Pastoral training course

Led by Father Ivo Seghedoni, parish priest and professor of Pastoral Theology

"Parish" or "Generative Community"?

From September 22nd to 24th, we gathered in Albano for our annual training meeting. With the help of Father Ivo, parish priest and professor of Pastoral Theology, this year too, we treated ourselves to two days of study and reflection on the reality of the Church, not exempt from the epochal change currently underway. Within this reality, we want to play a leading role through intelligent and co-responsible pastoral service shared with pastors and laity, as our charism demands.

The method chosen for these meetings was a workshop-style one, which involves the active participation of all of us and fosters a sincere exchange of opinions and experiences. These meetings exude a climate of fraternity and open communication, and we feel the gift of pastoral charisma rekindled within us.

This year, we began the meeting by reflecting on the journey of the previous two years, focusing on the emotions experienced, the lessons learned, and the questions that remain. We then moved on to take a further step in our journey, focusing on the theme: "Parish" or "Generative Community"? The reflection opened with the parish's "crises" and led us to identify the "cages" that prevent it from being an outgoing church and a community that generates faith. This work has helped us name the disappointments and sufferings of our pastoral service, to acknowledge the wear and tear caused by a self-referential parish experience that is now outdated and tired, and the need to move from a highly rigid structure to a highly flexible reality. (EG 27-28). This undoubtedly requires a process of conversion and pastoral choices that allow us to move from a "parish" to a "generative community." These choices require prioritizing the formation of the laity and clergy, recovering the value of the Sunday liturgy, not absolutizing the figure of the priest, valuing the various ministries, and accompanying people through a wise discernment that can grasp for each "possible good," as also suggested by Amoris Laetitia (chapter IV).

The experience of the Apostle Paul, recorded in the book of Acts (chapters 27-28), has guided us to interpret crises in the light of Easter and to understand them as a generative place.

Sr. Maddalena Berni, sjbp