Archdiocesan Consultation With the Faithful

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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

May Jesus and Mary be in your soul.

It has been a true blessing and joy to spend time with so many Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Toronto since my arrival in March 2023. This includes the dedicated priests and deacons, religious women and men as well as the numerous laity, parishioners, volunteers and all those who are working to strengthen the Body of Christ in our archdiocese in ecclesial movements and associations, as well as those serving in education, healthcare, social services and institutions.

The Archdiocese of Toronto is blessed with an abundance of workers in the vineyard of the Lord. I am grateful for your role in reflecting the face of Christ to all those we encounter each day. In his Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5-7), our Divine Lord Jesus taught us that, as his disciples, we are salt of the earth and light of the world (Mt. 5:13-16). In fidelity to the mission to evangelize entrusted to the entire Church, let each one of us make every effort so as to proclaim Jesus Christ, bear witness to the Gospel and serve with a compassionate heart.

In 2013, our Archbishop-emeritus Cardinal Thomas Collins launched a Pastoral Plan to focus our attention and identify areas of emphasis to help bring us closer to the Lord, our faith and one another. It is now an appropriate time to review the current Pastoral Plan, updating the vision through the lens of 2023 and our current reality.

I would ask for your assistance in helping to identify what you believe to be key priorities and objectives as we move forward as a faith community. To be clear, this is not a synodal process – the synodal consultation requested by the Holy See, you may recall, took place locally in 2021-2022. Rather, I am reaching out to our archdiocesan family to solicit your thoughts and dreams, what you believe to be your three key priorities for our archdiocesan Pastoral Planning for the next decade. I encourage you to ground your reflection and responses in prayer to the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, so that He may inspire, guide and animate this Archdiocesan ecclesial process of consulting the Body of Christ.

I invite you to participate in our wide-spread consultation. We have made every effort to ensure the process is brief and efficient. Options are also available should you consult with others and wish to offer a group or hard copy submission. Please make sure every effort to complete your feedback by December 15, 2023. We will then gather and analyze the results which will help guide us as we discern and craft an updated Pastoral Plan, to be shared at an appropriate time in 2024.

Be assured of my ongoing gratitude for all that you do and witness and prayers for your loved ones and communities. Let us entrust this consultation and reflection to the maternal mediation of Mary, Mother of the Church and through the powerful intercession of our archdiocesan patron, Saint Michael the Archangel.

Yours Sincerely in Jesus with Mary,

Most Rev. Francis Leo

Archbishop of Toronto