Saving Our Parish: Pastoral Councils

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Pastoral Councils

Cleansing Fire has an article titled Pastoral Councils in the Diocese of Rochester. It brings up some relevant points, which I am not sure are applicable to our parish. From the article:

I was scanning through the Code of Canon Law the other day and came upon Canon 536, which happens to be the section of the code which describes the pastoral council. Here is what the Canon says, with my emphasis:

“Can. 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.”

The Canon states that the pastoral council is to be presided over by the “parish priest.” This got me to thinking. We have a large number of parishes in the diocese currently headed by lay pastoral administrators (16 parishes spanning several churches).

24 comments:

AnonymousApril 13, 2011 at 10:39 AM
This is definitely applicable to our parish and you know this as well as I. For years our parish Council has lived and died by the voice of the Pastoral Administrator. There is no Priest presiding and it is no secret that our beloved Priests have little to no power. Just another example of the abuse and misuse of authority. And look where this path has led us.
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AnonymousApril 13, 2011 at 10:47 AM
The pot has been stirred and the ball is in his court. What kind of a person thrives on dissent among the ranks? There have been so many chances to come clean and rethink this whole mess but he has chosen to be surrounded by the inner circle of supporters. So, let them get burned and then we can pick up the pieces, if there are any left, and move on. In the meantime we all have to do what's best for families and ourselves.
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AnonymousApril 13, 2011 at 11:34 AM
Was the decision to sell our church made at one of these council meetings? If it was, we may have recourse to Rome because the council was led by a layperson, not a priest as it is required to be.
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SusanApril 13, 2011 at 12:20 PM
I believe the decision was made at one of the Facilities Committee meetings, which were secret for three years.
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GretchenApril 13, 2011 at 12:28 PM
But our pastoral administrator is an ordained deacon. Does that make a difference?
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AnonymousApril 13, 2011 at 4:17 PM
Gretchen: "Ordained Deacon" does not equal "Parish Priest". Not even close, never has, never will. Canon Law says "Priest" but we always manage to find a gray area (or rather, create one) in order to justify the muscle flexing of our P.A.
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AnonymousApril 13, 2011 at 5:06 PM
Just another example of why we need to get that canon lawyer hired to get this appeal rolling. I would like to suggest that if there are ten persons out there concerned and gather ten more and each give a contribution of 100.00 I would think that would take care of a lawyer. Or if everyone who wished to give got three persons to match their contribution, just think of the start we would have to accomplish the goal of saving the parish church of St.VdeP. And as was stated on another blog, such a contribution would be tax deductable.
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AnonymousApril 13, 2011 at 5:21 PM
That amount would only get our foot in the door; but its a great idea. We have heard figures anywhere from 17 to 30K for a canon lawyer. It will take some doing but I know that there are many many people who feel this same way.
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AnonymousApril 13, 2011 at 9:13 PM
Let's get all the people who refused to increase their sacrificial giving to donate to the Friends of Saint Vincent's fund. With less than 400 positive responses for the parish appeal, that would leave a huge majority who may be willing to make a donation. How do we connect with these people? I'm sure many are elderly and don't read this blog or have a clue what we hope to accomplish.
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AnonymousApril 13, 2011 at 9:14 PM
put a request for donations on facebook and ask people to pass it on!
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AnonymousApril 13, 2011 at 9:16 PM
for the older ones, start knocking on doors.
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AnonymousApril 13, 2011 at 9:48 PM
This whole thing still baffles me. Why, in the name of God, would our parish leadership not be kicking, screaming and fighting to save this beautiful Church? I get that Deacon Dean is not from the area and has no attachments but how can people who are, and do, support this decision? What am I missing?
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AnonymousApril 14, 2011 at 9:23 AM
I question the comment that contributions to the legal campaign would be tax deductable. The group would need to have 501(c)(3) tax exempt status with the IRS. Does your group have this?
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AnonymousApril 14, 2011 at 12:18 PM
9:23, yes it is stated in the post titled, onward and upward. Read below.
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SusanApril 14, 2011 at 12:49 PM
The paperwork is being processed right now, and yes, Friends of St. Vincents is a 501(c)(3). We will be taking this to Rome. I promise that.
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AnonymousApril 14, 2011 at 12:55 PM
And this website will provide a full accounting for all monies donated? If so, how frequent will this information be provided?
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GretchenApril 14, 2011 at 1:14 PM
The purpose of the website has always been to explore the issues in our parish, including the closing our our churches.

As I understand it, the purpose of Friends of St. Vincent's is to take practical steps to raise funds for the legal fees associated with a canonical appeal, as well as supporting St. Vincent's as far as capital repairs and other charitable activities such as food drives, clothing for the poor, etc.

