1997
The Message -- for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana
5
".Bishop's Forum---
Planning for pastoral care
• It has been a long time since
: Diocesan Synod 1993 when the
sue o[staffing of our parishes fo :'::: ::
the future wa " r ....
,L .. s formally placed on
ae diocesan table. This concern
='' i.
se of the shortage
Lhe challenge of pro-
equal number of priests
san needs for the
We have not been idle. A task
18 months
deanery by
k force members ana-
and generat-
excellent report, complete
recommendations. The report provides
which each deanery will
for staffing parishes in an adequate
broad range of pastoral needs.
s report has been broadly disseminated
the diocese. Regional gatherings were
. one as Father Joseph Ziliak,
, Orthe Task Force for Future Parish
'.' presented the findings and recommenda
and I both fielded questions from the
In order to provide a frame-
Force used the year 2005 as a target
the number of priests that would be
trends.
a diocesan-wide planning effort to
pastoral staffing in a systematic
By BISHOP
GERALD A.
GETTELFINGER
way, I approached the Washington
Deanery pastoral leadership to be
the first deanery to design a plan.
The planning process is now under-
way. May 1997 is a target date for
the Washington Deanery Plan to be
• completed. It is envisioned that the
plan will be initiated and complete-
ly in place over a few years. In
other words, it is not intended that
every aspect of the plan will be
implemented immediately since
some time will be needed to find the
proper personnel to serve. In early
1997 I will ask the East Evansville
Deanery to begin its planning with
the other deaneries to follow.
In the charge to the Task Force for Future
Parish Staffing I encouraged recommendations for
changes in deanery boundaries if such changes
seemed to make good sense. Such recommendations
were made. I subsequently proposed the changes to
the Diocesan Priests' Council and the Diocesan Pas-
toral Council. Both bodies were favorable in their
counsel. This week, I am sending notification to the
pastoral leadership in our diocese as well as formal-
ly promulgating the changes to those deans and
pastors of respective deaneries and parishes affect-
ed by the changes.
The changes are as follows:
• St. Theresa, Evansville, from the Evansville
West to the Evansville East Deanery;
* Mary, Help of Christians, Mariah Hill, from
the Jasper to the Newburgh Deanery;
* St. John Chrysostom, New Boston, from the
Jasper to the Newburgh Deanery;
• St. Joseph, Dale, from the Jasper to the New-
burgh Deanery;
• St. Nicholas, Santa Claus, from the Jasper to
the Newburgh Deanery;
• St. Francis, Poseyville, from the Princeton to
the Evansville West Deanery.
Over the next year or so, each deanery will pro-
vide a plan for providing adequate pastoral staff.
The two basic limits that I have imposed on the
planning groups are: 1) the deanery must plan to
have no more priests than projected in the report of
the Task Force for the year 2005; as an example,
there are currently eight priests engaged in serving
the pastoral needs in the Washington Deanery; only
four are projected to be available by the year 2005.
The second limit is that the respective planning
groups must use the deanery boundary as defined,
or in the cases above, redefined. Of course the data
from the study will transfer with the parishes cited.
Indeed, this is a very serious effort that must
involve parish and deanery leadership including
parish and deanery leadership. Members of the
laity are being called forth to participate in plan-
ning for change. With the hard work of planning
ahead and with an openness to receive the gifts of
the Spirit, I am most confident that the leadership
and the outcomes of the hard work will be blessed
by God.
'Father, what do you do all day?'
ship
Oprnent
steward-
:qUires many
ich
Servant-lead_
or pas-
aator takes an
)recess, stew-
begins to
the pastoral
the
P COnversion
aay pastors
a guileless
You're not
you do all
questions
as the per-
and talents of
• Pastoral life
ad
of south-
there is a
Later" answer
descrip_
places, the
Law for
and
a.Ws of the
is a careful_
of 1,752
individual "canons" or legal
statements. Each canon is num-
bered. Depending on the subject
matter, some canons are very
brief: just one or two sentences;
others are several paragraphs
long.
After the Second Vatican
Council the Latin Rite Code was
revised. The "new" Code became
effective in 1983. In its original
form, it was published in Latin.
The revised Code has since
been meticulously translated
into dozens oflangmages includ-
ing, of course. English. It has
been called one of the most influ-
ential publications in the world.
Most Catholics will never even
see a copy of the Code, yet it
touches and governs virtually
every aspect of church life.
It should, then, be no surprise
to learn that the Code contains
a pastor's "job description."
Canons 519 and 528, which fol-
low below, provide a general
overview of the official role and
responsibilities of a Catholic
pastor. Canons 529 and 530,
which will be included in the
next article in this series, pre-
sent some of the specific duties
and obligations of a pastor.
Together these four Canons pro-
vide a fairly clear picture of
"What Father does all day"
when he's not saying Mass.
