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Pastoral

Pastoral

PASTORAL MINISTRY

Brief History

Boards and Commissions were constituted in the diocese as a result of the “Living Together” at Nagercoil where Bishop and priests of the Diocese came together for a five-day analysis, reflection, deliberations and planning, moderated by Fr D.S. Amalorpavadhas in1987. The “Living Together” envisioned a director and a team for each ministry and “full-time availability” of at least a few directors. The priests’ Senate that came into being during the “Living Together,” applied itself to the task of implementing the above decisions. Accordingly, the following Boards came into being in October 1988: 1. Board for Priestly Formation and Sacred Ministries; 2. Board for Lay Apostolate; 3. Board for Missions, Dialogue and Ecumenism; 4. Board for Social Administration; 5. Board for Education; 6. Board for Temporal Administration.

The Board for Sacred Ministries included the following five Commissions: Liturgy, Catechetics, Bible, Vocation and Media. With the formation of Basic Christian Communities (BCC) in 1991 the Board for Pastoral Ministry was constituted, comprising seven Commissions: Liturgy, Catechetics, Bible, Family Apostolate, Ecumenism and Dialogue, Evangelization and Pius Association. The Archdiocesan Synod in 2012 decided to constitute Ministry for the Laity. Thus Commission for Pius Association merged with the above said ministry. In 2016, in the context of KRLCC Mission Congress 2017 and bringing uniformity in the twelve Latin Catholic Dioceses in Kerala, KRLCC decided to have six ministries and Commission for BCC as their base: 1. Pastoral Ministry; 2. Ministry for Families; 3. Ministry for Laity; 4. Ministry for Education; Ministry for Youth; 6. Social Action Ministry.

Commissions of Pastoral Ministry

As a result of reconstitution of ministries in 2016 the following nine commissions come under Pastoral Ministry:

  1. Commission for Bible Apostolate
  2. Commission for Faith Formation (Catechetics)
  3. Commission for Liturgy
  4. Commission for Evangelization and Charismatic Movement
  5. Commission for Ecumenism
  6. Commission for Inter-Religious Dialogue 
  7. Commission for Vocation-Clergy-Religious-Seminary
  8. Commission for Theology
  9. Commission for Canon Law

Vision

Pastoral Ministry of Archdiocese of Trivandrum (Latin Rite) envisions faith-filled communities through the teaching, preaching and celebration of the Gospel and human communities through collaboration and dialogue with different churches and religions.

Mission

Animated by the mission of Jesus, the Pastoral Ministry of Archdiocese of Trivandrum (Latin Rite) commits itself to strengthen the faith, prayer, belief and life of parish communities to be communities of life and love.

Aims

To realize the vision and mission the ministry commits itself

  • To make Bible an integral part of everyday life of faithful, enabling the faithful to explore the meaning of the Word of God in the cultural context of Asia in general and India in particular (Bible)
  • To present an organic synthesis of the essential and fundamental contents of Catholic doctrine, as regards both faith and morals, in the light of the Second Vatican Council and the whole of the Church’s Tradition, making use of its principal sources, Sacred Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church, the liturgy and the Church’s Magisterium (Catechetics)
  • To transform the implications that have been shaped through Bible reading and interpretation and the significance of doctrines that have been taught at the Catechism class into practical realization and celebration in everyday life (Liturgy)
  • To realize the only mission of the Church, namely evangelization, first of all actualizing the Gospel in the Church and secondly through Church’s witnessing of the Gospel to the world (Evangelization and Charismatic Movement)
  • To contribute dynamically to maintain religious harmony and inter-church relationship by convening periodical meetings with the different religious heads and by participating actively in the programmes of United Christian Movement (Ecumenism)
  • To foster creative interaction with people of all faiths, respecting the religious values of each faith and promoting positive attitude towards people of other faiths (Inter-Religious Dialogue)
  • To form and equip clergy and religious to be committed and zealous missionaries to preach the Gospel and spread the values of God’s kingdom in their respective parish and society and foster vocations to priesthood and religious life (Vocation-Clergy-Religious-Seminary)
  • To deepen theological knowledge of clergy and the consecrated and promote theological understanding among lay faithful by organizing theology course and conducting seminars and study classes (Theology)
  • To widen the knowledge about Canon Law among clergy and the consecrated and teach the highlights of Canon Law to the lay faithful, especially the lessons regarding their rights and obligations (Canon Law)

 

Organizational Set-up in the Archdiocesan Level

The ministry has a director and joint-director, assisted by office staffs. The Commissions of Pastoral Ministry have their own General Body and Executive Committees. The Board of Pastoral Ministry for three years (2017-2019), constituted by Archbishop, assists the ministry with their valuable suggestions. The Board consists of the following members:

Rt. Rev. Dr. Christudas R.  (Co-Ordinator)

Rev Dr Darwin Peter (Director)                 

Very Rev Msgr Dr Nicholas T (Member)      

Rev Fr D. Thomas (Member)                         

Rev Dr Dyson Y (Member)                           

Rev Sr Stella Maria CCR (Member)              

Rev Sr Salomy S. ICM (Member)                 

Smt Kavitha Jacob (Member)                                                

Smt Leony Paul (Member)                                         

Shri Raju D. Morais (Member)                      

Shri Nixon Lopez (Member)                          

Forane and Parish Level Organization

The Forane and Parish level activities are executed by Forane and Parish Pastoral Ministry Executive Committee:

Forane Executive Committee

Parish Executive Committee

Priest Coordinator

Parish Priest

Convenor (elected from parish convenors)

Convenor (elected from unit convenors)

Sister Animator

Sister Animator

Executive Secretaries (priests) of Bible, Catechetics and Liturgy (if there are)

Headmaster/Headmistress, Catechism School

In-charges of 9 Commissions chosen from parish convenors

In-charges of 9 Commissions chosen from unit convenors

 

Conclusion

Ultimately Pastoral Ministry aims to instil in the life of children, adults and families of Archdiocese of Trivandrum (Latin Rite) a fuller awareness of Catholic faith, Bible, Church, Liturgy, Sacraments, Proclamation, Ecumenism, Inter-religious Dialogue, Theology and Canon Law. It views the formation of faith and conscience as a lifelong process that enables the faithful to journey together toward a deeper relationship with God and neighbour.

Fr. Darwin Peter

Director

 

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