I am told that as required by law, FOSV's financial information will be made available to the public.
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AnonymousApril 14, 2011 at 1:55 PM
How did you get a 501c3 so quickly? It takes months for this process.
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GretchenApril 14, 2011 at 2:08 PM
It is my understanding that Friends of St. Vincent's has applied for 501(c)3 status.

As Susan stated, the paperwork is in process. The time frame for these things varies widely depending on various factors, I am told. However, I believe that after final approval, donations made in the same year are tax deductible.

That said, FOSV is not SOP. I am sure that much more information will be forthcoming soon. I will be happy to forward on any further questions to FOSV.
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AnonymousApril 15, 2011 at 9:53 AM
If the new Friends of Saint Vincent's group is not the same as the SOP group, who are they? I really am interested in sending a donation but am curious to know who is leading this great cause.
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GretchenApril 15, 2011 at 10:25 AM
There are definitely some parishioners who are associated with SOP involved with FOSV. And then there are others. A newsletter will be going out soon. When things are firmed up, you all will be the first to know. :-) I think the parishioners who wish to see St. Vincent's saved for generations to come have been very open with all they are doing to preserve our parish church.

So, really, the probing can stop. Now.
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AnonymousApril 18, 2011 at 10:37 AM
Gretchen, I know you want this to be a dead issue, but on the first page of your website, you ask for donations to the Saving Our Parish legal fund. If this is not correct, you should change it to reflect the correct entity. Also, if through this website you are solicitating for donations, I think questions can be asked, or probing as you state.
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GretchenApril 18, 2011 at 9:52 PM
Yes, it should be Friends of St. Vincent's on the website. I am not the administrator of the website, but I passed along the heads up.
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AnonymousApril 19, 2011 at 9:18 AM
10:37 Agree. It's if OK to ask questions about finances of the parish, it's OK to ask questions about finances for a new group that we know little about. I will support the effort to save Saint Vincent's but am looking forward to the newsletter to learn more details.
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count every tower.
Feel its strength,
visit its palaces,
so that you can tell the next generation –
Here is God, our God,
here he remains for ever;
and for ever he will lead us and guide us. -- Psalm 47

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Put not your trust in princes: In the children of men, in whom there is no salvation. -- Psalm 145 (146)

The most powerful weapon to conquer the devil is humility. For, as he does not know at all how to employ it, neither does he know how to defend himself from it. -- St. Vincent de Paul

The earthly temple ceases to be God's dwelling place when it becomes the center of mercenary interests. -- Life of Christ by Fulton J. Sheen

[The laity] have the right, indeed at times the duty, in keeping with their knowledge, competence and position, to manifest to the sacred Pastors their views on matters which concern the good of the Church. They have the right also to make their views known to others of Christ's faithful, but in doing so they must always respect the integrity of faith and morals, show due reverence to the Pastors and take into account both the common good and the dignity of individuals. -- Code of Canon Law, 212, Sec. 3

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Move forward with firm resolve to use wisely the blessings of freedom, in order to build a future of hope for coming generations. --Pope Benedict XVI

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'Spiritual combat' is another element of life which needs to be taught anew and proposed once more to all Christians today. It is a secret and interior art, an invisible struggle in which (we) engage every day against the temptations, the evil suggestions that the demon tries to plant in (our) hearts. --Pope John Paul II

Humility and charity are the two master-chords: one, the lowest; the other, the highest; all the others are dependent on them. Therefore it is necessary, above all, to maintain ourselves in these two virtues; for observe well that the preservation of the whole edifice depends on the foundation and the roof. --St. Vincent de Paul

In the beginning of a change the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot. -- Mark Twain

We always find that those who walked closest to Christ were those who had to bear the greatest trials. -- St. Teresa of Avila

If some senseless decree were to order the total or partial destruction of basilicas or cathedrals, then obviously it would be the educated — whatever their personal beliefs — who would rise up in horror to oppose such a possibility...We are referring to the Roman Catholic Mass...it belongs to universal culture as well as to churchmen and formal Christians. -- Petition to Pope Paul VI (to save the Latin Mass)

Silence gives consent. --Pope Boniface VIII

Be not afraid! --Pope John Paul II

He who is afraid is half beaten. -- Aleksandr Suvorov

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person. --Mother Teresa

When you see the storm coming, if you seek safety in that firm refuge which is Mary, there will be no danger of your wavering or going down. --St.Josemaria Escriva

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Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. --John Adams

Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature. --St. Augustine

Your very silence shows you agree. --Euripides, on tyranny

This is the word of the LORD...."Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit," Says the LORD of hosts. --(Zech. 4:6)

All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. --Thomas Jefferson

An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last. -- Winston Churchill

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. --C. S. Lewis

Ora et labora (Pray and work). --St. Benedict

Always do right--this will gratify some and astonish the rest. --Mark Twain

If you are discouraged it is a sign of pride because it shows you trust in your own power. Your self-sufficiency, your selfishness and your intellectual pride will inhibit His coming to live in your heart because God cannot fill what is already full. It is as simple as that. --Blessed Mother Teresa

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD's doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes'? Jesus Christ

For the great majority of mankind are satisfied with appearance, as though they were realities and are often more influenced by the things that seem than by those that are ~ Niccolo Machiavelli (from The Prince).

Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in praelio. Contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium. Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur. Tuque princeps militiae caelestis, Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo divina virtute in infernum detrude. Amen. (St. Michael Prayer in Latin)

Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. —Dietrich Bonhoeffer

For a monumental struggle against the powers of darkness pervades the whole history of man. The battle was joined from the very origins of the whole world and will continue until the last day, as the Lord attested (cf. Matthew 24:23; 13:24-30, 36-43). Caught in this conflict man is obliged to wrestle constantly if he is to cling to what is good. Nor can he achieve his own integrity without valiant efforts and the help of God’s grace. -- VII Dogmatic Constitution, paragraph 37

Treachery, though at first very cautious, in the end betrays itself. -- Livy

We've had enough of exhortations to be silent! Cry out with a hundred thousand tongues. I see that the world is rotten because of silence. -- St. Catherine of Siena

The sword of the Lord and of Gideon! -- Judges 7:18

During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. -- George Orwell

Reason is always a kind of brute force; those who appeal to the head rather than the heart, however pallid and polite, are necessarily men of violence. We speak of ‘touching’ a man’s heart, but we can do nothing to his head but hit it. -- G. K. Chesterton

Do not move your neighbor's boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess. --Deut. 19:14

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid." -- Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (John 14:27)

Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito!

Your good Spirit will lead me to the land of justice... -- Psalm 142

Let the faithful celebrate his glory,
rejoice even in their beds,
the praise of God in their throats;
and swords ready in their hands,
to exact vengeance upon the nations,
impose punishment on the peoples,
to bind their kings in fetters
and their nobles in manacles of iron,
to carry out the sentence that has been passed:
this is the glory prepared for all his faithful. -- Psalm 149

You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day. -- Psalm 91:5

How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep-- So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man. --Prov. 6:9-11

Take care, then, to have but one Eucharist. For there is one Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup to show forth the unity of His Blood; one altar, as there is one bishop, along with the priests and deacons, my fellow-servants. -- St. Ignatius of Antioch

Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. --Elie Wiesel

Do not forget that the devil is not afraid of our [parish] sports fields and of our movie halls: he is afraid, on the other hand, of our holiness. -- Bl. Ildephonso Schuster, Archbishop of Milan

Don't be so blind or so thoughtless that you fail to 'go into' each tabernacle when you glimpse the walls or the steeple of each house of our Lord. He is waiting for you. -- St. Josemarie Escriva (The Way, #269)

As you make your usual way through the city streets, aren't you happy when you discover another tabernacle? -- St. Josemarie Escriva (The Way, #270)

When the exercise of religious liberty is not thwarted, Christians construct buildings for divine worship. These visible churches are not simply gathering places but signify and make visible the Church living in this place, the dwelling of God with men reconciled and united in Christ. -- The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1180

A church, "a house of prayer in which the Eucharist is celebrated and reserved, where the faithful assemble, and where is worshipped the presence of the Son of God our Savior, offered for us on the sacrificial altar for the help and consolation of the faithful - this house ought to be in good taste and a worthy place for prayer and sacred ceremonial." In this "house of God" the truth and the harmony of the signs that make it up should show Christ to be present and active in this place. -- The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1181

Finally, the church has an eschatological significance. To enter into the house of God, we must cross a threshold, which symbolizes passing from the world wounded by sin to the world of the new Life to which all men are called. The visible church is a symbol of the Father's house toward which the People of God is journeying and where the Father "will wipe every tear from their eyes."6Also for this reason, the Church is the house of all God's children, open and welcoming. -- The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1186

I rejoiced when I heard them say 'Let us go to God's house' -- Psalm 122

Keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary. I am the LORD. --Leviticus 26:2

O God, you are my God, for you I long
For you my soul is thirsting.
My body pines for you
Like a dry, weary land without water.
So I gaze on you in the sanctuary
to see your strength and your glory. -- Psalm 63: 1-2

Open the gates of victory; I will enter and thank the LORD.
This is the LORD'S own gate, where the just may enter. -- Psalm 118

The fearful danger of the present time is that above the cry for authority, we forget that man stands alone before the ultimate authority, and that anyone who lays violent hands on man here, is infringing eternal laws, and taking upon himself superhuman authority, which will eventually crush him. -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"Most fraudulent are those Catholic leaders, or alliances of Catholics, that insist that the radically evil injustice of abortion need not be directly opposed, but rather, that somehow solving the dilemma of the poor in a sweeping act of charity will cause the foundation of this monstrous crime to crumble...the foundation and cause of abortion is not poverty but...an idolatrous worship of personal convenience." -- Bishop Robert W. Finn

Anyone who conceals the Truth for fear of some authority calls down the wrath of God upon himself, because he fears men more than God... Both are guilty: he who conceals the Truth and he who speaks falsehood, because the former does not wish to make the Truth known and the latter desires not to refute it. -- St. Augustine

“My birth is imminent. Forgive me, brethren. Do not prevent me from coming to life." ― St. Ignatius (as he faced the prospect of being devoured by wild beasts for his faith.)

