“Following Jesus closely” is the title of the first pastoral letter of Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, archbishop of Lyon, to the Catholics of the diocese. The letter is inspired by the spiritual legacy of the Blessed Father Antoine Chevrier, (1826-1879), the founder of the spiritual family of the Prado and witness of a faith based on the daily listening to the Gospel and on the privileged love for the poor. Père Chevrier was inspired by the certainty that the poorest people in his quarter of Lyon were those preferred by God. In his pastoral letter the cardinal proposes a course of reflection and apostolic dedication as part of the pastoral plan of the diocese for the last months of 2006. Already in the course of October, announced Barbarin, “I will present some initiatives for the spiritual life of the diocese that have as their objective love for the Gospel and the consequent decision to follow Christ closely”. According to the archbishop of Lyon, “the proclamation of the Good News cannot be divorced from the social and charitable aspect. The poor are in our midst in many forms. The disintegration of society, the threat of Aids, and of drugs, are signs of the flight and ruin of the suffering human person. Faced by all this we cannot just look on in silence”.
