Pastoral Council
Parish Pastoral Councils provide a way for pastors to consult their people. The Parish Pastoral Council is: “to examine and consider all that relates to pastoral work and to offer practical conclusions on these matters, so that the life and activity of the People of God may be brought into greater conformity with the Gospel.” In this description, we find three tasks assigned to the Pastoral council: to examine, to consider, and to recommend.
To examine: The object of the Parish Pastoral Council’s examination, “pastoral work,” is left sufficiently unspecified in order to include all that concerns the pastor and his staff in serving the parish. The council identifies issues and studies them either at the request of the pastor or on its own initiative.
To consider: The Parish Pastoral Council prayerfully ponders the data it has collected from its examination by trying to discern in what direction God is inviting the parish to go, what is behind the data.
To recommend: After the Parish Pastoral Council has examined and considered any pastoral work, it makes a recommendation to the pastor and his staff on what should be done for this parish at this time in its history.
