Canon António Domingos Pereira, of the Diocese of Beja, highlights that the new diocesan bishop, who takes office on Sunday, day 7 July, challenges “working in a new pastoral”, “conquer the clergy” and involve the laity.
“I think that the new bishop will have to work on a new pastoral, a pastoral that is not about maintaining what exists, but the creation of a pastoral that creates a desire to work and that at the same time takes advantage of the values they still have by putting them in a missionary form”, said the priest, Friday, 05 July, in an interview with ECCLESIA Agency.
A 21 March this year, Pope Francis, Nomeou D. Fernando Paiva as new bishop of the Diocese of Beja, and accepted the resignation presented by Bishop D. John Mark, that completes 75 years to 17 August.
Canon António Domingos Pereira, who was vicar general of Beja for several years, explains that the diocese of Baixo Alentejana “is very extensive” in territory, There are “few clergy – 47 elders, with an average age of 54 years", to over 117 parishes, and “very small populations”.
“It is a diocese that, due to the size and small population, makes pastoral activity very difficult. At this time, we could say that there is a certain stop; the new bishop will find a great need to establish, of course, the enthusiasm, the hope, the ability to work, to bring together the clergy, talk to the clergy, conquer it and also the laity, There are not many lay people integrated and working in the Church”, developed.
According to the priest, parish priest in solidum of Our Lady of the Snows, there are “few works on pastoral renewal” and emphasizes that the diocese has “a very large lack of people with pastoral dynamism”, but, notes that, pastoralmente, “Beja continues to be, like most of the Church in Portugal, a Church that maintains what it was many years ago”.
Canon António Domingos Pereira leaves, "for now", two nominations for bishop-elect of Beja, The first is to “win over the clergy”, which “is very dispersed, live very far from each other”, and gather them, “make a good connection between them”.
In second place, the episcopal vicar for the Pastoral of Beja, in a diocese “almost starting again, where “there are a lot of good things, but this new way of doing pastoral care requires the clergy to be convinced”, sugere a D. Fernando Paiva to create “true paths” that lay people can follow to “guarantee a more solid faith, safer".
“Some lay people need to be brought together, to summon them; We are very hopeful that Mr.. Fernando brings a new pastoral model that fits well and is a leaven for us”, pointed.
Canon António Domingos Pereira, which recalled the pastoral action of involvement of the laity and missionary of the bishops D. José Patrocínio Dias, who “was the one who truly restored the diocese”, and the D. Manuel Falcão, highlighted that there may be parishes “serving as missionaries in other parishes”, with groups of lay people.
"Today, we find priests who celebrate four Masses on Sunday, which is not normal and also does not allow us to celebrate with the dignity that the celebration should have, but it is possible that a parish that has more dynamism can find lay people who travel to other small parishes”, added the priest, no Program CHURCH, Friday, broadcast on RPT2.
