Directives for Parish Pastoral Councils
Introduction
A. Preamble
The Decree on the Lay Apostolate of the Second Vatican Council sets wide horizons and goals for Parish Pastoral Councils. Through the co-operation of clergy and religious with the lay faithful, such councils can assist the apostolic work of the Church in sanctifying and evangelizing in charitable, social and pastoral endeavours. They will be helpful for the mutual co-ordination of various lay apostolic works and organizations without compromising the autonomy and special character of each group. (Confer, Apostolicam Actuositatem, No. 26)
B. Establishment
In each and every Parish of the Archdiocese there shall be established and kept functioning a Parish Pastoral Council for the collaboration of the Priests, Religious and Lay faithful in the Mission of the Parish.
1. It is desirable and expedient for a Pastoral Council to be established for each Sub-Church, (if any) of the Parish too.
2. Where several such Pastoral Councils are established for each of the Sub-Churches, a representative group from each such council and representatives from the Council of the Main Church shall form a Unified Committee to consider matters of a common interest when these arise.
Part One: Purpose and Functions
1.1. The purpose of the Parish Pastoral Council is to build up a participatory church involving Lay faithful, Clergy and Religious in the parish in order to carry out the Mission of the Church relevant to it.
1.2. The main tasks of a Parish Pastoral Council shall be,
a) as a consultative body, to advise and assist the Parish Priest in the building up of a caring Christian community by carrying forth the Gospel message and devout celebration of the Sacraments.
b) as a coordinating body, to facilitate and evaluate the activities of Parish committees and associations.
c) as a representative body, to work for the spiritual renewal of the parishioners, discerning their needs spiritual and temporal, planning structures required to fulfil these needs and working for a just society with other churches, religions and organizations.
1.3. Among the main responsibilities assigned to a Parish Pastoral Council shall be,
a) to assist in the attainment of pastoral goals by recommending and suggesting courses of action to implement the Archdiocesan Pastoral Plan in the Parish through Small Christian Communities and Novena Zones, to implement directives of the Archdiocesan apostolates of Liturgy & Worship, Catechetics, Education & Biblical Apostolate, Children, Youth & Family Apostolate, Human Development, Justice & Peace, Social Communications, Christian Unity & Inter-religious Dialogue, Missionary Cooperation and other pious associations of the Church.
b) to serve as a medium whereby any and all members of the Parish may make known their views on all matters spiritual and temporal for the renewal of the community.
c) to propose appropriate representatives for inter-parish and/or Deanery/Archdiocesan Pastoral Councils.
Part Two: Eligibility for Membership
2.1. Membership of the Parish Pastoral Council shall be open to all fully initiated Roman Catholic persons registered in the parish,
a) who have completed 18th year of age,
b) who are practicing Catholics of Good Standing with the Church and who accept the obligations and responsibilities embodied in the directives on Parish Pastoral Councils and Pastoral Plan of the Archdiocese of Colombo,
c) who show by indicating to the Parish Priest his/her willingness to participate in the Council’s programmes for the spiritual development of the parish.
Part Three: Composition of the Council
3.1. The Parish Pastoral Council shall consist of the following members:
a) Members Ex-Officio:
1. Parish Priest
2. All Priests assigned to the Parish as Assistant Priests.
3. One Delegate from each of the Religious houses/Institutes in the Parish, appointed by the superior or elected by members of each such House or Institute.
b) Members Elected:
1. One delegate from each Association and Lay Apostolate Movement duly approved in the Archdiocese and functioning in the Parish, elected by each such Association or Movement.
2. A representative, who is Catholic, elected from each school, State or Private, in the Parish.
3. Zonal, (Novena) leader elected by each Zone of the Parish.
4. A representative number elected from among the leaders of Small Christian Communities established in the Parish, the number of representatives to be decided by the Parish Priest according to the number of Small Christian Communities of the parish.
5. Two representatives from each of the sub committees affiliated to the Parish Pastoral Council.
c) Members Appointed:
1. One fourth the total number of the above two categories to be appointed by the Parish Priest to ensure a balanced and adequate representation and the presence of required expertise.
Part Four: Election and Appointment of Members
4.1. When the Parish Pastoral Council has completed its term of office of five years, the Parish Priest may notify by way of a public announcement that a new Parish Pastoral Council needs to be established.
4.2. Members ex-officio will continue their membership in the new council established.
4.3. A nomination committee may be established by the Parish Priest in order to facilitate the elections at the end of the term of the council, at least seven weeks prior to the elections. The committee shall be composed of the Parish Priest, a member of the Parish Pastoral Council and two other parishioners selected by the Parish Priest.
4.4. The nominations committee shall,
a) Receive names of at least enough candidates to fill the vacancies from each of the categories in 3.1. b) nos. 1–5, i.e.
