Q. Is each parish required to have a parish council?
A. One of the goals of the Second Vatican Council was to empower the lay faithful to live out their obligation to sanctify the world in cooperation with the Hierarchy of the Church. “Upon all the laity, therefore, rests the noble duty of working to extend the divine plan of salvation to all men of each epoch and in every land. Consequently, may every opportunity be given them so that, according to their abilities and the needs of the times, they may zealously participate in the saving work of the Church” (Lumen Gentium 33). Councils are the most common way to participate in the saving work of the Church.
Parish councils (usually referred to as Pastoral Council in Church documents) are perhaps the clearest avenue for the cooperation between the lay faithful and the pastors of the Church to take place. A parish council is a consultative body, governed by statutes, comprised of parishioners who assist the pastor in fostering pastoral activity.
Governing a parish is difficult, and the insight of parishioners who are truly active in their parish and possess expertise that a pastor might not, can be invaluable to a pastor as he exercises his governance. It is for this reason that the Council went on to strongly encourage the formation of parish councils (Apostolicam Actuositatem 26).
The Code of Canon Law leaves it up to the diocesan bishop to determine if parishes in his territory are required to have parish councils or not. In the Diocese of Lincoln, each parish is required by diocesan law to have a parish council: “Every parish in the Diocese of Lincoln shall have an active consultative and collaborative body to assist the pastor in continuing the mission of Christ in the parish and community” (Article 9.1.1. 1996 Diocese of Lincoln Synod). Notice the law does not require a parish council explicitly, only an active consultative and collaborative body, but Article 9.1.3. establishes that, ideally, this body is referred to as a parish council.
Both universal law and particular law of the Diocese of Lincoln emphasize the fact that a parish council is a consultative body that is meant to advise the pastor. It is not a governing body. “A pastoral council possesses a consultative vote only” (CIC 536 §2). While “The Parish Priest is bound to consider the indications of the Pastoral Council attentively, especially if they express themselves unanimously, in a process of common discernment” (The Pastoral Conversion of the Parish Community in the Service of the Evangelizing Mission of the Church 113), at the end of the day it is the pastor who has been entrusted by the diocesan bishop with the governance of the parish, and final authority rests with him.
As I said earlier, governing a parish is hard, and one of the hardest parts of it is making an unpopular decision that is in the best interest of the parish. Just as in a family a parent sometimes sees the need to do something that is necessary that the children do not like, so too in a parish there are times where a pastor has to make a decision he knows is right, even if it will make people angry. Before doing so, the pastor needs to take time to consult the parish council, let the people of the parish be heard, and strive to help those affected understand where he is coming from. Tyrannical pastors help no one. But sometimes tough, necessary decisions need to be made, and pastors need to make them, even if the parish council disagrees.
Like most things in life, balance is necessary. “So that the service of the Pastoral Council might be efficacious and fruitful, it is necessary to avoid two extremes: on one hand, that of the Parish Priest presenting to the Pastoral Council decisions already made, or without the required information beforehand, or convoking it seldom only pro forma. On the other hand, that of the Council in which the Parish Priest is only one of the members, deprived de facto of his role as Pastor and Leader of the community” (Pastoral Conversion of the Parish 113). A parish council is not about power or control, but about priest and laity cooperating so that the salvific mission of Christ can be extended throughout their community.
This question was answered by Father Caleb La Rue, chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
