PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL ASSEMBLY OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD November 7, 2020 Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth, 1559 Brunswick St., Suite 101, Halifax, NS www.halifaxyarmouth.org OUTLINE • Church Teaching on Parish Pastoral Councils • Ecclesiology Underlying Parish Pastoral Councils • Reflection on Consultation • The Role of the Parish Pastoral Council • Membership of the Parish Pastoral Council GATHERING OF EXPERIENCE A. What words describe your most positive experiences of parish pastoral councils? B. What words describe your most challenging experiences of parish pastoral councils? Church Teaching on Parish Pastoral Councils CHURCH TEACHING ON PARISH PASTORAL COUNCILS • Second Vatican Council: references to diocesan pastoral councils • The Second Vatican Council makes references to pastoral councils in dioceses: CD, no. 27, AG, no. 30 and PO, no. 7 (in a footnote referring back to CD, no. 27). • Christus Dominus, Decree on the Pastoral Office on Bishops in the Church: “It is greatly desired that in each diocese a pastoral council will be established over which the diocesan bishop himself will preside and in which specially chosen clergy, religious and lay people will participate. The duty of this council will be to investigate and weigh pastoral undertakings and to formulate practical conclusions regarding them” (no. 27). CHURCH TEACHING ON PARISH PASTORAL COUNCILS • Second Vatican Council: references to diocesan pastoral councils • Ad Gentes, Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity: “It is the bishop's role, as the ruler and center of unity in the diocesan apostolate, to promote missionary activity, to direct it and to coordinate it but always in such a way that the zeal and spontaneity of those who share in the work may be preserved and fostered. [...] To improve coordination, let the bishop set up, insofar as possible, a pastoral council, in which clergy, religious, and laity may have a part, through the medium of selected delegates” (no. 30). CHURCH TEACHING ON PARISH PASTORAL COUNCILS • Post-Conciliar Developments • 1966: Paul VI’s addressed the implementation of diocesan pastoral councils highlighting their consultative nature and their role in relation to pastoral work (Ecclesiae sanctae, Aug 6, 1966). • 1973: The Sacred Congregation of the Clergy, in its circular letter on pastoral councils, Omnes christifideles (January 25, 1973), notes that there is nothing to prevent the establishment of parochial or regional councils of the same nature and function as diocesan pastoral councils (no. 12). • 1973: Sacred Congregation for Bishops, Directory on the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops, February 22, 1973: “The bishop can order that in every parish, parish pastoral councils be set up.” CHURCH TEACHING ON PARISH PASTORAL COUNCILS • 1983 Code of Canon Law • The 1917 Code of Canon Law did not mention a parish pastoral council, but the 1983 Code does: • Canon 536 §1 If, after consulting the council of priests, the diocesan Bishop considers it opportune, a pastoral council is to be established in each parish. In this council, which is presided over by the parish priest, Christ’s faithful, together with those who by virtue of their office are engaged in pastoral care in the parish, give their help in fostering pastoral action. • §2 The pastoral council has only a consultative vote, and it is regulated by the norms laid down by the diocesan Bishop. CHURCH TEACHING ON PARISH PASTORAL COUNCILS • In the evolution of this canon, several issues are apparent: • the adjective “pastoral” was added to underscore its competence, which does not extend to governance, to the administration of temporal goods, etc.; • Acknowledge the relationship or connection with the parish finance council; • the pastoral council does not serve the community by directly coordinating pastoral activities, like a staff meeting where representatives report on activities. The specific mission of the pastoral council is to do pastoral planning in the community. Ecclesiology Underlying Parish Pastoral Councils ECCLESIOLOGY UNDERLYING PARISH PASTORAL COUNCILS • Vatican II emphasized the relationships among bishops, priests and laity. The relationship between a pastor and his parishioners is expressed in many ways, including in the working together through a parish pastoral council. • Lumen gentium, 1964: The lay faithful “are in their own way made sharers in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly functions of Christ; and they carry out for their own part the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the world” (no. 31). • Presbyterorum Ordinis, 1965: “Priests must sincerely acknowledge and promote the dignity of the laity and the part proper to them in the mission of the Church” (no. 9). • Vatican II envisioned the close cooperation