Cologne Archdiocese is breaking new ground: five pastoral priorities set!

Das Erzbistum Köln setzt neue pastorale Schwerpunkte zur Stärkung der Gemeinschaft und Missionarischen Arbeit.
The Archdiocese of Cologne sets new pastoral priorities to strengthen the community and missionary work. (Symbolbild/MK)

Cologne Archdiocese is breaking new ground: five pastoral priorities set!

The future of the church in the Archdiocese of Cologne takes shape. In a comprehensive process of determining pastoral priorities, which has now been running for over a year, the archbishopric arises for questions about its order and future challenges. Simon Schmidbaur, the head of strategy and evangelization in the archbishopric, gives an insight into this important development. Domradio reports that this initiative is one of the first of its kind in Germany.

"We want to be effective with limited resources," Schmidbaur draws the main goal of the process. The focus is clearly on the question of what the church exists today, less for maximizing profits. Inspired by Pope Francis, the Archdiocese attaches importance to listening to synodales. The spiritual accompaniment of the process is characterized by hearing, silence and prayer - an approach that seems particularly important today.

strategic goals and fields of action

Cardinal Woelki emphasizes the longing for a church during departure and growth. As part of this realignment, various pastoral fields of action have been put through its paces in the past year and a half. Four strategic goals are in the foreground: succession life, be a missionary church, act diaconal and act in a generational manner. The results flow into the identification of five important fields of action that the archbishopric would like to strengthen in the future. For example, charity, youth and family work as well as education in daycare centers and schools are central points.

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economic solidity and future prospects

What about the financial foundations of these ambitious plans? The Archdiocese of Cologne is economically solidly established, so that a strategic framework plan has been developed for the coming years to secure the financial ability to act by 2030. The figures speak for themselves: up to 3.8 billion euros, the archbishopric is possible, which should enable projects such as the training To promote volunteers or the expansion of the palliative care.

The pastoral units are the heart of this development and are intended to accompany the process of the pastoral focus. The review and further development of the offers is strongly aimed at the needs of people to ensure that the church is perceived as a lively place of encounter and faith. Here, modern methods of impact orientation and measurement are also used in order to obtain a holistic view of the effectiveness of pastoral work.

The plans of the Archdiocese of Cologne are clear: You are based on a church that tackles that faces the challenges of our time and comes alive in the local communities. A look over the plate rim shows that the churches also pursue similar strategies in other regions, such as in the diocese, to adapt similar strategies to adapt to the needs of people. So there is hope that the new pastoral focus will soon lead to a revitalized and committed community that brings belief, charity and hope in the hearts of people.

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OrtKöln, Deutschland
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