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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT
PARISH PASTORAL COUNCILS
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WHAT IS A PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL?
It is a parish planning entity made up of nominated, ex-officio and appointed members under the guidance of the pastor, which above all prays together and advises the pastor on pastoral planning for the mission of the parish. In collaboration with the pastor, the council views the parish and its activities through a three-fold lens: evangelization, pastoral care and the cultivation of an enriched awareness of vocation, i.e. the responsibility for all members of a parish to share in the mission of the Church, Diocese and parish.
WHAT IS A PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL NOT?
It is not a council of ministries and services. It is not a coordinating committee for parish organizations and activities. It is not a Finance Council. Each parish must have a Finance Council and one member of the Finance Council is an ex officio member of the Parish Pastoral Council.
WHAT IS THE INTER-RELATIONSHIP OF A PARISH FINANCE COUNCIL AND THE PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL?
They are two distinct advisory councils that must cooperate. One member of the Parish Finance Council must be a member of the Parish Pastoral Council. The Finance Council member on the Pastoral Council will share information between both groups and help promote cooperation and collaboration. They both work for the sake of the parish mission and must communicate their insights and concerns to one another.
The Finance Council primarily considers all of the temporal resources of the parish – its personnel, facilities and finances. It develops and monitors a financial plan to fund the pastoral plan of the parish. The Parish Pastoral Council primarily considers the parish’s spiritual resources, and its mission of evangelization, pastoral care and vocational awareness. The Vatican document Priest, Pastor, Leader of the Parish Community addresses the authority of a Parish Finance Council in these words: “In accordance with the norms of law on just and honest administration, organs (such as the parish finance council) which have been established to consider economic questions in a parish, may not constrain the pastoral role of the parish priest, who is the legal representative and administrator of the goods of the parish.’’ In other words, the Parish Finance Council, like the Parish Pastoral Council, is advisory; its members make recommendations and not decisions.
WHAT WILL A PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL STUDY?
It will study pertinent documents of the Church and the teachings of the Popes on Church, Vocation, Laity, the Parish, and the universal call to holiness, as well as pastoral planning grounded in the Eucharist, prayer and faith. The council will study and put into practice what Pope John Paul II called “a spirituality of communion.” In its structure and practice it will model this spirituality for the parish. A Parish Pastoral Council will study different ways of looking at the parish mission in terms of Word, Worship, Community and Service. Over time, it will learn how to evaluate the parish as it expresses and grows in unity, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity, etc. The Diocese will provide help for the ongoing in service and formation of Parish Pastoral Council members.
HOW DO WE RE-ORGANIZE OUR PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL?
It is important to study both the Directives for Parish Pastoral Councils and Part One of the Resource Manual, all available on the Diocesan Website: www.dioceseofscranton.org. How does your constitution and by-laws conform to the uniform model required in the Directives? Where is it not in conformity? After developing a checklist of nonconformity, once again read the Directives and Part One of the Resource Manual. All parishes should be in conformity by February 4, 2007. Consult with the Regional Episcopal Vicar or consult the Office of Parish Life and Evangelization for help with compliance issues. New councils must be established by February 4, 2007.
SHOULD PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS BE OPEN?
No. Members of the Pastoral Council – through prayer, study and ongoing formation – are learning a process of acting and communicating with one another and gaining a perspective on the parish and its mission. Parishes that are currently inviting visitors should discontinue the practice and consider more effective ways of communicating the work of the council and receiving input. One way would be to share the minutes or a highlight of the minutes in the parish bulletin or on the parish website.
Occasionally the council may consider a parish assembly or forum to obtain information, insights and perceptions of parishioners. At other times, a parish survey may be helpful, especially during the time of a parish self study. Before a parish sponsors an assembly, forum or survey, an educational component on Church and the nature and mission of a parish will be most helpful. The parish bulletin or adult faith formation sessions can be effective means to provide information.
In summary, there are more appropriate ways of sharing council work with parishioners than having open meetings.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO HAVE TERM LIMITS?
