10 Year Plan

The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd is the cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Singapore. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Archdiocese has lots of work cut of for it. Well, at least for the next 10 years.

That was the revealed plan from the new Archbishop William Goh as he presented his vision of "Building a Vibrant, Missionary and Evangelical Church" as the pastoral plan he hopes to accomplish within the next 10 years.

The first on the list of his priorities to move this vison and plan off the ground is the renewal and healing of the Presbyterium that wants to foster unity between priests and religious, engaging them through inclusivity, empowerment, passion and compassion.

For too long, this has been a very difficult matter to handle by any one person, even an archbishop. There are many areas which need urgent care and sensitivities in dealing with the welfare and life of the clergy, whether materially or spiritually. Therefore to see that this is going to be done in a more systematic, serious and caring manner would be a great boon to the clergy living too long under the cloud of suspicion and distrust.

For a church to be vibrant, missionary and evangelical, it has to have those similar qualities found in the life of the clergy as well. This can better translate to the parishes with the communities and groups or organizations there, through their respective roles and responsibilities, towards the greater plan of God for society and the world. That is to say, all of us have to be on the same page.

There will be a lot of adjustments and changes which ask for careful discernment and planning, and not without prayer, from all the People of God.

We have ten years to pull this through. Given that this about twice the number of years that any normal business plan would be conducted, it is not at all impossible to make this happen.