Bishop Publishes Pastoral Letter, Diocesan Pastoral Plan

Bishop Charles C. Thompson has published “Call to Missionary Discipleship and Conversion,” a pastoral letter that focuses on our Catholic identity and mission in Southwest Indiana. The letter also includes a comprehensive pastoral plan for the diocese. The letter and plan are provided with this issue of The Message as a special edition.

Bishop Thompson published the pastoral letter and plan on June 29 – the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, and the fifth anniversary of his installation as the fifth bishop of Evansville.

“The bishop must always foster this missionary communion in his diocesan Church, following the ideal of the first Christian communities, in which the believers were of one heart and one soul,” Bishop Thompson writes. “Thus, this pastoral letter is presented for the very purpose of seeking to foster missionary conversion and communion in this particular Church known as the Diocese of Evansville.”

In “Call to Missionary Discipleship and Conversion,” the bishop provides a brief history of our diocese’s rich legacy, and a current snapshot of ministries and services in the diocese. Before presenting a detailed outline of the diocesan pastoral plan, he reflects on elements of the Mission Statement for the Diocese of Evansville developed by the steering committee whose work spanned almost two years.

The Mission Statement:

“We, the Catholics of the Diocese of Evansville, are committed to continuing the mission of Jesus Christ in the world today by joyfully living the gospel, ministering to all in justice and charity, and inviting people into a personal encounter with the living God through Word, Sacrament and Service.”

“After developing and refining the diocesan mission statement, the steering committee met in smaller groups to develop (1) a set of goals to work toward in achieving the diocesan mission; (2) a set of objectives for use in attaining each goal; and (3) suggested actions steps that could be used in working toward meeting each objective,” Bishop Thompson writes in introducing the plan, which has five goals. The goals, objectives and suggested action steps appear in the Special Edition of The Message that accompanies this issue.

Work is underway to publish “Call to Missionary Discipleship and Conversion” in book form, with editions in English and Spanish. These will be provided to later this year to serve as workbooks for discussion and implementation of the diocesan pastoral plan.

Please use this link to download the full text of Bishop Charles C. Thompson's pastoral letter, "Called to Missionary Discipleship and Conversion." The document includes the Diocesan Pastoral Plan.