Consultative Bodies

Catholic Missionary Union

The Catholic Missionary Union of England and Wales is the forum where all missionary activity and interests come together.

The objectives of the Catholic Missionary Union are:

1. The promotion of awareness in the Catholic Church of England and Wales and in society at large, of the Church’s role and activity in missionary works worldwide and the practical implications this has for local Catholic churches and society
2. The co-operation and sharing with the local church in its activities of interfaith dialogue and in its pastoral concern for minorities
3. Acting as the bridge between the local church in England and Wales and the local church across the world for their pastoral and theological development.

The Catholic Missionary Union is an umbrella body of the missionary societies and the congregations which serve overseas (priests, religious and lay). It exists to promote overseas mission amongst the Catholic community in England and Wales. One of the ways in which it does this is via the annual parish mission appeals, coordinated by the CMU Secretariat. This is a rare opportunity, backed by the bishops, for parishioners to hear directly from a missionary (who has been overseas during the liturgy.