of the laity in the pastoral work of the parish. ECCLESIOLOGY UNDERLYING PARISH PASTORAL COUNCILS • 1975 Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, no.14: Mission of the Church • "We wish to confirm once more that the task of evangelizing all people constitutes the essential mission of the Church." It is a task and mission which the vast and profound changes of present-day society make all the more urgent. • Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize, that is to say, in order to preach and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God, and to perpetuate Christ's sacrifice in the Mass, which is the memorial of His death and glorious resurrection.” ECCLESIOLOGY UNDERLYING PARISH PASTORAL COUNCILS • John Paul II, Christifideles Laici, December 30, 1988 • Diocesan Pastoral Councils could be the principle form of collaboration, dialogue, and discernment as well. • The ecclesial community finds its most immediate and visible expression in the parish.... The parish is founded on a theological reality, because it is a Eucharistic community...a community of faith and an organic community. • Ministries and charisms, being diverse and complementary, are all necessary for the Church to grow, each in its own way. ECCLESIOLOGY UNDERLYING PARISH PASTORAL COUNCILS • 1995 International Symposium Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez states that “the first priority of the new evangelization, which pertains to the entire People of God and which calls out for a new ardor, new methods and a new expression, demands that the priest be radically and integrally immersed in the mystery of Christ, with a new pastoral style characterized by a profound communion with the pope, the bishops, other priests, and a fruitful collaboration with the laity.” • 2001 Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Letter, Novo Millennio Ineunte described this profound communion as a spirituality of communion, which must flow into external structures, including the Pastoral Council ECCLESIOLOGY UNDERLYING PARISH PASTORAL COUNCILS • Pope Benedict XVI, August 10, 2012 lay people must be considered “persons truly ‘co-responsible’ for the being and activity of the Church.” • 2013: Pope Francis recalled, “How necessary pastoral councils are! A Bishop cannot guide a Diocese without pastoral councils. A Parish Priest cannot guide without pastoral councils” • I never tire of repeating those words of Benedict XVI which take us to the very heart of the Gospel: “Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” (Evangelii Gaudium 7) ECCLESIOLOGY UNDERLYING PARISH PASTORAL COUNCILS I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord”. The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms. (Evangelii Gaudium 3) ECCLESIOLOGY UNDERLYING PARISH PASTORAL COUNCILS • 2020, June 29: Congregation for the Clergy: The theological significance of the Pastoral Council is inscribed in the constitutive reality of the Church, that is, in her being “the Body of Christ”, that generates a “spirituality of communion”. In the Christian community, in fact, the diversity of charisms and ministries that derive from incorporation into Christ and from the gift of the Holy Spirit.... Every member of the faithful is created for the building up of the whole Body and, at the same time, the whole People of God, in the reciprocal co-responsibility of its members, participates in the mission of the Church, that is, discerning in history the signs of the presence of God and becoming witnesses of His Kingdom. Reflection on Consultation REFLECTION ON CONSULTATION • While everyone knows that parish pastoral councils have only a consultative vote, not everyone knows how many forms consultation can take. • By widening the understanding of consultation, both councils and pastors can deepen their relations with one another and the relations among council members. • The following are some of the many forms consultation can take. REFLECTION ON CONSULTATION • Elements necessary for Consultation: • bringing people together, not merely contacting them by phone; • fully informing members of the facts of the situation; • encouraging a full and free discussion and an honest exchange of views; • each member sincerely expressing his or her judgement; • the priest normally following the consensus expressed by the group; while not obliged to follow a unanimous recommendation, the priest not acting contrary to that opinion without an overriding reason; priest gives reasons when consensus is not followed; • observing the confidentiality of the process when necessary. REFLECTION ON CONSULTATION 1. Legal Approach: focus is on councils are “consultative only.” 2. Authoritative Council: councils can have authority in “giving direction” to parishes. 3. Consensus Approach: pastors and councilors engaged in a search for a decision that will express and confirm their unity.