Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney joined about 35 priests of the Diocese of Paterson on June 5 for “Imagining Our Future: A Day for Priests with Father James Mallon” at Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Parish in the Cedar Knolls neighborhood of Hanover Township.
Father Mallon is the founder of Divine Renovation, a global ministry equipping priests and lay leaders seeking parish renewal. He presented statistics about the state of the Church and the increasingly declining trends in engagement and the sacramental life of the Church.
Noting Pope Francis’ call in the apostolic exhortation Evangeli Gaudium, Father Mallon affirmed the absolute need to seek new methods that appropriately respond to the changing secular culture and help the Church focus on the one mission of “bringing souls to the feet of Jesus.” (Cf Mark 2:1–12).
He also affirmed the hope Catholics have through the power of the Holy Spirit, renewed strategies for evangelization, and a culture of healthy leadership. These things, he said, can help create new trends of growth and bring about fruitfulness to the Great Commission: the instruction of the resurrected Christ to his disciples to spread the Gospel to all the nations of the world.