Participants Must Focus on Goals of Pastoral Planning Project
 

“The call to mission derives, of its nature, from the call to holiness….The universal call to holiness is closely linked to the universal call to mission. Every member of the faithful is called to holiness and to mission.” 
           – Redemptoris Missio, Pope John Paul II  

Called to Holiness and Mission – the title itself provides the focus and direction for the comprehensive pastoral planning project that is underway in the Diocese of Scranton.

Hundreds of groups, comprised of thousands of people, are participating in a series of meetings to examine the current status of their parishes and propose new structures to meet the needs of the future.

“With all of this activity, it would be easy to get sidetracked and lose sight of the fact that this project must focus on what is best for the Diocese as one community of faithful, not as individual parishes in isolation,” said Monsignor Vincent J. Grimalia, V.G., project director. “It is important that we all stay focused on the goals of the project.”

Monsignor Grimalia referred to Bishop Martino’s pastoral letter of Dec. 13, 2007, in which the Bishop asked: Are we prepared for evangelization in the 21st century or are we not because we are inordinately attached to structures from the past?

“The Diocese is not a grouping of totally independent local entities,” Bishop Martino wrote. “Pastoral Planning at the local level cannot be done in isolation from the central administration of the Diocese or from neighboring parishes. Diocesan pastoral planning and uniform diocesan directives can help to deepen a sense of diocesan community, spirituality and mission, as well as foster the spiritual renewal of our parishes and institutions. In this way we can express more effectively the signs of unity, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity of the Church of Jesus Christ throughout the eleven counties of northeastern and north central Pennsylvania .”

The Bishop stressed that prayer must be the foundation for this “arduous but necessary endeavor as we progress further into the new century and new millennium.”

“Only the grace of God and prayerful reflection on the conditions of the Diocese and the priorities, goals and criteria that are needed for an effective mission and prudent stewardship will lead to spiritual renewal and prepare us for the evangelization of persons and culture that is our mission,” he wrote.

The pastoral planning process must be based on a solid foundation of a deeper spirituality and understanding of the faith that is to be lived and put into practice – a spirituality of vocation, communion, mission and stewardship.

This interior renewal will support the external result: the reorganization of parish structures for more effective mission in the 21st century.

Monsignor Grimalia reiterated the significance of focusing on the goals of the project, which are:  

1.      To foster the personal and communal holiness of Catholics and support them to deepen their commitment in living out the mission of the Church.  

2.      To enhance quality parish life throughout the Diocese of Scranton.  

3.      To strengthen the presence and ministry of the Church in the urban, suburban and rural areas of the four regions and eleven counties.  

4.      To increase collaboration between and among leaders, parishes and the whole Diocese of Scranton.  

5.      To act as good stewards of all human, financial and facility resources.  

6.      To support increased understanding of and action for the assumptions and criteria related to vibrant parish life.  

7.      To build a greater sense of unity within the rich ethnic, cultural and generational diversity present within the local Church.  

8.      To work on the deanery, vicariate and diocesan wide revitalization.  

“Communion with Jesus, which gives rise to the communion of Christians among themselves, is an indispensable condition for bearing fruit: ‘Apart from me you can do nothing’ (Jn 15:5). And communion with others is the most magnificent fruit that the branches can give: in fact, it is the gift of Christ and His Spirit…Communion and mission are profoundly connected with each other, they interpenetrate and mutually imply each other, to the point that communion represents both the source and the fruit of mission: communion gives rise to mission and mission is accomplished in communion.”

           – Christfideles Laici, Pope John Paul II