Pastoral Councils

In his 1997 document ‘A Church for the 21st Century’ and again in ‘Go Out and Bear Fruit, the 2005 diocesan Pastoral Plan, Bishop Crispian stressed the importance of pastoral councils, and his wish that there should be a pastoral council in every parish.

What is a pastoral council?

The lay faithful should accustom themselves to working in the parish in close union with their priests, bringing to the Church community their own and the world’s problems as well as questions concerning human salvation, all of which need to be examined together and solved through general discussion … The Council’s mention of examining and solving pastoral problems ‘by general discussion’ ought to find its adequate and structured development through a more convinced, extensive and decided appreciation for Parish Pastoral Councils.  (Christifideles Laici para 27)

The parish pastoral council is a leadership group through which priests and people work together as partners in furthering the mission of Christ in their own place.  It does this through building up a vibrant Christian community that is rooted in baptism and marked by its faith, worship and service.
(Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Parish Pastoral Councils: A Framework for Developing Diocesan Norms and Parish Guidelines, Dublin: Veritas Publications, 2007, p18)

The role of the pastoral council is to assume responsibility for seeing that the aim of the parish is being achieved.  Its activity pivots on its having an inspiring sense of the aim of the parish, a passionate sense of what the parish is called to be.  It is the group with the main share of responsibility for focussing the parish on its aim and mission.  It is the key group driving the process of the parish achieving its aim. … The language here is crucial.  The council is not there to achieve the aim of the parish.  It is there to enable the parish to achieve its aim as a faith community.
(Donal Harrington, The Welcoming Parish, Dublin: Columba Press, 2005, p96)

For further information and support
Contact           Nicky Stevens           nstevens@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk

Resources

Prayer and Pastoral Council Meetings
Br Loughlan Sofield, who visited Portsmouth Diocese in March 2009, speaks in these video clips of many aspects of the life and work of a pastoral council.
Mary Ann Gubish and Susan Jenny S.C. with Arlene McGannon, Revisioning the Parish Pastoral Council, New York: Paulist Press, 2001
Donal Harrington, The Welcoming Parish, Dublin: The Columba Press, 2005
Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Parish Pastoral Councils: A Framework for Developing Diocesan Norms and Parish Guidelines, Dublin: Veritas Publications, 2007
Oonagh O’Brien and Julie Kavanagh, Parish Leadership Groups: A Resourcebook, Dublin: The Columba Press, 2001
Donal Harrington and Julie Kavanagh, Prayers for Parish Groups, Dublin: The Columba Press, 1998
Mark Fischer, who has written a number of books about pastoral councils