Canon 519
"The Pastor is the proper
shepherd of the parish entrust-
ed to him, exercising pastoral
care in the community entrust-
ed to him under the authority of
the diocesan bishop in whose
ministry of Christ he has been
called to share; in accord with
the norm of law he carries out
for his community the duties of
teaching, sanctifying and gov-
erning, with the cooperation of
other presbyters (priests) or dea-
cons and the assistance of lay
members of the Christian faith-
ful."
Canon 528
"1) The pastor is obliged to see
to it that the word of God in its
entirety is announced to those
living in the parish; for this rea-
son he is to see to it that the lay
Christian faithful are instruct-
ed in the truths of the faith,
especially through the homily
which is to be given on Sundays
and holy days of obligation and
through the catechetical forma-
tion which be is to give; he is to
foster works by which the spirit
of the gospel, including issues
involving social justice, is pro-
meted: he is to take special care
fi)r the Catholic education of
children and of young adults; he
is to make eveLT effort with the
aid of the Christian faithful, to
bring the gospel message also to
those who have ceased practic-
ing their religion or who do not
profess the true faith.
"2) The pastor is to see to it
that the Most Holy Eucharist is
the center of the parish assem-
bly of the faithful; he is to work
to see to it that the Christian
faithful are nourished through
a devout celebration of the
sacraments and especially that
they frequently approach the
sacrament of the Most Holy
Eucharist and the sacrament of
penance; he is likewise to
endeavor that they are brought
to the practice of family prayer
as well as to a knowing and
active participation in the
sacred liturgy, which the pastor
must supervise in his parish
under the authority of the dioce-
san bishop, being vigilant lest
any abuses creep in.'Canons
529 and 530 (below) show even
more clearly what the Church
expects of its pastoral servant-
leaders. After you have read
these final two canons, we will
consider how they, along with
the two previously published
canons, beautifully complement
a parish's stewardship conver-
sion efforts.
Canon 529
"1) In order to fulfill his office in
earnest tle pastor should strive
to come to know the faithful who
have been entrusted to his care;
therefore he is to visit familieS,
sharing the cares, worries, and
especially the griefs of the faith-
ful, strengthening them in the
Lord, and correcting them pru-
dently if they are wanting in cer-
tain areas; with a generous love
he is to help the sick, particular-
ly those close to death, refreshing
them solicitously with the sacra-
ments and commending their
souls to God; he is to make a spe-
cial effort to seek out the poor, the
afflicted, the lonel), those exiled
from their own land and similar-
ly those weighed down with spe-
cial difficulties; he is also to labor
diligently so that spouses and
parents are supported in fulfill-
ing their proper duties, and he is
to foster growth in the Christian
life within the family.
"2) The pastor is to acknowl-
edge and promote the proper role
which the lay members of the
Christian faithful have in the
Church's mission by fostering
their associations for religious
purposes; he is to cooperate with
his own bishop and with the
Presbyterate (other priests) of
the diocese in working hard so
that the faiththl be concerned for
parochial communion and that
they realize that they are mem-
bers both of the diocese and of
the universal church and partic-
ipate in and support efforts to
promote such communion."
Canon 530
"The following functions are
especially entrusted to the pas-
tor: 1) the administration of bap-
tism; 2) the administration of the
sacrament of confirmation to
those who are in danger of death;
. . . 3) the administration of
Viaticum and the anointing of the
sick.., as well as the imparting
of the apostolic blessing; 4} the
assistance at marriages and the
imparting of the nuptial blessing-,
5) the performing of funerals; 6)
the blessing of the baptismal font
during the Easter season, the
leading of processions outside the
solemn blessings outside the
church; 7) the more solemn cele-
bration of the Eucharist on Sun-
-days and holy days ofobligation."
Our diocesan vision for a total
stewardship parish calls for a
parish that is hospitable, prayer-
ful and gives good service. The
pastoral servant-leader's "job
description" found in these four
canons contains all of these ele-
ments and more. The pastor's
three principal duties are to
teach, sancti[v and govern along
with the other clergy and the
"lay members of the Christian
faithful" (Canon 519). Canon 528
focuses these three duties on the
critical importance of the homi-
ly, catechetical formation and
Catholic education as well as the
pastor's leadership role in deal-
ing with social justice issues.
Canon 528 also underscores the
"prayerful" component of a stew-
ardship parish with the Holy
Eucharist (Mass) at the center,
heavily involving the laity, and
including the sacraments and
family prayer.
Canons 529 and 530 (above)
are striking descriptions of the
pastor's responsibility to make
the parish a place where people
can turn in times of need, where
they feel welcome and find
"belonging through any number
of"associations for religious pur-
poses" and receive the strength-
ening touch of the sacraments.
And now that you know what
the Catholic Church officially
expects of its pastoral servant-
leaders, you should not only
have a better understanding of
"what Father does all day" hut,
more importantly; you can also
see how the law of the Church
promotes and reinforces your
parish's stewardship conversion
efforts.