It is important because they are required by the Directives issued by Bishop Martino for uniform norms for Parish Pastoral Councils. There is a diversity of vocations, gifts, talents and experiences that can be shared, and no single group or individual has a monopoly on talent or wisdom. People can use their experience on council in other services and activities that would benefit the parish, after their time on council. Term limits prevent stagnation, the concentration of influence, or confining lay parish leadership to a small number of individuals. Experience shows that term limits can open up the possibility of encouraging others to share their gifts and serve on council.
When a member who has completed two consecutive terms, has been off the council for three years, they may be nominated for a new term.
WHY IS IT A VALUE TO HAVE STAGGERED TERMS ON COUNCIL?
Terms are mandated to be staggered in the Directives authorized by Bishop Martino. Staggered terms provide for both continuity and change on the council. When there is ongoing rotation of members on the council, there will be opportunities to look at new perspectives and new insights, encourage people to share the diversity of gifts and talents and avoid starting all over at one time. Vacancies on council should be filled as they occur. The Parish Pastoral Council needs ongoing formation. A council should consider days for community building, prayer and in-service, and ways to educate new members on a regular basis. According to the Diocesan Directives, when a council meets for the first time, the council needs to develop a means of staggering the terms for three, two and one year.
HOW IS THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL DETERMINED?
In most parishes, the council will consist of the following:
• those appointed by the Bishop (pastor, assistant pastor, permanent deacon);
• three ex-officio members determined by the pastor (one of whom must be a member of
the Parish Finance Council);
• three appointed members to reflect the diversity and make up of the parish;
• and six members nominated by the parish at large.
The nominated members are either selected by the pastor and existing council from a pool of acceptable nominees OR chosen from the pool of acceptable nominees by means of a general parish election. A general rule: half of the members are appointed; half of the members are nominated by the parish at large. Members are to be representative of the diversity of the parish; not representatives of various groups.
HOW DOES THE NOMINATION PROCESS WORK?
A parish-wide process for receiving nominations to the Parish Pastoral Council shall be conducted by a Nomination Committee chaired by the Vice-Chairperson of the Parish Pastoral Council, or according to the norms outlined in the Directives and Resource Manual, if there is not a Parish Pastoral Council at present. According to the size of the parish, there are four to six members nominated by the parish at large (cf.: Resource Manual, pp. 24-29). An information night will explain the nature and purpose of a Parish Pastoral Council and the responsibility of its members. This information will help an individual to decide whether or not to accept an appointment by the pastor or nomination. A potential member must be able to commit to prayer, study and regular participation in the Parish Pastoral Council. If a person is not able to make this commitment, they should not accept an appointment or nomination.
WHAT ARE THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP ON A PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL?
A member must meet at least the minimum standards outlined in the precepts of the Church. They are found in #2041-2047 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Members must able to receive Holy Communion, observe the laws of the Church and live according to teaching of the Church. If married, a member must be in a Church-approved marriage.
A member must be able and willing to commit time for prayer, study and the work of the council. A member must be a non-defensive listener, be able to work beyond personal biases or agendas for the common good of the parish.
If a member is frequently absent from council meetings or comes late for prayer and study, he or she may not continue to be a member of the Parish Pastoral Council. Prayer and study are integral components of the Parish Pastoral Council.
WHAT IS PARISH PASTORAL PLANNING?
The parish is in communion with the Diocese and with other Catholic parishes in an area or deanery. Pastoral planning has to be understood in this context, because no parish is independent of diocesan communion nor does it exist in a vacuum. Interparochial cooperation and collaboration, and sharing of gifts and resources, must be considered in pastoral planning. Pastoral planning looks at the culture of the parish, and areas of strength and weakness through a three-fold lens of evangelization, pastoral care and awareness of vocation and responsibility for all members of the parish to encourage and equip them to participate in the mission of the parish. Pastoral planning also looks at the surrounding culture outside the parish and assesses its strengths and weaknesses in evangelizing local culture.
WHAT IS EVANGELIZATION?
