By Congregation for the Clergy
Vatican City, 22 July 2020 -- Around the 23 countries or territories of the EAO (East Asia - Oceania) Region there are more than 73 Catholic parishes with 140,000 faithful entrusted to the care of the Salesians of Don Bosco (134 full-time SDBs and 128 part-time). From the mountain parish of Quelicai (Timor Leste), to the Gulf province parish of Araimiri (Papua New Guinea), Hamamatsu multi-language and multi-ethnic parish (Japan), to the dozens of SDB parishes in Vietnam and including the large city parishes of Manila, Seoul, Tokyo, Jakarta, Dili, Sydney, Auckland, Suva or Yangon, the majority of EAO parishes are located in eminently missionary environments with a majority of non-Catholics.
As a matter of fact there are few countries – territories without any SDB entrusted parish – like Laos, Pakistan, China-Macau, Malaysia or Cambodia.
The new Vatican document entitled 'Pastoral conversion....' does not promulgate any new legislation but proposes methods to better apply existing rules. The aim is to foster the co-responsibility of the baptized and to promote pastoral care based on closeness and cooperation between nearby parishes. The urgency of missionary renewal, a pastoral conversion of the parish emerges as the main intention.
Our hope is that all our SDB parish communities with their rectors and parish priests will be inspired by this 'Instruction' and help the faithful entrusted to them rediscover missionary dynamics in order to 'reach out' to the thousands of their sisters and brothers living within the parish territory who have never met Jesus Christ.
The Instruction consists of two parts divided into 11 chapters and envision the parish as “a house among houses” – a permanent sign of the Risen Christ in the midst of His people. For Salesian parishes this instruction would speak in a familiar language of proclamation, witnessing of charity based on sacramental life, promoting encounter and solidarity with other fellow citizens around, especially with poor people. In the second part the Instruction invites us to shared responsibility, and the administrative transparency of the parish pastoral council.
Eleven chapters of the Instruction:
1. Pastoral conversion2. The Parish in a contemporary context3. The value of the Parish today4. Mission: the guiding principle for renewal5. A community of communities: inclusive, evangelising and attentive to the poor6. From the conversion of people to the conversion of structures7. The Parish and other subdivisions within the Diocese8. Ordinary and extraordinary ways of assigning the pastoral care
(priests, deacons and consecrated men and women, laity)
9. Appointments and pastoral ministry10. Bodies of ecclesial co-responsibility (parish councils)11. Offerings for the Celebration of the Sacraments.
Together with the 'Parishes and shrines entrusted to the Salesians' (Salesian Youth Ministry, Framework of Reference - ed. 2014, Chapter VII, part 2.4, pages 228-240) these few pages of the Vatican instruction may be good formation input for the formation of the Salesians entrusted with parish ministry.
Hopefully, all our 2600 and more (full-time) Salesians around the world serving some 6 million parish faithful can benefit and be inspired in their daily patient evangelizing effort.
