Catholics Return is a project conceived and piloted by the Living Water Community as a means of reaching, where they are, our sisters and brothers who have left the Catholic Church, and finding creative ways to bring them back home. This project has the blessing of our Archbishop, The Most Reverend Joseph Harris, who has said to our national Catholic community on many occasions since he has become leader of the Catholic flock here in Trinidad & Tobago: ‘Be concerned, think out of the box, be creative in finding ways to reach those sisters and brothers who have left our catholic family.’
This is in keeping with the continuous exhortation of our late beloved Pope, Blessed John Paul 11 to begin a new evangelization:
‘….it is painfully clear that many Catholics…..have not been effectively incorporated into life in Christ. Baptized as infants, many have never made a personal commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Gospel. As adolescents and adults many drift away from the Church. Evangelization must be directed to the Church itself.’
THE PROJECT
Catholics Return is a multi-media project geared to reaching Catholics wherever they are through its multi-pronged approach. In addition to direct, personal contact, the project will utilize the electronic media, print media, the internet and all the social media channels. Regular teachings will be aired, telephone lines and the internet will be open to receive and answer any questions and round table discussions will be organized as necessary.
OUR MISSION
To welcome home every catholic who has strayed away from the church.
Our aim is to provide the environment in which our returning sisters and brothers will come to know Jesus as revealed in the Gospels which will help them to overcome the hurt or confusion that caused them to move away from the church. The ultimate goal is their return to the celebration of Holy Eucharist and receiving the Holy Sacraments instituted by Jesus.
The new evangelization, according to Blessed John Paul 11 ‘is not a matter of merely passing on doctrine but rather of a personal and profound meeting with the Savior.’