Evangelization is living the Gospel of Jesus Christ and calling all people to fulfill their God-given vocation. When a parish looks at itself from the perspective of evangelization, it studies all of its ministries and activities in the light of its evangelizing mission. Are parish structures and activities appropriate for its mission? What is helpful? What is impeding the mission? What needs to be improved? These are some of the questions to be raised in the beginning that will lead to other questions and further study.
Monsignor David Bohr, reflecting on the evangelizing mission of the Church, once gave a succinct summary of how to look at the parish mission from this point of view: “Every task and every ministry within the Church serves this continuing mission. All ministries, whether in the area of missionary extension or pastoral care, whether in outreach to the unchurched and inactive Catholic, whether in the area of family life, catechesis, preaching, international life, peace, justice and liberation – all ministries converge to serve the one ‘primary and essential mission’ of evangelization.”
He directs our attention to sections 29, 42, 44 and 45 of Pope Paul VI’s Evangelii Nuntiandi (“On Evangelization in the Modern World”). When a Parish Pastoral Council reflects on the Acts of the Apostles and studies the parish from the perspective of Word, Worship, Community and Service it will help the parish to express ever more clearly the gift and responsibility of becoming an ever more effective sign of being a local expression of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church, with the help of God.
WHY AND HOW IS A PARISH TO PROMOTE AWARENESS OF CHRISTIAN VOCATION AND RESPONSIBILITY?
In the document In Verbo tuo we learn that awareness of the meaning of the Church as a mystery of Vocation and an enriched understanding of Christian vocation and responsibility are at the heart of evangelization and parish pastoral care: “Vocation is at the heart of the new evangelization … the vocational perspective is the soul and the unifying criterion of all pastoral work. All pastoral work must be vocational, beginning with an explicit intention of placing the believer before the proposal of God.”
Reflection of these words will help the Pastoral Council and parishioners to develop both a comprehensive and integrated pastoral plan for evangelization and a pastoral plan to promote vocations to the single life, married life, consecrated life, and ordained life of priests and deacons.
(The Diocesan Pastoral Plan for Vocations is available online: www.dioceseofscranton.org. Click on “Departments and Resources,” then on “Vocations,” and then scroll to “Pastoral Plan for Vocations.”
WHY ARE PRAYER AND STUDY IMPORTANT FOR PARISH PASTORAL COUNCILS AND PARISH PASTORAL PLANNING?
A document from the Congregation for the Clergy, The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community, provides an important insight: “The rediscovery in our communities of the universal call to holiness should be the basis for all pastoral planning and orient that same planning. The soul of every apostolate depends on divine intimacy, on placing nothing before the love of Christ, in seeking the greater glory of God in all things …training in holiness places pastoral planning under the sign of holiness.”
Pope John Paul II in his encyclical on the Eucharist stated: “Every commitment to holiness, every activity aimed at carrying out the Church’s mission, every work of pastoral planning, must draw the strength it needs from the Eucharistic mystery and in turn be directed to that mystery as its culmination. In the Eucharist we have Jesus, we have his redemptive sacrifice, we have his resurrection, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit, we have adoration, obedience and love of the Father. Were we to disregard the Eucharist, how could we overcome our own deficiency?”
Unless each Parish Pastoral Council makes time for prayer and study, it will not renew its awareness of the mission and procedure of a Parish Pastoral Council.
WHAT IS AN AUTHORITATIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE STRUCTURE, MISSION AND PROCESS OF A PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL?
The Directives issued by Bishop Martino and the Resource Manual he approved are the authorized documents for Parish Pastoral Councils in the Diocese of Scranton. To deepen awareness of Parish Pastoral Councils, there are several Vatican documents and the Code of Canon Law that can help. A document titled Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community likewise helps to understand the council as a form of consultation by the pastor for the sake of collaboration in the mission of the parish:
“The basic task of such a council is to serve, at institutional level, the orderly collaboration of the faithful in the development of pastoral activity which is proper to priests [119]. The pastoral council is thus a consultative organ in which the faithful, expressing their baptismal responsibility, can assist the parish priest, who presides at the council [120], by offering their advice on pastoral matters. [121]
“The lay faithful ought to be ever more convinced of the special meaning that their commitment to the apostolate takes on in their parish; hence it is necessary to have a more convinced, extensive and decided appreciation for “Parish Pastoral Councils.” [122] There are clear reasons for such: In the present circumstances the lay faithful have the ability to do very much and, therefore, ought to do very much towards the growth of an authentic ecclesial communion in their parishes in order to reawaken missionary zeal towards nonbelievers and believers themselves who have abandoned the faith or grown lax in the Christian life [123].