1. Associations of the parish
2. Schools
3. Zone (Novena) leaders
4. Small Christian Community leaders
5. Sub Committees of the Parish Pastoral Council.
b) Shall at least two weeks prior to the elections publish the names in the parish notice board.
4.5. The nominations committee shall also:
a) Establish procedures to select candidates by striving to achieve adequate representation from the parish community;
b) Decide on all electoral procedures;
c) Conduct the electoral process at the conclusion of Sunday Masses (or otherwise) during a special meeting of each of the categories during the weekend decided by the council;
d) Publish the names of elected candidates in the parish notice board and announce them at Sunday Mass;
e) Submit a report to the Parish Pastoral Council, whereupon the committee will be dissolved. The report is to be archived in the parish along with such other relevant parish records.
4.6. Parish Priest at his discretion may appoint members to the Council according to norms laid down in 3.1.c), i.e. adequate representation and expertise. Weightage may be given to the appointment of young people to the Parish Pastoral Council.
Part Five: Conditions of Service
5.1. Term of office for elected and appointed members of the Parish Pastoral Council shall be:
a) For five years from the date of the establishment of the council,
b) Renewable once, i.e. with the ability to stand for a second consecutive five-year term for a maximum of two terms,
c) After a break of not less than one five-year term, a person may stand a chance for re-election, but for one more five-year term only,
d) Under no circumstance shall a member serve on the Parish Pastoral Council for more than ten consecutive years and 15 years in total in case he/she has been re-elected a third term after a break of five years.
5.2. Replacement of members when a position becomes vacant may be done by the Parish Pastoral Council in the following manner:
a) Elected Members: The members of each of the categories mentioned above in 3.1. b) # 1–5, may be invited to elect representatives as the vacancies arise for the remainder of the term of office of the Parish Pastoral Council.
b) Appointed Members: Parish Priest may further appoint members in this category mentioned in 3.1. c), in order to replace members as vacancies arise for the remainder of the term of office of the Council.
5.3. Removal of members from the Parish Pastoral Council may be done by a two-thirds majority vote of the Parish Pastoral Council:
a) If that member is unable to fulfill his/her responsibilities due to illness or neglect; or
b) If that member takes up residence outside parish limits; or
c) If that member has not attended three consecutive meetings, without a legitimate excuse. However, any member absenting himself/herself for more than three consecutive meetings of the Parish Pastoral Council without prior notice shall be deemed to have resigned; or
d) For other reasons deemed adequate by the Parish Pastoral Council to merit such removal, like scandalized behavior or open apostasy.
5.4. Resignation of members shall be accepted by the Parish Pastoral Council for:
a) Personal reasons,
b) Reasons of health, age or other commitments.
c) Those members who have received nominations through a political party for election for public office may not continue to hold offices in the Parish Pastoral Council.
d) Those who are already elected to public office through a political party may not hold offices in the Parish Pastoral Council for the duration of their term of office.
5.5. All Parish Pastoral Council members shall serve gratuitously.
Part Six: Office Bearers and Specific Roles
6.1. The officers of the Parish Pastoral Council shall be the President, Secretary, Asst. Secretary and the Chairpersons of the Sub Committees of the Parish Pastoral Council and their specific roles shall be:
a) President:
1. The Parish Priest shall be the President ex-officio of the Parish Pastoral Council and shall be the chairperson at all meetings of the Parish Pastoral Council.
2. The President shall be responsible for preparing meeting agendas in consultation with the executive committee of the Parish Pastoral Council.
3. As the Archbishop’s representative, he shall have the final decision on all advice received from the Parish Pastoral Council.
4. He shall be expected to consult with the Parish Pastoral Council on all significant matters affecting the Parish and, having heard the consensus of the Parish Pastoral Council, to ratify proposals unless there is good cause for the contrary.
5. When the Parish Priest is unable to ratify a proposal of the Parish Pastoral Council, he shall explain to members why he is unable to do so.
6. If the Parish Pastoral Council, after prayerful reflection, is unable to arrive at a decision, it shall, along with the Parish Priest, appeal to the Dean for guidance. Final recourse rests with the Archbishop.
b) Secretary:
1. At the first meeting of the Parish Pastoral Council a Secretary and an Assistant Secretary shall be elected from among the members. The President shall nominate the Secretary at his discretion or the President may propose three names for the post of Secretary and they shall be elected by secret ballot. The person who gets the second highest number of votes shall be elected as the Assistant Secretary.
2. The Secretary shall be responsible for assisting the President in the preparation of agendas and convening the meetings by giving notice of meeting.
