As chair of the Diocesan Pastoral Council, Adam Bowers envisions a significant role for the laity with their pastors in shared responsibility and accountability through developing strong parish pastoral councils.
“The essence of the idea is that all of us are being called by the Church to holiness,” says Adam, who has served on the council since 2016 and is a member of Sacred Heart Parish in Gridley for the past 12 years. “As laity, we have a role to play in the Church in pursuit of her mission and we understand very well as Catholics that we belong to a hierarchical structure beginning from the time of the disciples.”
“The laity bring to the table their own backgrounds and experience and may have an edge on knowledge in some areas, offering valuable collaboration with clergy in the making of decisions, and determining the actions and programs of each parish,” adds Adam, who is a candidate for the permanent diaconate in the diocese.
“Just as Bishop Jaime Soto values the Diocesan Pastoral Council because of the consultation and collaboration it affords him, there is a vision of that model being applied consistently in parishes, so that pastors can get advice, collaboration and support from the pastoral council, who are leaders of their respective communities.”
Adam moderated the first-ever “Come to the Table” virtual convocation of parish pastoral councils on April 17, focusing on co-responsibility, accountability and building strong councils. Bishop Soto convened pastors, parochial administrators and their parish pastoral council members. Ninety-three out of 102 parishes in the diocese participated, with 443 participants, including priests, deacons and laity.
Bishop Soto called the convocation to bring together the leadership of the parishes in the diocese in order to promote a greater communion of life in the local church. The convocation, he said, “begins the journey toward a more dynamic and intentional conversation and cooperation among clergy and laity so that we can deepen our communion with the Lord Jesus.”
During the convocation, Bishop Soto offered reflections on his new pastoral letter, “Call to Holiness.” Kathy Conner, then-Chancellor of the Diocese, presented a session on “How to Build a Strong and Effective Parish Pastoral Council.” Participants joined in with various questions and the bishop’s concluding remarks addressed “the path forward….”
The above comes from an Aug. 26 story in the Catholic Herald.
It’s just an expanded attempt to protestantize the Church. These lay parish council people always seem to have religious and politically liberal views. There is never an attempt to balance these groups with traditional, or even orthodox Catholic views. Dump them.
fwiw, my experience at a couple parishes is that those councils are made up of “former” protestants, too.
It seems like at too many parishes the councils are made up of former Catholics.
I first served on a parish council as a teen representative, many years ago and long before my journey “East.” I’ve served on parish councils as simply a lay member, a (lay) chairman, a lay parish staff member and as a deacon. I think they provide valuable and needed opportunities for the lay faithful (who make up most of the Church) to contribute their expertise and knowledge as well as to express their needs to their pastors. In fact, Canon Law states that members of the lay faithful are to make their needs known to their pastors. As we all know, clergy don’t know everything by virtue of seminary or even ordination. There are many wise and holy lay people who’ve always contributed greatly to the Church. Think of Saints like Francis (who was ordained a deacon only late in life) and Catherine of Siena, to name only two.
Let’s have some good parish councils and hear from the lay faithful. Maybe some of you California Catholic Daily readers might prayerfully consider serving on your parish council.
Edited for length
I was asked many years ago and I declined because I did not want to be a part of their main projects: fundraising for a new building and developing small Christian communities. The building was done. The SCCs never even got to take off.
Click the link and there is another link to the pastoral letter “Called to Holiness.”
If you click the link, there is also another link to the guidelines for the diocesan mandated council.
This stuff just confuses me.
Why do we need this?
Why can’t we just be a Church?
On the positive side, I have seen a couple of good churches, with parish councils of very sincere, dedicated, practicing Catholics. And the priests stated that only Catholics in good standing with the Church, may serve in all volunteer and paid roles. In one case, the Pastor and parish council courageously eliminated a problem of promiscuous gays and gay couples, from service in a parish program. A very good Pastor (now deceased) at a prominent church, once went up to the Choir Loft, to find his new organist, fondly kissing and touching another young man who was a paid singer– and the Pastor was furious, and chased them both out of the church, and told them to never return.
My post of Aug. 28 at 12:51 am was shortened. It has been very difficult in the post-Conciliar era, to try to work either in a volunteer or paid capacity, for a parish. Sometimes, there msy be so many with whom you may work — even the person in charge– who may not be a sincere, believing Catholic, in good standing with the Church. Some are “bad Catholics” like Biden and Pelosi– or even worse. I laughed until I was sick when that priest told me how he had run off the two gay musicians, and needed to find replacements for Sunday Msss. Whom could he trust?? But these kinds of problems are very common, unfortunately, with all types of church work, in the post-Conciliar era.
Sorry for the spelling errors in a couple of words in my post of Aug. 28 at 6:57am!
Councils and committees usually cause more harm than good.
(I can’t help but think of the committee that invented the New Mass, which our former pope correctly referred to as a “banal, on-the-spot product” that without question contributed to the global apostasy of today.)
Historically … i.e. before 1963 … dedicated, saintly individuals built up Christ’s Church.
I’m personally sick to death of Committees and Councils that fiddle while Rome burns.
Please, dear God, through the prayers of Your Most Holy Mother, put an end to the post-conciliar madness!
MrBill, I wholeheartedly agree.
A parish needs good, dedicated, sincere practicing Catholics. Not people leading lives of sin, or involved in crazy secular ideologies, like extreme feminism, gender ideology, LGBT agendas, promiscuity, “living together,” pro-abortion, drugs, etc. Nearly 40 years ago, I was asked, at a beautiful parish church with a historical landmark designation, to be an RCIA sponsor. I was introduced to my candidate, a well-to-do woman who told me she was a bisexual, and was currently having an affair with a prominent member of the Parish Council– also a lector and Eucharistic Minister– whose wife and three kids sat in the front row at Sunday Mass. She told me she believed in “sexual liberation.” I was horrified! She wanted to have meetings with me, after her regular “secret meetings” with this man. How could I possibly serve as an RCIA Sponsor in this case?? I tried to talk to the layman in charge of the RCIA program, but got nowhere. Then I went to see the Pastor, a member of a well-known religious order– a liberal who ignorantly affirmed “religious freedom,” and that their affair was “their business”– and my job was “to love and accept them both.” So I quit, and left this parish, in shock and pain, ridiculed by the Pastor and priests for my honest, decent Catholic beliefs. I do not like this era of “post-Conciliar madness!”
Make an intentional effort to attract good men to the diaconate. As those numbers increase, put them in leadership roles on both the parish and diocesan levels. You get the “expertise of the laity” the grace of ordination and a man is beholden by vow to the bishop and not some personal agenda. It’s a win win.
That’s a good point, Mark. Deacons live a lay lifestyle and have a variety of secular experiences and knowledge to contribute to the Church. I think of a few with business and construction professions who’ve served us well, as well as others. That said, I don’t think we should “give up” on parish councils. Like parishes and families, they can be problematic, but we don’t “give up” on those. Let’s pray and work for deacons and parish councils. Sometimes clergy are put on a pedestal by some parishioners and aren’t even told what people really think. Let’s have good, healthy parish councils. And, invite a good man you know to prayerfully consider the diaconate for your diocese. (Might you be one of those?)
Well…the nattering nabobs of negativity who post on this website cannot find much positive about parish councils. They think only of themselves and how they want the Church to fit into their little concept of Church. Our poor parish priests need all of the help they can get and the local parish council can support and encourage the priest in his mission to preach the Gospel, celebrate the sacraments and grow the parish. The parish council at the parish where I am a member has helped the parish immensely over many years. Wake up and smell the coffee….times have changed.