Conclusion

The dawn of this new millennium is an occasion of great joy and deep hope. This is a moment of grace, a time in history when we, clergy, religious and laity, are called to recognize the rich opportunities that are ours for the service of Christ and his Church. We are gifted by God to respond to the challenges that await us. We have no reason to fear, but an abundance of reasons to live in hope and confidence.

There are many resources within our archdiocese to help us, one and all, to respond to the gifts and the tasks before us. I pledge my support to the priests, religious and laity as we move together to meet the needs of our local Church, working to reshape ministerial structures so that they allow for a more collaborative and inclusive exercise of ministry. This archdiocese has fine programs of education and training for ministry. I urge you to take advantage of the many opportunities offered through the archdiocese, through St. John’s Seminary, St. John’s Seminary College, Loyola Marymount University, Mount St. Mary’s College, and other resources. We welcome your active participation to assure that the rich diversity of the Spirit’s gifts will continue to flourish in service of the Body of Christ and the wider world in our own time and place.

As we move together in a spirit of true collaboration, one of the challenges awaiting us is to learn more about sharing resources at the local level. If ministry is to be truly collaborative and inclusive, then we must make greater efforts in "twinning" and establishing "sister parishes" throughout the archdiocese. How can we encourage developing "sister parish" relationships between poorer parishes and those with greater financial resources? In working together to establish greater collaboration between different parishes we will all gain a fuller appreciation of the ways in which all ministers of Christ and his Church are challenged to become more effective advocates for the poor, the last, the littlest, the least in both Church and society.

Since the conclusion of the Priests’ Assembly in October 1997, the priests of the archdiocese have been working more closely at the deanery level. Greater collaboration in ministry will require that we commit ourselves to work even more closely within all our deaneries. How do we enhance the importance of the deanery as a resource and model of collaboration? How do we enhance the decision-making ability of the pastoral regions and deaneries to deal with local situations? How to form a more effective, collaborative deanery structure? How can the deanery become a context for the continuation of the work of the Priests’ Assembly and Convocations?

This Pastoral Letter is itself the fruit of the Priests’ Assembly of 1997 and the Convocations of 1998 and 1999. These have been vitally important gatherings for the life of our archdiocese and for its future. If we are to continue to reap the rich rewards of those gatherings, to continue to develop a more collaborative and inclusive approach to ministry that the priests have called for, then one of the challenges that awaits us now is to gather together priests, deacons, religious and lay leaders to explore how we all might more effectively exercise our ministry as servants of Christ and his Church.

It is, then, with great joy that I announce that I am hereby convoking an Archdiocesan Synod which will include members of the whole People of God. The last Synod in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was held in 1960, prior to the Second Vatican Council. The pre-Synodal process will begin now with the promulgation of this Pastoral Letter, and hopefully, will conclude in late 2002 or early 2003 in our new Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

In preparation for the Synod, I urge each and every priest, deacon, religious, and baptized Catholic within the archdiocese to take to heart the words of this Pastoral Letter. If the message is to be taken to heart, what is required, not merely desirable, is that each and every parish begin to plan for studying the entire Pastoral Letter and for engaging in the exercises in Part Four of this Letter. In so doing we will be better able to move forward together in the hope of being and building the Body of Christ in this local Church of Los Angeles.

Ours is a rich inheritance, a plentiful endowment. But this is not a treasure of silver or gold. Rather, our inheritance is an abundance of gift—a flourishing of gifts more plentiful than we had ever imagined!

Conclusion

Pastoral Regions

Search This Site

Popular Pages

Page Tools