Mission Bishop Invites Parishes to Engage in Local Outreach

23 June 2010

Every parish in our diocese and throughout England and Wales has been sent a resource to support them in celebration and faith witness during the Holy Father’s historic visit.  cliftondiocese.com heard from Clare Ward the Home Mission Advisor yesterday (22 June).  Now we have more information from the bishop who leads mission in England and Wales.

The parish resources booklet has been created, with partners, by the Home Mission Desk of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. The resource aims to encourage people to consider how they can witness to their faith during Pope Benedict’s visit.

Right Reverend Kieran Conry, the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, is Chair of the Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis and writes on page one of the resource: “Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the UK, at the invitation of Her Majesty’s government, will receive extensive media attention and it will give the Catholic community an opportunity to experience their Catholic identity in a particular way. This, after all, is the one person who binds the Catholic community together throughout the world.

“The visit will also be an opportunity for everyone in society to reflect on what Pope Benedict has to say to all of us irrespective of belief, and the need to focus on the common good, a dimension of society that has perhaps been partially lost in the recent past. We have become a selfish society in many ways, and the message of the Pope will be a reminder of where true happiness is to be found.

“Many of our parishes are experiencing upheaval and anxiety, and the visit of Pope Benedict is a chance to renew ourselves as parish communities. Because you will be able to watch the visit in full on the official website www.thepapalvisit.org.uk, and the principal celebrations televised live, this will be an invitation to parishes to come together and celebrate those moments, and to consider whether they might also offer the chance to celebrate them ecumenically.

“This booklet is offered as a help to preparations for local initiatives; they don’t have to be on a great scale, but in the same way that the visit of Pope John Paul II stayed in the mind of those who experienced it, there are things that can be done on a smaller, local scale that can make the visit in September a really memorable moment of renewal. The theme of the visit is the phrase ‘Heart speaks unto heart’, and the gift that the Catholic community can offer the rest of our society today is this invitation to engage again in a dialogue of love and care for one another.”

You can download your copy in the multimedia panel on the right.

The resource proposes seven pathways that parishes might take in their papal visit preparations which are: prayer, formation, promotion, local events, journey of faith witness, service and daily life. Home mission guidelines are also offered for parish event organisers.

The official website thepapalvisit.org.uk is the best place to find out the most up-to-date information in the build up to the special time in the life of the Church in our countries.  The top quality website will also provide the best coverage during the visit - if you're unable to be at any of the events it's a great place for you to follow the visit virtually.

You can also make your donation towards the visit at the official website.  It's simple, secure and direct.

There's much from Archbishop Vincent Nichols on from our report today.