Woe to the pastors, that destroy and tear the sheep of my pasture, saith the Lord. Therefore thus saith the Lord the God of Israel to the pastors that feed my people: You have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold I will visit upon you for the evil of your doings, saith the Lord. -- Jeremiah 23

For everyone who does what is hateful, hates The Light and does not come to The Light, lest his works should be convicted. -- Jesus Christ, John 3:20 (Aramaic Bible in Plain English)

The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth. -- H.L. Mencken

Like a muddied spring or a polluted well are the righteous who give way to the wicked. -- Proverbs 25:26

To recoil before an enemy, or to keep silence when from all sides such clamors are raised against truth, is the part of a man either devoid of character or who entertains doubt as to the truth of what he professes to believe. In both cases such mode of behaving is base and is insulting to God, and both are incompatible with the salvation of mankind. -- Pope Leo XIII, Sapientiae Christianae

If, therefore, someone shall say that the Roman Pontiff has the office merely of inspection and direction, and not the full and supreme power of jurisdiction over the universal Church, not only in matters that belong to Faith and Morals, but also in those that relate to the discipline and government of the Church spread through the world; or assert that he possesses merely the principal part and not all of the fullness of this supreme power; or that this power which he enjoys is not ordinary and immediate, both over each and all the churches and over each and all the Pastors and the faithful: let him be ANATHEMA. -- (Pius IX, Constitution Pastor Aeternus or De Ecclesia Christi of July 18, 1870

The time is coming when people will be insane, and when they see someone who is not insane, they will attack that person saying -- "You are insane because you are not like us." -- St. Anthony the Great

Monks built Europe unintentionally. Their adventure is primarily, if not exclusively, interior. They are moved by thirst for the absolute, thirst for another world. Thus monasteries, pointing silently to heaven, are an obstinate reminder that there is another world of which this world is but the image, the herald, and the prefiguration. -- Dom Gerard, founder of St. Madeleine's Abbey, Le Barroux, France

"...if ever at any time it shall appear that any Bishop, even if he be acting as ... even the Roman Pontiff, prior to his promotion or his elevation as Cardinal or Roman Pontiff, has deviated from the Catholic Faith or fallen into some heresy: (i) the promotion or elevation, even if it shall have been uncontested and by the unanimous assent of all the Cardinals, shall be null, void and worthless; ... (vi) those thus promoted or elevated shall be deprived automatically, and without need for any further declaration, of all dignity, position, honour, title, authority, office and power." -- Pope Paul IV, Cum Ex Apostolatus Officio

“A Pope who is a manifest heretic automatically ceases to be a Pope and head, just as he ceases automatically to be a Christian and a member of the Church. Wherefore, he can be judged and punished by the Church. This is the teaching of all the ancient Fathers who teach that manifest heretics immediately lose all jurisdiction.” -- St. Robert Bellarmine

“If ever a Pope, as a private person, should fall into heresy, he should at once fall from the Pontificate. If, however, God were to permit a pope to become a notorious and contumacious heretic, he would by such fact cease to be pope, and the apostolic chair would be vacant.” -- St. Alphonsus Liguori

“In the case in which the Pope would become a heretic, he would find himself, by that very fact alone and without any other sentence, separated from the Church. A head separated from a body cannot, as long as it remains separated, be head of the same body from which it was cut off.” -- St. Antoninus

The greatest obstacle in the apostolate of the Church is the timidity or rather the cowardice of the faithful.” -- Pope St. Pius X

“The Pope should not flatter himself about his power nor should he rashly glory in his honor and high estate, because the less he is judged by man, the more he is judged by God. Still the less can the Roman Pontiff glory because he can be judged by men, or rather, can be shown to be already judged, if for example he should wither away into heresy; because he who does not believe is already judged, In such a case it should be said of him: ‘If salt should lose its savor, it is good for nothing but to be cast out and trampled under foot by men.’” - -Pope Innocent III

I will not walk with your progressive apes,
Erect and sapient. Before them gapes
the dark abyss to which their progress tends —
if by God's mercy progress ever ends,
and does not ceaselessly revolve
the same unfruitful course with changing of a name. -- (Mythopoeia, J.R.R. Tolkien)