Diocese of Darjeeling Holds Seminar on Pastoral Planning

Kalimpong, October 4, 2026: The Diocese of Darjeeling held a two-day seminar on pastoral planning at the Pushpika Pastoral Centre, Kalimpong, focusing on prayerful discernment, setting priorities and collaborative action in pastoral ministry.

Bishop Gerald Lobo, who served as the resource person, stressed that effective pastoral ministry requires more than good intentions and individual efforts. “Failing to plan is planning to fail,” he said, underscoring the need for the Church to identify priorities, use resources responsibly and evaluate its pastoral initiatives.

The seminar explored key principles of pastoral planning, including “Think globally, act locally”. Participants reflected on the need to understand wider developments in the Church and society while responding to the specific cultural, social, geographical and pastoral realities of the Diocese of Darjeeling.

Bishop Gerald also emphasised that “to plan is to choose”, pointing to the limitations of time, personnel and financial resources. Participants were encouraged to identify pastoral needs and decide what initiatives should be started, continued or discontinued, while assigning responsibilities, allocating resources and setting mechanisms for evaluation.

The seminar examined the meaning of pastoral ministry as accompanying, listening to, guiding and forming people in faith, while enabling their active participation in the mission of Christ.

Pastoral planning was presented as a shared responsibility involving priests, religious, laity, pastoral councils, commissions, movements, associations and other pastoral workers. Such participation, the seminar noted, can strengthen coordination and make pastoral plans more realistic and effective.

The discussions also linked pastoral planning with the synodal way of being Church, highlighting listening, discernment, participation and walking together. The process was outlined as listening, discernment, prioritising, planning, implementation and evaluation.

Participants were encouraged to ground pastoral plans in Church teaching and relevant documents, including those of the Second Vatican Council, recent Popes and the Synod.

The seminar concluded with a call for the Diocese to strengthen coordination among its commissions and apostolates, involve priests, religious and laity in planning, develop realistic action plans with clear responsibilities and timelines, use resources effectively and regularly evaluate pastoral activities.

The central message of the seminar was summed up in the call: “Think Globally, Act Locally; Listen Together, Discern Together, Plan Together and Act Together.”

By Catholic Connect Reporter