Bishop Martin made the following speech on the Cure of Souls at February's session of General Synod:
I wish to support this amendment to ensure that provision for the cure of souls is kept front and central in all we do.
As a parish priest for over twenty years, that was my job description, and what could be more glorious?! The care and cure of all the souls in your parish, the good and the bad, residents, workers, visitors. Each one a soul known and loved by God. To be entrusted with that is a gift beyond words. The Cure of Souls demands partnership working, for how could any priest possibly do this alone? It demands community working, because not every soul will be in your churches on a Sunday. It demands creative working, as you make church open to all and open to God, and mixed ecology responses as you ask God to help you reach the parts of the parish traditional church cannot reach. The cure of souls requires healthy curiosity as you develop interfaith and intercultural sensitivity, and whatever your particular parishes call forth from you. Now as a bishop I find that sharing the Cure of Souls with a priest at their licensing is again one of the highlights of my role. Seeking to set someone free to attend to the Cure of Souls in a parish or benefice or institution has to be the heart of my role, Under the guidance and protection of Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd of every soul.
The Mission and Pastoral Measure retains the Cure of Souls as the guiding principle for any church reorganisation. I want to see that, ‘making additional provision for the cure of souls in parishes where such assistance is most required’ is central in thus Measure also. For money is the sacrament of seriousness. This can be through DIP funding, Low income community funding, as well as simple support for parishes and parish clergy up and down this land. We can still do other things too. But please, let the Cure of Souls come first!
