Bishop Joseph Galante sounded the call for more vibrant parishes in the Diocese of Camden when he announced a major planning initiative here three years ago.
Now, the Bishops of Nigeria have heard it from Pope Benedict himself.
Meeting on February 14 with the Bishops of Nigeria following their “ad limina” visit, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, stressed the importance of diocesan planning and formational training in order to promote “vibrant parishes” and “generous service to wider community.”
“Expansion in the Church calls for special care in diocesan planning and the training of personnel through ongoing activities of formation in order to facilitate the necessary deepening of the faith of your people,” the pope told the Nigerian bishops.
He cited the priorities of “teaching the art of prayer, encouraging participation in the liturgy and the sacraments, wise and relevant preaching, catechetical instruction, and spiritual and moral guidance.”
“From this foundation,” the pope said, “faith flourishes in Christian virtue, and gives rise to vibrant parishes and generous service to the wider community.”
Three years ago, Bishop Joseph Galante announced a diocesan-wide planning initiative to strengthen parishes in the six counties of South Jersey and to advance key pastoral priorities identified by parishioners at Speak Up sessions in 2005 and 2006, including lifelong formation, liturgy, lay ministry, youth and young adults, compassionate outreach and priestly vocations.
In announcing the reconfiguration of parishes in the diocese last April, Bishop Galante said his motivation was to bring about more dynamic, more vibrant, more alive parish communities, “After prayerful reflection and study, and extensive consultation, and in order to address our pastoral priorities by calling back those who have abandoned the faith, by providing compassionate outreach and offering lifelong faith formation, by giving nourishment through good, sound liturgy, by reaching out to our youth and young adults, my goal and desire always has been to revitalize parish life by improving care to the People of God.”
Priest Conveners and Core Team members are meeting now to prepare merging parishes to come together by addressing pertinent pastoral, civil and canonical issues, including laying the foundations for worship and pastoral ministries in the new parishes, ensuring proper staffing of the new parish, financial and accounting procedures, the care of temporal goods, and records retention.
For more information about parish planning in the diocese, see www.GatheringGodsGifts.org