The papal vicar for Rome has asked every pastor in the diocese to form a \u201cpastoral team\u201d of about a dozen \u201ccourageous explorers\u201d to help launch a new neighborhood missionary outreach.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t go looking for those who have shown they are prudent, measured and detail-oriented,\u201d Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the papal vicar, wrote in a letter to pastors July 11.<\/p>\n
Instead, he said, the team should be made up of \u201cpeople who draw outside the lines, people whom the Holy Spirit has made passionate about imperfection.\u201d<\/p>\n
The diocese\u2019s 2019-2020 pastoral year is focused on \u201clistening to the cry of the city\u201d and responding with stronger parish communities, a greater focus on Sunday Mass, visiting the poor and lonely, providing concrete assistance to those in need and reaching out to young people and families.<\/p>\n
Cardinal De Donatis suggested the priests look for 12 people to serve on the pastoral team. The number is not a requirement, he said, but should send a message to Catholics that the parish is looking \u201cfor a small group from which everything set out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not need competent and qualified professionals as much as Christians who apparently are like everyone else but, in reality, are able to dream, to infect others with their dreams and want to experience something new,\u201d the cardinal wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps,\u201d he told the pastors, \u201cthese are people you have tried to contain a bit up until now \u2014 frankly, they can be destabilizing \u2014 but no more; you must draw them near, listen to them, value them and let them act so they can disturb the drowsy tranquility of others.\u201d<\/p>\n
And, he said, it is possible they will make mistakes, but that is better than having a parish that never tries anything new.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Read it all.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some surprising and challenging advice: The papal vicar for Rome has asked every pastor in the diocese to form a \u201cpastoral team\u201d of about a dozen \u201ccourageous explorers\u201d to help launch a new neighborhood missionary outreach. \u201cDon\u2019t go looking for those who have shown they are prudent, measured and detail-oriented,\u201d Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":13047,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[12582,741],"class_list":["post-300189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parish-life","tag-pastors","tag-rome"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n