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January 17, 2020
Abu Dhabi
The Annual General Meeting of the Bishop with the clergy, religious and the heads of the various pastoral offices of the Vicariate took place at the premises of St. Joseph’s Cathedral Abu Dhabi from 13 -16 January 2020.
The Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Francisco Montecillo Padilla, was also present for the meeting and addressed the participants. Due to the present political situation in Yemen with the churches closed and the priests having had to leave, the Meeting only included participants from the UAE and Oman.
The meeting commenced with the Annual Report presented by Bishop Paul Hinder, followed by the reports of the various pastoral offices - Chancery, Financial Administration, Formation, Family, Communications, School Management and Tribunal.
Fr. Valerian Fernandes, the Chancellor and Judicial Vicar of the Vicariate also gave an overview of the new AVOSA Office of Care which is planned to be operational from June 2020. The office is responsible for ensuring a safe environment within the Vicariate, and to handle complaints related to the sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults.
There were also reports by those responsible for ongoing projects such as the construction of St. John the Baptist Church, Ruwais and the St. Joseph’s Abu Dhabi School Extension. Reports were also submitted on the functioning of the various outstations. There were also sessions to deal with current pastoral or liturgical questions and other challenges and to adopt best practices and guidelines in necessary matters.
The General Meeting concluded before noon on Thursday 16 January.
As a follow-up of the General Meeting, monthly pastoral meetings take place in the various parishes of the UAE to adopt the resolutions of the General Meeting. For the four parishes in Oman, similar meetings with the Bishop take place three to four times a year in Muscat.