3. The Secretary shall keep records of attendance as well as maintain and look after the minutes, records of the proceedings, addresses, messages and correspondence, including the archiving of all of the foregoing and record important things that need to be recorded for future reference in the Codex Historicus – Historical record book of the Parish. All these records are to be carefully conserved in the parish archives or library.
4. The Secretary shall coordinate with the secretaries of the Sub Committees of the Parish Pastoral Council, collect information and communicate to the members of the Parish Pastoral Council about the decisions and activities of the said Committees.
c) Assistant Secretary:
1. The Assistant Secretary shall assist the Secretary in all matters pertaining to the office of the Secretary mentioned above in 6.1. b), nos. 1–4.
2. The Assistant Secretary shall take the place of the Secretary in his/her absence.
d) Heads of Sub-Committees of the Parish Pastoral Council:
1. The person representing each sub-committee at the Parish Pastoral Council shall be the head of that particular sub-committee except the Liturgy and Temporal Affairs sub-committee. (Ref. 8.4.)
2. Heads of Sub-Committees shall seek prior approval of the Parish Pastoral Council on all major projects organized by each sub-committee.
3. The appointment of office bearers of the sub-committees of the Parish Pastoral Council shall be done in consultation with the Parish Priest.
Part Seven: Meetings of the Council
7.1. The meetings of the Parish Pastoral Council consist of the following characteristics:
a) The meetings of the Parish Pastoral Council can be convoked only by the Parish Priest and presided over by him.
The Secretary, with the consent of the Parish Priest, shall send the notice of convening the meeting to the members at least one week prior to the meeting.
b) At P.P.C. meetings, to highlight the spiritual character of such meetings, the use of Sacred Scriptures for the opening prayer service, through Lectio Divina, ASIPA Seven Step or Mirror method, etc., is recommended.
c) There shall be a minimum of four Council Meetings in each 12-month period. It is recommended that one meeting for the year be open to the general community at which a report of the work done for the year could be communicated to the Parish. Any parishioner who wishes to submit proposals on parish matters shall notify and inform the President and the Secretary at least five days before the next meeting of the Parish Pastoral Council.
d) One-third of the members of the Council in office at the time shall constitute a quorum. However, special meetings shall be held at the call of the Parish Priest when required on 48 hours’ notice to all members of the Parish Pastoral Council.
e) The Council cannot meet without the presence of the Parish Priest.
7.2. When decisions are taken at meetings of the Parish Pastoral Council, the following points should be observed:
a) By the canonical nature of the Council it has a consultative vote only. The Parish Pastoral Council shall try to reach a CONSENSUS rather than by a majority vote when decisions are taken on issues.
b) Formal votes shall be taken and recorded only when consensus on the advice to be given cannot be reached. If a formal vote is taken, a simple majority shall suffice. Votes are consultative in nature. All elected and appointed members of Parish Pastoral Council are entitled to vote.
c) Final decisions regarding the acceptance and implementation of recommendations and suggestions shall be the decision of the Parish Priest, together with the Council in keeping with the norms, spirit and vision of a Participatory Church.
d) All decisions of the Parish Pastoral Council shall be made in session without prejudice to the general provisions. Communicating to the parishioners the decisions and recommendations of the Parish Pastoral Council should be done by the Parish Priest.
Part Eight: Sub-Committees of the Parish Pastoral Council
8.1. The Parish Pastoral Council shall have an Executive Committee consisting of the following members:
a) The President, Secretary, Asst. Secretary of Parish Pastoral Council and Heads of the Sub-Committees of the Parish Pastoral Council.
b) The Parish Priest shall be the Chairman of the Executive Committee.
8.2. The duties of the Executive Committee shall be the following:
a) The Executive Committee shall call for plans and programmes from the Sub-Committees to be submitted to the Council for approval; co-ordinate all activities of these Sub-Committees; arrange for regular and special meetings and shall have such other duties as may be delegated to it from time to time by the Parish Pastoral Council.
b) The Executive Committee shall report all of its activities at the next regular meeting of the Parish Pastoral Council for confirmation.
c) It shall act in the name of the Parish Pastoral Council in a time of emergency or crisis when the full membership cannot be called together. Any decisions so made shall be reported to the full Council at the next regular meeting of the Parish Pastoral Council.
d) The Chairman and four other members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business of the Executive Committee.
e) If, however, in a time of emergency or crisis, the Parish Priest is absent, the counsel of the Dean or the Local Ordinary (i.e. Bishop/Episcopal Vicar of the Region) must be sought.
