Archbishop calls Archdiocese to be 'places where heart speaks to heart'

Archbishop Mark O'Toole - screenshot

Source: Archdiocese of Cardiff- Menevia

The Archbishop of Cardiff-Menevia, Mark O'Toole has issued a pastoral message calling on parishes, schools and communities across south and mid Wales and Herefordshire to deepen their relationship with Christ and share their faith with others. In it he sets out a clear vision for the Archdiocese built on a foundation of prayer and four pillars.

Archbishop Mark's message comes just over three years into his ministry in the Archdiocese and one year after the proclamation of the united Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia.

Drawing on the motto of St John Henry Newman, recently declared a Doctor of the Church, he invites Catholics to recognise how "Jesus' Heart touches our hearts" and to share that encounter with others who may never otherwise come to know Christ.

"We want to touch other's hearts so that they know the life-giving experience of encounter with Him," the Archbishop writes. "Our motivation is that we love Jesus and we want others to know the beauty of His friendship and His love."

The pastoral message sets out a vision for the Archdiocese built on a foundation of prayer and four pillars: youth and the raising up of young leaders, including vocations to the priesthood; an evangelising zeal which brings Jesus to others; formation in faith which recognises every baptised person is called to be missionary; and loving service of those most in need.

Archbishop Mark particularly highlights the importance of young people, noting that some of the most rewarding parts of his ministry have been meeting young people in youth work, schools, chaplaincies and on pilgrimages.

"Young people are not only our future, but our present too," he writes, praising the development of the Emmaus Youth Mission which invites young people across the Archdiocese into a real and deep relationship with Jesus.

The Archbishop emphasises that mission is at the very heart of God and calls on Catholics to share their faith joyfully. "We are joyful because we have encountered Jesus. This entails a call to mission, because we want to share Jesus with others who do not know Him."

He challenges parishes and schools to consider whether their initiatives are truly open to those who do not yet believe or whether they have become "a circle of friends closed in on ourselves".

The pastoral message also stresses the importance of formation in faith and loving service of those in need, highlighting the variety of ways Catholics across the Diocese are engaged in projects serving their neighbours, from food banks to homeless projects, SVP, and support for organisations like CAFOD, Aid to the Church in Need, Missio and Apostleship of the Sea.

Archbishop Mark will be breaking the message down into six pieces with reflection questions which will be available in the coming weeks for use across the archdiocese during Lent or Eastertide.

LINKS

The full pastoral message is available here: https://rcadc.org/heart-speaks-to-heart-being-a-missionary-and-synodal-diocese-a-pastoral-message/.

Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia: www.rcadc.org