Foreword

Dear People of the Diocese,

We have recently completed a three-year synodal process that concluded with two sessions of the Synodal Assembly. It was an exhilarating Church experience that mobilized a great deal of energy and called forth many collaborators. With great faith and with an ardent desire to "become Church", we committed ourselves to serious work. With pastoral attentiveness, we listened to the Holy Spirit to discover what the Spirit wishes to say, today, to our Church and to respond as best we can. Let us give thanks for the work that the Holy Spirit has achieved among us during this Synod.

The synodal process is now over. But the implementation of its orientations is just beginning. Together, we are responsible for what must now be undertaken. Thanks to the numerous proposals that came from thousands of members of the diocese and were studied in the Synodal Assembly, we now have an indication of the point of view of a great many baptized persons. This allows us to know more clearly the direction our Church plan should take. Strengthened by this union of minds and hearts, we shall continue our "walk together."

The Synod has given our Church a new vitality. Filled with a desire for renewal and reaffirmation, we look to the future with confidence and enthusiasm. More than ever before, we are ready to proclaim to the world the Good News of the love of our God and Father.

The Pastoral Orientations which I am presenting you today, mark out the main features of our diocesan pastoral plan for the years to come. These orientations are characterized by an openness to the future.

Following the Synod, I have, as Bishop of the Church of Montreal, a personal responsibility to promulgate the pastoral orientations resulting from our synodal process as a whole. I would be remiss in my duty were I not to bear in mind the excellent work of the delegates to the Synodal Assembly and were I not to be attentive to the particular expectations of our diocesan Church, to the needs of the women and men of our milieu. I am also profoundly aware that one of my principal responsibilities is to remain in line with the Gospel and with the universal Church.

Today, dear People of the Church of Montreal, I share these pastoral orientations with you... I invite you to read this document with an open heart and an open mind so as to detect the calls of the Spirit. Next autumn we shall propose a pastoral action plan. Together we will work to build a Church that will be ever closer to our people and faithful to its mission as Messenger of the Gospel.

Issued in Montreal, April 28, 1999.

By order of His Excellency the Archbishop.

† Jean-Claude Turcotte, Archbishop of Montreal

Michel Parent, E.V., Chancellor