The Pastoral year of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman was inaugurated and the pastoral letter 2022-23, of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, was released on 1st June at St Francis Xavier Church Duler at the hands of Cardinal-Elect and Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao after the confirmation Mass there. the release of the Pastoral letter was done through the hands of different represenntatives of the Archdiocese along with the Archbishop. They were Fr. Leonardo Pegado D'Souza (Director of Pastoral Secretariat), Fr. Leo Fernandes (Executive Secretary of Pastoral Secretariat), Fr. Simiao Fernandes(Convener of the Main coordinating team Synod 2023) , Gail Misquita (Co-Convener), Celso (Co-Convener), Deron (Joint Secretary), Bimal(representative of Migrants), Avelino( representative of people with disabilities),Fr. Anthony Fernandes (Parish Priest of Duler), Fr. Denis Fernandes(Diocesan Council of Priests), Fr. Barry Cardozo (Diocesan Council of Bodies), Fr. Nathan ( Men Religious), Sr. Musella (Women religious), Novice Victoria,Seminarian Aaron, Leston(Youth), Derwyn(Catechism children) and Sem. Jovial. This was done to symbolise that pastoral work is a collaborative effort.
Fr. Leo Fernandes while inviting the Archbishop to release the Pastoral letter, appreciated the Archbishop for bringing out the pastoral letter every year to aid in the formation of all Catholics. After the release of the pastoral letter some copies were distributed to representatives of Diocesan Main Co-ordinating team of the Synod of Bishops 2023, symbolising the role each and every catholic has to play in building a vibrant church and better society.
PASTORAL LETTER: A BRIEF SUMMARY
The Pastoral letter of the Archbishop is based on two themes: ‘Follow Me’, the theme of the Pastoral Year of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman and ‘For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission’, the theme of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops October 2023. It draws inspiration from the Holy Bible, the synodal documents of the Archdiocese, the documents given by the universal Church and the promptings that were shared at the Pre-synodal meeting held in March 2022.
The letter has three main parts:
The first one focusses on COMMUNION and invites us to live in communion with the Triune God, with fellow human beings and with Creation. To bolster communion with God, the Archbishop suggest three simple means: Prayer, Word of God and Sacraments; Concerning communion with fellow beings 3 platforms are proposed: communion among Catholics, communion among Christians who are non-Catholics, and Communion with people of other religious traditions. While referring to communion with creation Archbishop reminds us of our duty of Stewardship, our responsibility to shun away the temptation of harming creation, and our role to renew the face of the earth.
In the second part we are given the opportunity to reflect on the significant word PARTICIPATION. Our call to collaborate in our family life, in our society and in the Church is highlighted. In the family we need to participate with regard to life, to participate in the all-round formation of the family members and to participate in upholding human dignity. In the society, we are called to participate in reaching out to the marginalized, in rebuilding new and just society, ani in upholding religious harmony. Our participation in the life of the Church invites us to embrace different ministries, to participate in the various formation programs and work hand in hand with diverse religious bodies and movements.
In the third part we are reminded of our MISSION. This Pastoral Year our Archdiocese focuses on Strengthening families, revitalizing Small Christian Communities and Pastoral Visits. Presenting the Holy Family of Nazareth as a model, the Archbishop invites the members of the families to fulfil the mission by safeguarding three types of relationships, namely, husband-wife, parents-child and child-parents. Concerning our mission in SCCs, he exhorts us to do away with the misconceptions regarding SCCs, to take the early church community as the model to revitalize the SCCs and to make a paradigm shift to Small Human Communities. In the section dedicated to Pastoral Visits, 3 categories are emphasized: pastor’s visit to his flock, leader’s visit to the collaborators and neighbors, and formator’s visit to the formees and their families.
In the conclusion, the Archbishop presents us with two models: Our Lady and Our Patron St. Joseph Vaz. Both upheld the dignity of family, lived in a and strengthened community and buttressed relationships through different types of visits.
This pastoral letter gives us the right and much needed motivation to follow Jesus generously, and to journey together as sisters and brothers for God’s greater glory.
Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao while appreciating the hard work put in by the Pastoral Secretariat and its collaborators, especially Fr. Simiao Fernandes who helped in preparing the pastoral letter, called upon all the catholics to play their role in building a truly synodal church. He envisaged the importance of strengthening our families, revitalising our Small Christian Communities and forming Small Human Communities where people of different beliefs or religions come together to build a humane and inclusive society.
Finally Fr. Anthony Fernandes the Parish Priest of Duler and his Parishioners felicitated Cardinal-Elect and Archbishop Patriarch Filipe Neri Ferrao for being chosen to be made a Cardinal by Pope Francis. The program ended with the blessing of the newly built Parish Pastoral centre of the Duler Parish at the hands of the Archbishop.