“All of the faithful have the right, sometimes even the duty, to make their opinions known on matters concerning the good of the Church. This can happen through institutions which have been established to facilitate that purpose: [...] the pastoral council can be a most useful aid ... providing proposals and suggestions on missionary, catechetical and apostolic initiatives [...] as well as on the promotion of doctrinal formation and the sacramental life of the faithful; on the assistance to be given to the pastoral work of priests in various social and territorial situations; on how better to influence public opinion, etc.” [124].
“The pastoral council is to be seen in relation to the context of the relationship of mutual service that exists between a parish priest and his faithful. It would therefore be senseless to consider the pastoral council as an organ replacing the parish priest in his government of the parish, or as one which, on the basis of a majority vote, materially constrains the parish priest in his direction of the parish.” In other words, the Parish Pastoral Council is advisory.
WHAT HAPPENS IF A MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL IS UNABLE TO WORK ACCORDING TO THE DIRECTIVES OR IS DISRUPTIVE OF COMMUNION OR CHARITY?
Every effort must be made to help a member to work on the council in communion and charity. If the Pastor comes to the awareness that a member of the Parish Pastoral Council is not living in accord with the minimum obligations of a Catholic as described in the precepts of the Church in the Catholic Catechism, or is advocating positions contrary to Church teaching, the Pastor shall consult with the regional Episcopal Vicar. If all attempts to clarify or remedy these situations fail, the Pastor shall again consult with the regional Episcopal Vicar before removing a member from the Council.
If a council member exhibits behavior that is disruptive of communion, promotes conflict or exhibits a failure to understand or comply with the Directives for Parish Pastoral Councils, the Pastor shall consult with the regional Episcopal Vicar. After all attempts to remedy this situation fail, the Pastor shall again consult with the regional Episcopal Vicar before removing a member from the Council.
WHAT HAPPENS IF A COUNCIL CANNOT WORK ACCORDING TO THE UNIFORM DIRECTIVES OR IS IN CONTINUING CONFLICT?
If the Pastor comes to the understanding that there is a persistent misunderstanding of the nature of the Parish Pastoral Council, a failure to follow Diocesan Directives for Parish Pastoral Councils or a continuing conflict that renders the Parish Pastoral Council ineffective or destructive of parochial communion, he must consult with the regional Episcopal Vicar to seek ways and means to remedy the situation.
If all such efforts fail, the Pastor shall consult with the regional Episcopal Vicar and seek permission to dissolve the Parish Pastoral Council. Prayer and educational efforts will then be made with the assistance of the regional Episcopal Vicar to engage in a process to re-establish a Parish Pastoral Council according to the Directives issued by the Bishop.
WHAT HAS POPE JOHN PAUL II TAUGHT ABOUT THE CONNECTION BETWEEN PRAYER, HOLY EUCHARIST AND PARISH PASTORAL PLANNING?
He wrote about the importance for every Catholic to develop a spirituality of communion, a spirituality that will be a great asset to members of the Parish Pastoral Council. In Novo Millenio Ineunte, he wrote: “To make the Church the home and the school of communion: that is the great challenge facing us in the millennium which is now beginning, if we wish to be faithful to God’s plan and respond to the world's deepest yearnings.
“But what does this mean in practice? Here too, our thoughts could run immediately to the action to be undertaken, but that would not be the right impulse to follow. Before making practical plans, we need to promote a spirituality of communion, making it the guiding principle of education wherever individuals and Christians are formed, wherever ministers of the altar, consecrated persons, and pastoral workers are trained, wherever families and communities are being built up. A spirituality of communion indicates above all the heart’s contemplation of the mystery of the Trinity dwelling in us, and whose light we must also be able to see shining on the face of the brothers and sisters around us. A spirituality of communion also means an ability to think of our brothers and sisters in faith within the profound unity of the Mystical Body, and therefore as ‘those who are a part of me.’ This makes us able to share their joys and sufferings, to sense their desires and attend to their needs, to offer them deep and genuine friendship.
