7. The Catholic faithful, clergy and laity, must not think that it is exclusively the mission of the pastor to achieve all that the canon proposes. The canon further prescribes: “. In accordance with the norm of the law, he fulfills for his community the tasks of teaching, sanctification and government, in collaboration with other priests or deacons and with the help of faithful Christian lay people (emphasis added). (8) While recognizing the parish priest as the head of the parish, the Church also states unequivocally that “. the laity have their own active role in the life and action of the Church. Their action within ecclesial communities is so necessary that, without their active participation, the apostolate of pastors will often not be able to develop its full effect. (9) It aims to help parish family members develop a deeper understanding and commitment to their respective roles. These include care and support programmes for individuals, including widowers, divorced and separated persons, as well as single parents. Focus a day or faculty meeting for community school teachers on the message of faithful citizenship and how it can be integrated into school activities. Commission members develop guidelines and support programs in the areas of religious education, catechesis, youth work, youth work and the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) for the parish. If there is a school under the authority of the pastor, the commission is responsible for the religious education policy in the school and coordinates these policies with the rest of the community.
Members of this commission should examine the resources available on how adults learn. They supervise the parish library and literature shelves with special attention to literature on vocations for celibate, religious and married life. 26. Pastoral councils must understand the importance of their role, a role so clearly anchored in ecclesial tradition and canon law. In particular, the Pastoral Council must understand that one of its main tasks is to work closely with the pastor in planning the pastoral activity of the parish and building up the Kingdom of God. (21) Too often, this responsibility has been delegated to a subcommittee to draft and then submit to the Board for approval. Too often, the pastoral planning process has been confused with capital development planning, which often produces either a capital plan for the parish or, at worst, simply a demographic report of Catholics attending Mass at the time. It is important to remember that capital plans result from and are rooted in a well-developed pastoral plan. He must plan all liturgical, paraliturgical or special celebrations and manifestations and assist in coordination; It must also collaborate with other parish commissions and organizations. This commission inspects and inventories all the land, equipment, furniture and installations of the parish; It reviews and recommends the necessary additions, repairs, replacements and maintenance, to be undertaken, if necessary, according to a schedule to be submitted with the recommendation for the work. He will plan and coordinate efforts to overcome divisions among Christians in the parish area. 18.
In addition to these three, the need to evangelize and bring together a Catholic population, currently multilingual, is a task that cannot be accomplished by one group alone. It is important for the parish priest to have a group of people who know the life of the Church, but who also know the problems facing the parish, to whom he can turn for advice and advice. It is also important that planning activities at the parish level are coordinated so that the pastoral plan of the diocese is implemented at both the local and diocesan levels. The council behaves collaboratively with individuals and groups in the parish. This collaboration is particularly important in the interaction of the Pastoral Council with the Financial Council. For each Council to carry out its responsibilities effectively, mutual understanding and support between the two are essential. It distinguishes the use of parish talents when safety and performance do not require the use of professional services. Understanding the Eucharistic and territorial character of the parish is often an epiphany for Council and Commission members, who previously had difficulty developing goals and focusing their efforts. 15.
“According to Br. Rodimer, the ministry of the parish council coincides with the general mission of the parish. 31. The various commissions must submit their budgets to the parish pastoral council for approval and recommendation, and then to the parish finance council for recommendation to the parish priest. The Pastoral Council would not change the budget of a commission, but would examine and recommend it. The parish finance council would not be bound by the parish council`s recommendation, but would have to give it weight. The pastoral and financial councils then met for their final recommendation to the pastor. 21. Almost all parishes used elections at the same time to choose new members. Elections are not necessary.
The statutes of the Pastoral Council must define the method of selection. However, some form of discernment process in the selection of council members is encouraged to ensure that the gifts necessary for a collaborative and missionary process are put at the service of the Church. Pastors should also use their authority to appoint board members to ensure that the board is representative of the community as a whole. 29. The contribution of parish commissions and other parish organizations is indispensable to pastoral planning. Everyone must be involved in the planning, but it is the responsibility of the Pastoral Council to ensure that the planning is carried out and to approve all political issues, even if they are shaped by a committee or commission. The aim is to identify and analyse the main social problems in the parish as well as in the wider civic community. It maintains working contacts with resource staff and competent authorities on issues such as drugs, crime, alcoholism and abuse of family members. 34. Existing organizations or committees shall be linked to the Pastoral Council by the appropriate commissions. It is customary in the parishes of the diocese to relegate the commissions to the level of another committee. This contradicts the intention of the Synod.
The members of the Commission are appointed and are the main body responsible for overseeing the smooth running of the ministry in accordance with the pastoral plan. This vocation must be recognized by the parish priest, the pastoral council and the parish itself. The commissioners should be deployed to their service during Sunday Mass. 8. “. The parish priest is the true pastor of the parish entrusted to him and exercises pastoral care in the community entrusted to him under the authority of the diocesan bishop, in whose ministry of Christ he must participate; …” (10) Pastoral councils must also be aware of the demanding responsibility of the parish priest. The parish priest is entrusted by the bishop with the responsibilities provided for by canon law, namely: 33. The commissions are composed of people from the parishes who have been mandated by the parish priest to exercise a specific ministry in the parish. They are spiritually called to this ministry. It is up to the parish priest, the pastoral council and the commissions to imitate the apostles and to discern in prayer those people in the parish who may have a vocation to a particular ministry.
The same distinction must be made whenever it is necessary to fill positions in the parish community, including the pastoral council. According to the USCCB`s Office of the General Counsel, some activities are generally suitable for parishes and other Catholic organizations: it works with other parish ministries to uncover particular problems and factors responsible for the departure of Catholics from the parish, the lack of interest of the Church, and the lack of reaction of minorities. It will design programs to meet these needs. 25. The Diocese of Charlotte has always encouraged the development of pastoral councils at the parish level. It was only after the diocesan synod of 1987 that the bishop called for the creation of a pastoral council in each parish. People in the parish have the right to serve in the pastoral council, but must be: 39. The commissions must be involved with the pastoral council in the planning of the parish, as it is the responsibility of the commissions to carry out the plans. In addition to carrying out the plans of the parish, each commission has its own specific tasks, which are continuous and more or less regular.