The Church Speaks
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Pope Francis, May 2021 Dear brothers and sisters, With the encyclical Laudato Si’ issued in 2015, I invited all people of good will to take care of the Earth which is our common home. For some time now this home has been suffering the wounds we have caused due to a predatory attitude which makes us feel like masters of the planet and its resources, and authorises us to irresponsibly use the goods God has given us. Today, these wounds are manifesting themselves dramatically in an unprecedented ecological crisis affecting the soil, the air, the water and, in general, the ecosystem the human beings live in. The current pandemic, then, has brought to light even more strongly the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor, who suffer the most from it, highlighting that everything is interconnected and interdependent and that our health is not separated from the health of the environment we live in. We therefore need a new ecological approach, which transforms our way of living in the world, our lifestyles, our relationship with the Earth’s resources and in general the way we look at people and live our life. An integral human ecology, which involves not only environmental issues but people as a whole becomes capable of listening to the cry of the poor and being a leaven for a new society. We have a great responsibility, especially towards the future generations. What kind of world do we want to leave to our children and our young people? Our selfishness, our indifference and our irresponsible lifestyles are threatening the future of our children. So, I renew my appeal: let’s talk care of our mother Earth. Let’s overcome the temptation of selfishness that makes us predators of resources. Let’s cultivate respect for the gifts of the Earth and creation. Let’s inaugurate a finally eco-sustainable lifestyle and society we have the opportunity to prepare a better tomorrow for all. From the hands of God we have received a garden, we cannot leave a desert to our children. In such a context, on the 24th of May 2020 I announced the Laudato Si’ Year, the organization of which has been entrusted to the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. I thank those who have been celebrating this year with many initiatives. Today, I am pleased to announce that the Laudato Si’ Year will lead to a concrete action project, the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, a seven-year journey that will involve our communities in different ways, so that they can become totally sustainable, in the spirit of integral ecology. Thus, I would like to invite everyone to tackle this journey together. I’m addressing these seven realities in particular: families - parishes and dioceses - schools and universities – hospitals – businesses and farms – organisations, groups and movements – religious communities, working together. Only in this way will we be able to create the future we want. a more inclusive, fraternal, peaceful and sustainable world. On a journey lasting seven years we will let ourselves be guided by the seven Laudato Si’ Goals that will show us the direction as we pursue the vision of integral ecology: the response to the cry of the Earth, the response to the cry of the poor, the ecological economics, the adoption of a simple lifestyle, the ecological education, the ecological spirituality and the community commitment. There is hope. We can all cooperate, each one with his/her own culture and experience, each one with his/her own initiatives and abilities, so that our mother Earth returns to its original beauty and creation returns to shine according to God’s plan. God bless each of you and bless our mission to rebuild our common home. Thank you.
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Mission Statement To support and mobilise all in the diocese to become true missionary disciples. Vision Statement We are called to be a Catholic diocese which is: faithful to the mission entrusted to us by Jesus Christ full of missionary disciples who work together co-responsibly in vibrant communities of faith, joyful in their service of God and neighbour. A Message from Archbishop Bernard Longley We have a mandate given to us by Our Lord to spread the good news and serve and grow the faith for the coming decade and beyond. Pope Francis is encouraging us to do something new to help us achieve this. In Evangelii Gaudium he encourages us, the Christian faithful, “to embark upon a new chapter of evangelisation marked by this joy [of the Gospel] while pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come.” Pope Francis urged the entire Church "to embark on a new chapter of evangelism". The Church must understand itself as a "community of missionary disciples", who are "permanently in a state of mission". He says that “’mere administration’ can no longer be enough.” I have commissioned a number of groups who are looking at how we work in our parishes and in the Archdiocese to increase the opportunities that enable us to do God’s work and to fulfil the promises of our baptism. I want us to look at how we will individually respond to God’s call to be missionary disciples in the Church and in our local communities, working joyfully together to spread the Word and the work of God. In essence, how will we unfold God’s plan for our diocesan church? When I look ahead, I envisage a Catholic diocese which is: · Faithful to the mission entrusted to us by Jesus Christ · Full of intentional disciples in vibrant communities of faith, joyful in their service of God and others · Where many more lay people are engaged in collaborative ministry How can it happen and what will that look like given the challenges we face? There are four areas I am asking us all to focus on: Evangelisation, Formation, Liturgy and Worship and Social Outreach. In our work on the four themes it is important that young people and families are a particular area of focus for all that we do. The universal call to holiness finds its first expression within families and its first recruits among young people. Catholic education and our diocesan youth services play an important role in serving families and young people. The links between the family, the parish and the school are vital to ensure that the faith is handed on. I invite you to join me in looking with fresh eyes at our mission. We must take this opportunity to do all we can to make sure the Gospel is seen and heard through the example of our daily Christian lives. With every blessing Pastoral Letter 'Our Vision' - 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 12/13 June 2021 Diocesan Vision, Unfolding God's Plan | Birmingham Diocesan Trust (birminghamdiocese.org.uk) Prayer for the Diocesan Vision Written by the Liturgy and Worship group: Spirit of God, descend on me this day. Grant me the Spirit of joy, to lift me, the Spirit of hope to inspire me, the Spirit of love to surround me and the Spirit of truth to enlighten my path. Holy Spirit, I pray for a new outpouring of your grace, so that I may grow in worship of your name in love of you in my prayer and in my actions towards others. Come Holy Spirit into my life to guide me. Strengthen and defend me, so that I may be drawn ever closer to you. Help me this day and always to be a channel of grace in all I say and do and invite others into relationship with you. Amen Pope Francis prayer intention for the month of June, invites everyone to pray for those preparing for marriage, which is “a vocation born from the heart.”
 Pope Francis during the Sunday Angelus recalls the feast of the Most Holy Trinity which he said, “makes us contemplate this wonderful mystery of love and light from which we come and to which our earthly journey is guided.” By Lydia O’Kane [Vatican News] Pope Francis, during the Angelus from St Peter's Square recalled the feast of the Most Holy Trinity this Sunday, describing it as an immense mystery which “exceeds the capacity of our mind, but which speaks to our heart, because we find it enclosed in that expression of Saint John which sums up all of Revelation: "God is love." He went on to says that, insofar as God is love, and the one and only one, there is also communion between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Bond of unity Addressing the faithful, the Pope explained that “it is the Father who gives himself by generating the Son, who in turn gives himself to the Father, and their mutual love is the Holy Spirit, the bond of their unity.” “This mystery of the Trinity has been revealed to us by Jesus himself,“ emphasized Pope Francis. “He showed us the face of God as the merciful Father; He presented Himself, true man, as the Son of God and the Word of the Father.” The Pope continued by saying that Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son, the Spirit of Truth, the Paraclete Spirit, that is, our Consoler and Advocate. Mystery of love and light The feast of the Holy Trinity, said Pope Francis, “makes us contemplate this wonderful mystery of love and light from which we come and toward which our earthly journey is guided.” “In the proclamation of the Gospel and in every form of the Christian mission,” Pope Francis underlined, we cannot disregard this unity invoked by Jesus; the beauty of the Gospel demands to be lived and witnessed in harmony among us, who are so different." He continued by saying that this unity, "is essential to the Christian: it is not an attitude, an expression: no. It is essential, because unity is the only way of life. It is essential, because unity is born of love, of God's mercy, of the justification of Jesus Christ and of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts." |
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