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Suggested Guidelines for Pastoral Councils (draft)

I.                   General.  The Church as an ordered communion needs structures that provide for advisement, visioning and consultation for pastors. Since Vatican II various documents have designated the pastoral council for this task at the diocesan or parish level. Pastoral councils are consultative in nature, and assist the pastor as a medium of communication, an effective advisory body, and a model of effective cooperation and collaboration.

II.                Spirituality.  This is an essential component of those who serve on a pastoral council. Canon law states that "only those members of Christ's faithful who are outstanding in firm faith, high moral standards and prudence are to be assigned to the pastoral council" (Canon 512). As Loughlain Sofield has written in his article, "Spirituality for Councils,"  ". . . members of pastoral councils will be successful to the degree that they make personal and corporate spiritual growth a priority.  If the actions they take and the decisions they reach do not flow from their relationship with their God, they become just another corporate management group." [1]

III.             Some Guidelines for Pastoral Councils:

1)      The formation of Pastoral Councils should include prayerful reflection and wide consultation within the parish.  Members who serve on Councils should not only be people with skills valuable in serving on advisory or decision making bodies but most importantly, be people of prayer committed to their faith and to the parish community.  They should listen attentively for the voice of the Holy Spirit in seeking to be one with Christ.  Again quoting Loughlain Sofield, ". . . the major task of parish pastoral planning is to discern prayerfully God's will and God's plan." [2] The Council should be a model of prayer, formed with prayerful discernment and committed to fostering their further spiritual formation. The Council should consider an annual retreat and Eucharistic prayer and study as a part of their normal functioning.  They should function, in part, as a small Christian community serving the larger parish community.  Members should seek to further their own adult faith formation.

2)      The role of the Council is essentially advisory, pastoral and visionary. Councils should strive to keep up with magisterial documents and be aware of developments within the parish and the wider community and society. Second, the major task of parish pastoral planning is to discern prayerfully God's will and God's plan.[3] They should work closely with the Pastor, parish staff, finance council and adult faith formation team to develop the vision of the parish. They should not normally meet in the absence of the pastor.

3)      The membership of the Pastoral Council should be representative of the parish community.  The Council should take care to represent the entire parish community but not be so large as to make its effective functioning difficult. Councils should normally consist of between 5-12 members who are selected after a discernment process. The role of the Council and the selection process should be defined for the parish at large in writing.  Terms of office should be limited but allowance made for continuity.

4)      The Pastor (or Administrator where there is no pastor) should preside over the Pastoral Council, which by canon law has a consultative role (Canon 536).  Vatican II Conciliar texts which stress the collaboration of the clergy and laity in tasks of evangelization and sanctification provide the basis for understanding the broad context of the Council. Because the Pastor is ultimately responsible for the care of the parish, he presides at the Pastoral Council in a way that might be compared to his presiding at the Eucharist. In both there is a shared responsibility with the People of God.  The presider's role should not be viewed as a personal power but rather as a "genuine service to the Christian faithful exercised in a collegial way." The Pastor may appoint a Chair person to chair the meetings if desired.  In his commentary on this canon, Joseph A. Janicki notes, "For the sake of accountability to the diocesan bishop whom he represents and the People of God whom he serves, the pastor must ratify the recommendations of the parish council before they can be implemented." He must also prevent the Council from endorsing proposals which are "contrary to universal church law, diocesan statutes or civil law." [4]

5)      The Parish Pastoral Council should work closely with the Parish Finance Council and the Adult Faith Formation Team.  In his Apostolic Exhortation on Evangelization in the Modern World, Pope Paul VI wrote of the Church that “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" (Evangelii Nuntiandi 14). The Parish Finance Council is mandated by Canon 537 of the Code of Canon Law to "aid the pastor in the administration of parish goods." The Adult Faith Formation Team is called for by the USCCB publication Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral Plan for Adult Faith Formation and by the diocesan complement to this, Adult Faith Formation: Pastoral Plan for the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. Each have their respective contributions to make to parish life, along with other parish ministries, but all should work closely together.