8.3. The Parish Pastoral Council shall have the following Sub-Committees for the proper implementation of its policies:
1) Sub-Committee for Liturgy/Worship & Spiritual Life
2) Sub-Committee for Catechesis/Catholic Education/Biblical Apostolate
3) Sub-Committee for Family Life/Children & Youth Apostolate & Lay Apostolic Works
4) Sub-Committee for Justice, Peace & Human Development and Ecology and Charitable Works
5) Sub-Committee for Social Communications and Media
6) Sub-Committee for Inter-religious Dialogue and Christian Unity
7) Sub-Committee for Finance/Construction and Temporal Affairs
8) Sub-Committee for Small Christian Communities (SCC leaders)
8.4. The Sub-Committees of the Parish Pastoral Council shall have the following composition:
a. The Heads of these Sub-Committees shall be Parish Pastoral Council Members appointed by the Council except for the Sub-Committees for liturgy/worship & spiritual life and finance/construction & temporal affairs, whose Head shall be the Parish Priest ex-officio.
b. The Parish Pastoral Council shall nominate Council Members for the Sub-Committees and it is recommended that each Sub-Committee could co-opt other parishioners to these Sub-Committees, also according to expertise.
c. Every Parish Pastoral Council member shall be a member, at least, of one Sub-Committee, but not more than two.
8.3. The Parish Pastoral Council shall have the following Sub-Committees for the proper implementation of its policies:
1) Sub-Committee for Liturgy/Worship & Spiritual Life
2) Sub-Committee for Catechesis/Catholic Education/Biblical Apostolate
3) Sub-Committee for Family Life/Children & Youth Apostolate & Lay Apostolic Works
4) Sub-Committee for Justice, Peace & Human Development and Ecology and Charitable Works
5) Sub-Committee for Social Communications and Media
6) Sub-Committee for Inter-religious Dialogue and Christian Unity
7) Sub-Committee for Finance/Construction and Temporal Affairs
8) Sub-Committee for Small Christian Communities (SCC leaders)
8.4. The Sub-Committees of the Parish Pastoral Council shall have the following composition:
a. The Heads of these Sub-Committees shall be Parish Pastoral Council Members appointed by the Council except for the Sub-Committees for liturgy/worship & spiritual life and finance/construction & temporal affairs, whose Head shall be the Parish Priest ex-officio.
b. The Parish Pastoral Council shall nominate Council Members for the Sub-Committees and it is recommended that each Sub-Committee could co-opt other parishioners to these Sub-Committees, also according to expertise.
c. Every Parish Pastoral Council member shall be a member, at least, of one Sub-Committee, but not more than two.
8.5. The Parish Pastoral Council shall, when it deems necessary, provide terms of reference for these Sub-Committees (Ref. Appendix 1 for Guidelines for forming Sub-Committees).
8.6. All Sub-Committees are ultimately responsible to the Parish Priest, through the Parish Pastoral Council, with the exception of Liturgy/Worship & Spiritual Life and Finance/Construction & Temporal Affairs Sub-Committees.
a) In respect to Sub-Committees, the Parish Pastoral Council shall consider the following guidelines: (See Appendix 1)
b) Sub-Committees are major working bodies of Parish Pastoral Council through which the Parish Pastoral Council will be able to effectively carry out its tasks and achieve its goals.
Part Nine: Parish Annual General Meeting
9.1. A General Meeting of the Parish community may be designated as Parish Annual General Meeting. The Annual General Meeting may be convened by the Parish Pastoral Council towards the end of each calendar year. The exact date, time and place shall be decided upon by the Parish Priest. The Annual General Meeting will be open to all parishioners.
9.2. The purpose of the Annual General Meeting is to deal with, but shall not be limited to the following matters:
a) Review of previous year's challenges and accomplishments;
b) Consideration of substantial changes and major projects of the parish;
c) Review of financial status of the Parish.
9.3. In order to find consensus on any parish matter, a consultative vote may be taken.
Part Ten: General Provisions
10.1. Any approved amendments to these directives by the Archbishop of Colombo, and the amended directives incorporating such amendments, shall come into force immediately upon ratification by the Archbishop of Colombo.
10.2. Once established, the Parish Pastoral Council shall not be dissolved by the Parish Priest before the term period of the Council, i.e. five years is over and the Council shall continue even when the Parish Priest is transferred, till the current term period expires.
10.3. There shall be an annual evaluation of the pastoral programmes of the parish and effectiveness of the Council and for a serious reason, with the recommendation of the Parish Priest, the Archbishop may by decree dissolve the Parish Pastoral Council after hearing the Administrative Council of the Archdiocese.
Epilogue
“For we must all practice the truth in love, and so grow up.....in Him who is HEAD, CHRIST” (St. Paul quoted in Vatican II Constitution on the Church, Para. 30).
To this end the Council shall seek counsel from all segments of the community enlisting the aid of all men and women of goodwill so that every material and human resource, and particularly those already available in existing Societies/Associations, may be effectively employed to RENEW EVERYTHING IN CHRIST.