope Francis: Words of Challenge and Hope
(A selection from the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Chapter Two, “Amid the Crisis of Communal Commitment”)
II. Temptations faced by pastoral workers
76. I feel tremendous gratitude to all those who are committed to working in and for the Church. Here I do not wish to discuss at length the activities of the different pastoral workers, from bishops down to those who provide the most humble and hidden services. Rather, I would like to reflect on the challenges that all of them must face in the context of our current globalized culture. But in justice, I must say first that the contribution of the Church in today’s world is enormous. The pain and the shame we feel at the sins of some members of the Church, and at our own, must never make us forget how many Christians are giving their lives in love. They help so many people to be healed or to die in peace in makeshift hospitals. They are present to those enslaved by different addictions in the poorest places on earth. They devote themselves to the education of children and young people. They take care of the elderly who have been forgotten by everyone else. They look for ways to communicate values in hostile environments. They are dedicated in many other ways to showing an immense love for humanity inspired by the God who became man. I am grateful for the beautiful example given to me by so many Christians who joyfully sacrifice their lives and their time. This witness comforts and sustains me in my own effort to overcome selfishness and to give more fully of myself.
77. As children of this age, though, all of us are in some way affected by the present globalized culture which, while offering us values and new possibilities, can also limit, condition and ultimately harm us. I am aware that we need to create spaces where pastoral workers can be helped and healed, “places where faith itself in the crucified and risen Jesus is renewed, where the most profound questions and daily concerns are shared, where deeper discernment about our experiences and life itself is undertaken in the light of the Gospel, for the purpose of directing individual and social decisions towards the good and beautiful.”[62] At the same time, I would like to call attention to certain particular temptations which affect pastoral workers.
Yes to the challenge of a missionary spirituality
78. Today we are seeing in many pastoral workers, including consecrated men and women, an inordinate concern for their personal freedom and relaxation, which leads them to see their work as a mere appendage to their life, as if it were not part of their very identity. At the same time, the spiritual life comes to be identified with a few religious exercises which can offer a certain comfort but which do not encourage encounter with others, engagement with the world or a passion for evangelization. As a result, one can observe in many agents of evangelization, even though they pray, a heightened individualism, a crisis of identity and a cooling of fervour. These are three evils which fuel one another.
79. At times our media culture and some intellectual circles convey a marked scepticism with regard to the Church’s message, along with a certain cynicism. As a consequence, many pastoral workers, although they pray, develop a sort of inferiority complex which leads them to relativize or conceal their Christian identity and convictions. This produces a vicious circle. They end up being unhappy with who they are and what they do; they do not identify with their mission of evangelization and this weakens their commitment. They end up stifling the joy of mission with a kind of obsession about being like everyone else and possessing what everyone else possesses. Their work of evangelization thus becomes forced, and they devote little energy and very limited time to it.
80. Pastoral workers can thus fall into a relativism which, whatever their particular style of spirituality or way of thinking, proves even more dangerous than doctrinal relativism. It has to do with the deepest and inmost decisions that shape their way of life. This practical relativism consists in acting as if God did not exist, making decisions as if the poor did not exist, setting goals as if others did not exist, working as if people who have not received the Gospel did not exist. It is striking that even some who clearly have solid doctrinal and spiritual convictions frequently fall into a lifestyle which leads to an attachment to financial security, or to a desire for power or human glory at all cost, rather than giving their lives to others in mission. Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of missionary enthusiasm!
No to selfishness and spiritual sloth
81. At a time when we most need a missionary dynamism which will bring salt and light to the world, many lay people fear that they may be asked to undertake some apostolic work and they seek to avoid any responsibility that may take away from their free time. For example, it has become very difficult today to find trained parish catechists willing to persevere in this work for some years. Something similar is also happening with priests who are obsessed with protecting their free time. This is frequently due to the fact that people feel an overbearing need to guard their personal freedom, as though the task of evangelization was a dangerous poison rather than a joyful response to God’s love which summons us to mission and makes us fulfilled and productive. Some resist giving themselves over completely to mission and thus end up in a state of paralysis and acedia.
82. The problem is not always an excess of activity, but rather activity undertaken badly, without adequate motivation, without a spirituality which would permeate it and make it pleasurable. As a result, work becomes more tiring than necessary, even leading at times to illness. Far from a content and happy tiredness, this is a tense, burdensome, dissatisfying and, in the end, unbearable fatigue. This pastoral acedia can be caused by a number of things. Some fall into it because they throw themselves into unrealistic projects and are not satisfied simply to do what they reasonably can. Others, because they lack the patience to allow processes to mature; they want everything to fall from heaven. Others, because they are attached to a few projects or vain dreams of success. Others, because they have lost real contact with people and so depersonalize their work that they are more concerned with the road map than with the journey itself. Others fall into acedia because they are unable to wait; they want to dominate the rhythm of life. Today’s obsession with immediate results makes it hard for pastoral workers to tolerate anything that smacks of disagreement, possible failure, criticism, the cross.
83. And so, the biggest threat of all gradually takes shape: “the gray pragmatism of the daily life of the Church, in which all appears to proceed normally, while in reality faith is wearing down and degenerating into small-mindedness.”[63] A tomb psychology thus develops and slowly transforms Christians into mummies in a museum. Disillusioned with reality, with the Church and with themselves, they experience a constant temptation to cling to a faint melancholy, lacking in hope, which seizes the heart like “the most precious of the devil’s potions.”[64] Called to radiate light and communicate life, in the end they are caught up in things that generate only darkness and inner weariness, and slowly consume all zeal for the apostolate. For all this, I repeat: Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of the joy of evangelization!
My Prayer for You
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!