by Jéssica Marçal
Canção Nova News

The parish has been the object of attention of the Church, principally in view of the necessity of promoting a new evangelization and missionarity. The 3rd National Retreat of the Continental Mission realized in November had as its theme “Missionary Parish” procuring to be an opportunity for stimulating the pastoral agents to the permanent state of mission.

The assessor of the Continental Mission of the Brazilian Bishops Conference, Father Sidnei Marcos Dornelas, explained that the continental mission was a work given at the Aparecida Conference, in order that this would not remain only a document but become reality in each local church, in each diocese.

He stressed that among many missionary fronts, it is the parish that is the central place where one realizes all community life, all evangelizing activity of the Church. Therefore, the priest himself explained, that there exists the need, perceived not only by the bishops, but by all the Church, that the parish work in order that its pastoral structures may be truly missionary.

Among the proposals in order that this may be concretized, Padre Sidney cited popular missions that may be inspired in the  ecclesial communities and are spread in many dioceses inside Brazil. Beyond this, the priest cited the Pastoral of the Visitation for visiting families, businesses, and entities, for example.

“The Pastoral of Visitation seeks this: to create a truly pastoral manner more systematic, more organized, in various environments in which the people live, creating within them the sense that they may be able to feel attended, welcome by the Church and that the Church also may be able to make herself present, in  this evangelization can be present in all aspects of society.

At the side of these proposals Father Sidnei remembered the importance of the Missionary Council, a suggestion for all the parishes and diocese. According to  the priests, the objective is not so much to create the mission, but to awaken the missionary spirit in all pastoral areas. In this way, the Council functions as an articulator, an instrument of communion in order that one may be able to enrich more and more the local way of the Church.

Challenges

If on one side there exists many proposals for a parish missionary work, on the other there are difficulties. One of the challenges according to Father Sidney is the diversity of the reality of parishes.

“There exists inside Brazil parishes that are immense, that at the same time join the cathedral of a diocese, peripheral urban neighborhoods and rural zones. Each of these realities demands a different response. At times the clergy is greatly reduced one or two priests to serve all.”

Year of the Faith

Attention with the mission in the parishes happens at the same time that the Church in Brazil and in the world lives the Year of Faith, proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI. Father Sidnei stressed that there is a great synthesis between the Year of the Faith and the Continental Mission.

He reminded that this year puts before all the faithful, especially pastoral agents, the question of the transmission of the faith and the responsibility of each one with the work of dynamizing the transmission of the faith in new ways,  once that old way of doing this, unically based on Tradition, does not have the same “breath” as before.

“If we were to know how to respond well to the proposal of Aparecida, we are also giving a response to the concerns that are raised through the Year of the Faith, or maybe, as transmitting the faith in the world of today before the different realities that the Church encounters in all the world. ”

translated from Portuguese