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November 8, 201831 October 2018 (Abu Dhabi).
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,Peace be with you!
In our parishes the Parish Pastoral Council, made up of priests, religious and lay people, gives the faithful an opportunity to bring in their concerns, wishes and proposals for the good of the parish community, where the parties listen to each other and plan together. A well functioning parish pastoral council is a great asset for the promotion of spiritual growth, harmonious unity and social responsibility of the parish community.
On several occasions, the faithful of our vicariate have proposed to the bishop to have a forum where lay people would be able to bring forward proposals to enrich the life and work within our vicariate. I have spoken to the Bishop’s Council and also at the pastoral meetings in the UAE about this initiative which I find is worthy to be implemented.
As a first step I have decided to call together representatives from all the parishes in the UAE for an open exchange with the bishop and his closest collaborators. The vice-presidents and secretaries of all the parish councils are invited to this ‘assembly’. In addition the bishop will co-opt some others to assure that the various sectors of the People of God such as rites, schools, apostolates, youth etc. are represented. The names and contacts of the participants will be announced during Advent 2018.
It is the desire of Pope Francis that lay people may have their voice and the possibility to make it heard. For through baptism and confirmation, we all are priests, prophets and kings (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1241).
I consider this assembly as a first step towards a major involvement of lay people on the Vicariate level. Therefore I invite all the faithful in the parishes to come forward with their special concerns and bring them to the knowledge of participants from their respective parish, i.e. the vice-president and/or the secretary of the parish council. You may also send directly to the bishop the topics and ideas you think would help to foster the body of Christ, the Church, in our part of the world. You may do it through [email protected] with the words “Pastoral Forum” in the subject line.
The forum or assembly will be held on January 11, 2019 at St. Francis of Assisi Church, Jebel Ali from 9 AM to 1 PM. It will start with the Holy Eucharist, followed by the assembly and concluded by the common lunch.
Let us pray to the Lord that he may shower his Holy Spirit on all of us in order to open our hearts and minds and to better serve his body, the Church. Thank you for your collaboration and your contribution.
May Mary, the Holy Mother of God, intercede for us and be with us as she was with the disciples in the Upper Room.
With my blessings and prayerful regards,
+ PAUL HINDER OFM CAP.
Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia.