Mission Statement of the Diocese Paramaribo Suriname

“The Roman Catholic Diocese Paramaribo is an open community of faith that is spirited by the Gospel of Jesus Christ; brings people together in love and solidarity and works towards achieving and maintaining justice, peace and unity of the creation on the grounds of its mission given by Christ.”



The short explanation which is attached to this Mission Statement indicates that the Diocese is part of the Catholic World Church with its own organization and connection to the bishop of Rome, the pope. The head of our local religious community is the bishop.

The Diocese carries the name of the city where this bishop has his seat (bishop’s throne) namely in Paramaribo. The Diocese is an open and transparent community, open to criticism without any secrets. It is also open towards the world and eagerly enters into  dialogue with other religions, nations and cultures. It also tries to give a spot to the richness of the cultures of other nations through integration. It is a community where there are rights and duties and where everybody cares about each other and society in general. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the foundation and the factor that unites the entire religious community. The Spirit of God inspires and guides the Diocese. We are a religious community that brings people together because Christianity is not an individual or egocentric religion but a religion that focus on the other. By bringing people together, we become the Body of Jesus.

Its state is one of love and solidarity in which unity and care and the main goals.
The Mission Statement brings together the first activity, uniting, with the second one, working towards, by using the conjunction and. These two aspects are thereby given equal importance.
The Diocese is doing all of this on the grounds of the mission given by Christ.

Before his ascension, Christ clearly instructed his disciples to preach the gospel.
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:16-20)
The Diocese also has this same mission.

Justice and peace are the guiding words in the Gospel. Peace can be achieved through justice. This also does justice to the entirety of the creation, a concept that is the fruit of the conciliar process that has taken place within the church in the past two decades.



The Diocese will therefore develop programs that comply with the many calls to preserve, protect and restore the ecosystem. The pope is also one of the many persons who have urged the world to protect the ecosystem. Taking care of the entire Creation is regarded as one of mankind’s tasks. The Mission Statement forms the foundation of the Diocese’s policy. The developments in the church and society that have been briefly outlined in this policy plan ask for reflection and active answers. The policy which our Diocese will implement these next five years will be aimed at making policy choices that are based on all that has been detected. The policy choices will be prepared and implemented as much as possible through projects.