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:
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
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