6)      Each Council should formulate and publish procedural guidelines. It is recommended that the following information be included:

a.      Parish Mission Statement:  The Mission statement of the parish may indicate the unique qualities of the parish history, tradition (including those of the Saint for whom the parish is named) and composition and should state the parish vision for fulfilling the mission of Jesus Christ. It defines why the parish exists and its central role in evangelization. Recognition of the need for deeper conversion and facilitation of this objective should be a central consideration. Forming this mission statement requires a process of discernment, prayer and consensus.  The Pastor and Council listen to the parish and reflect upon its voices, history, needs and capabilities.  They also reflect upon how their mission can give expression to the diocesan vision and the particular call of God upon the parish community.

b.      Membership: A Council of 5-12 members is sufficient. They should be called forth by a pastoral rather than a political model in a process of discernment which includes communal prayer. Each parish will determine the criteria for Council membership and service, including the length of that service. It should specify how the process of selection will be facilitated and may specify characteristics and experiences desirable in Council members.  Commitment to the Catholic faith, the teaching magisterium and the parish as evidenced by participation in parish ministry is an essential consideration.

c.       Leadership: The leadership is provided by the Pastor and the Lay members of the Council in a mutually beneficial and complementary sharing of responsibilities. If the Pastor does not chair the meetings he may choose someone to do so.  Officers may be appointed with specific functions.

d.      Meetings: Councils should determine the frequency of their meetings and establish procedural guidelines, provide for prayer and other spiritual formation activities that will take place. At least monthly meetings are recommended for councils in formative stage or when engaged in major projects.  Sub-committees may meet as frequently as needed.

e.       Committees: Councils generally employ committees to apportion the work of research and implementation of projects.  Standing committees might carry on the ongoing work of the Council while ad hoc committees care more time limited tasks. Committees may report on their work as appropriate.

f.       Decision Making:  When possible decisions should be reached by consensus rather than mere majority vote. This is a process by which members reach a decision after substantial, but not necessarily unanimous, commitment to a decision.  It implies that all council members have discussed the decision thoroughly and taken into account or adjusted for objections or recommended changes and arrived at a basic agreement, even if some think it less than ideal. The Pastor, as noted above, must at a minimum, ratify the decisions of the parish council. This shared ownership of decisions is essential for the Council to be effective in its mission. Decision making by consensus is a skill that requires practice, listening skills, humility and other virtues. It gives evidence of shared leadership and strengthening of the faith community that are part of parish visioning and mission.

7)      Goals:  

      a.   The Pastoral Council should assess the needs of the parish and    establish spiritual goals in areas such as evangelization, adult education (in conjunction with the Adult Faith Formation Team), charitable work, service, Christ-like stewardship, etc. They should keep in mind the statement of the USCCB that "every church ministry will be energized by a dynamic ministry of adult catechesis."

      b.   Evangelization must be a major focus along with developing the spiritual formation of the Council members and the parish at large. In his apostolic exhortation, Pope John Paul II noted that the 1987 Synod Fathers insisted on pastoral councils.  He wrote:

      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.⁵

c.   These goals may be complemented by parish or diocesan programs, such as those offered by the Bishop Helmsing Institute or by local Catholic universities. Goals should be set after assessing the needs of the whole parish through a combination of surveys, open meetings, consultations with various parish organization or groups, etc. They should develop in consultation with the Pastor and the parish staff as well.

8)      The Pastoral Council should publish a Constitution and submit it to the bishop for confirmation. Canon 536 places the establishment of parish councils under the diocesan bishop. Therefore pastoral constitutions should be submitted for his approval. The Constitution should include the name of the parish, the council's purpose, membership requirements and selection process, officers and principles governing its operation, including those for open meetings. It should specify committees under its jurisdiction (e.g., family life, evangelization, or social justice). It should include procedures for amending it, by-laws to govern the conduct of business and other relevant operational procedures.