On November 6th, several priests from the Saint-Martin Community gathered with Cardinal Barbarin in Evron for another meeting of the Group for Pastoral Thinking and Innovation (in French: Groupe de Réflexion et d’Innovation Pastorale, GRIP). According to Don Hugues, its aim is to develop a pastoral approach that responds ever more effectively to new situations arising from the realities encountered on the ground and in today’s society.
The GRIP was born in 2019. The initial intuition was “to spark new ideas for the exercise of pastoral activity, given today’s realities”, explains Don Hugues, a participant in this group. “The aim of this team is to think about how priests currently live out their ministry, in France or elsewhere, particularly in relation to the offers that can be made to the Community.”
The point is not to revolutionize pastoral ministry, nor to reinvent it, he explains, “but rather to consider the realities of the ground and of today’s society, in order to develop a pastoral ministry that best responds to the various situations. It’s a question of knowing how the Community of Saint Martin can take its place given some of the intuitions expressed by the French bishops.”
In some dioceses, with the number of priests falling sharply, episcopal councils are reflecting on a new way of covering the territory. “Are the members of the Community of Saint Martin able to move away from conventional pastoral work, while still meeting the requirements of their community life? asks Don Hugues. It’s not a priest who is sent on a mission, but a community of priests. The aim is to ensure that our community life and mission are compatible, especially in regions that are often ever larger.” “Maybe one day we’ll have a community of itinerant priests – this could be part of the innovation – but without leaving behind our community commitments, which are truly at the service of pastoral ministry.”
This thinking group enables members of the Community to consider how to adapt to the new missionary needs of our time. Pope Francis and the bishops are inviting the Church to think about this, so that we are ever more in tune with the needs of the faithful and at the service of God’s people.
