Cardinal Tobin announces synodal ‘pastoral conversion’ initiative for Archdiocese of Newark

Cardinal Joseph Tobin, archbishop of Newark, New Jersey. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/ACI Prensa

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 8, 2025 / 18:20 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, in a letter addressed to clergy, religious, and faithful announced the launch of a multiyear “pastoral conversion” plan for the archdiocese based on the framework proposed by the final document produced by the Synod on Synodality.

“Pastoral conversion requires nothing more or less than our willingness to be open to what God’s word is saying to us and to listen to one another,” Tobin wrote, adding: “The term that best describes the journey that we are traveling together now is ‘synodality.’”

Following a multiyear process of the Synod on Synodality, which began in 2021, Pope Francis adopted the final document, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission,” in October 2024.

The 52-page document, approved by 355 synod members in attendance, outlines substantial proposals for Church renewal, including expansion of women’s leadership roles, greater lay participation in decision-making, and significant structural reforms, including strengthening pastoral councils at parish and diocesan levels.

“Synodal leadership affirms the fact that every baptized person has the right and the responsibility to participate in the Church’s life and ministry,” Tobin wrote.

“The same is true of our ecclesial structures,” the archbishop said of Newark’s parishes, schools, institutions, and ministries.

Quoting the Holy Father’s first apostolic exhortation in 2013, which states “We cannot leave things as they presently are,” Tobin declared: “We must allow the Holy Spirit to renew us, as individuals and as communities, so that we can effectively carry the joy of the Gospel to others here at home and to the ends of the earth.”

Following the directive of the final document, the initiative, titled “We Are His Witnesses,” proposes a series of recommendations for structural changes to be implemented across the archdiocese in the coming years.

In the first place, Tobin revealed that he has instructed all parishes across the archdiocese to establish “fully functioning pastoral and finance councils” by July. At this time, the archbishop also said he expects all parish leaders to have completed training in “the synodal style of leadership with a missionary outlook.”

Tobin also shared that pastors have been asked to find ways to lead their congregations in “reflecting on what it means to be a ‘shared parish’” through small groups “based on the word of God,” while parishes across the archdiocese have been asked to “be open to new alliances with other parishes,” regardless of size or location.

“I want to make it clear that We Are His Witnesses is not a project with a hidden agenda for closing or consolidating parishes, schools, or other institutions,” Tobin noted in the letter. “We have something very different in mind, namely the pastoral conversion of our hearts and minds to prepare us, as an archdiocese, for the work of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ now and in the future.”

The initiative has been entrusted to auxiliary Bishop Michael Saporito, who is expected to lead the newly-founded Commission on Pastoral Planning, a group of lay faithful, clergy, and religious, in presenting a comprehensive pastoral plan for Newark by the summer of 2026.