“A spirituality of communion implies also the ability to see what is positive in others, to welcome it and prize it as a gift from God: not only as a gift for the brother or sister who has received it directly, but also as a ‘gift for me.’ A spirituality of communion means, finally, to know how to ‘make room’ for our brothers and sisters, bearing ‘each other’s burdens’ (Gal 6:2) and resisting the selfish temptations which constantly beset us and provoke competition, careerism, distrust and jealousy.
“Let us have no illusions: unless we follow this spiritual path, external structures of communion will serve very little purpose. They would become mechanisms without a soul, ‘masks’ of communion rather than its means of expression and growth.”
In his last encyclical on the Eucharist, Pope John Paul II taught: “Every commitment to holiness, every activity aimed at carrying out the Church’s mission, every work of pastoral planning, must draw the strength it needs from the Eucharistic mystery and in turn be directed to that mystery as its culmination. In the Eucharist we have Jesus, we have his redemptive sacrifice, we have his resurrection, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit, we have adoration, obedience and love of the Father. Were we to disregard the Eucharist, how could we overcome our own deficiency?”
Reflecting on these insights reveals the true character of a Parish Pastoral Council, and why prayer and study are important for an ever clearer and richer understanding of the mystery of the Church and the mission of the parish.
WHAT HAS POPE BENEDICT XVI TAUGHT ABOUT THE CONNECTION BETWEEN PRAYER, HOLY EUCHARIST AND PARISH PASTORAL PLANNING?
In an address to Canadian Bishops, Pope Benedict noted: “if the Church is going to satisfy the thirst of men and women for truth and authentic values upon which to build their lives no effort can be spared in finding effective pastoral initiatives to make Jesus Christ known.
“Thus it is of great importance that the catechetical and religious education programs which you are implementing continue to deepen the faithful’s understanding and love of our Lord and his Church, and reawaken in them the zeal for Christian witness which has its root in the sacrament of baptism.”
“In this regard, particular care must be taken to ensure that the intrinsic relationship between the Church’s magisterium, individuals’ faith, and testimony in public life is preserved and promoted. Only in this way can we hope to overcome the debilitating split between the Gospel and culture (cf. Evangelii Nuntiandi, no. 20).”
“In your plan of pastoral renewal, you are faced with the delicate task of the reorganization of parishes and also of dioceses. This can never be carried out in an appropriate way by simple social models of restructuring. Without Christ, we can do nothing (cf. John 15:5). Prayer roots us in truth, reminds us incessantly of the primacy of Christ and, in union with him, the primacy of the interior life and of holiness.”
“The parishes are, therefore, rightly considered above all as houses and schools of communion. Consequently, the reorganization of parishes is essentially an exercise of spiritual renewal. This calls for a pastoral promotion of holiness, so that the faithful remain attentive to the will of God, from whom we share true life, becoming participants of the divine nature (cf. Dei Verbum" no. 2).”
“Such holiness, or such profound communion through Christ and in the Spirit, is affirmed among other things by an authentic pedagogy of prayer, by an introduction to the lives of the saints and to simple forms of spirituality that embellish and stimulate the life of the Church, by regular participation in the sacrament of reconciliation, and by a convincing catechesis on Sundays: ‘the day of faith,’ ‘the day one cannot do without,’ ‘the day of Christian hope’(cf. Dies Domini, nos. 29-30; 38).”
“I am certain that the rediscovery of Jesus Christ made flesh, our savior, will lead to a rediscovery of the personal, social and cultural identity of the faithful. Far from confusing the diversity and complementarity of the charisms and functions of ordained ministers and lay faithful, a reinforced Catholic identity will revive the passion for evangelization, which is proper to the vocation of every believer and of the nature of the Church.”
11/3/2006
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