Laity Council
The Laity Council is the coming together of the leaders of the societies and organizations of the lay faithful. In order to fulfill her mission of the renewal of the temporal order, there is need to bring the various lay groups (CWO, CMO, CYON etc.) under the umbrella of the Laity Council so that through collective action, dialogue and reflection on Church’s social principles, insights might be formulated and ideas widely diffused to leaven the society.
The right of the laity to form associations such as the Laity Council is so clear and finds its foundation in baptism and in the mission of the whole Church. According to Canon 211 all the faithful have the obligation and right to engage in evangelization. This canon further specifies this right. It clearly affirms the right of all to use their own initiative in the promotion of apostolic action.
No wonder then, Canon 215 stipulates that the Christian faithful are at liberty to found and direct associations for purposes of charity or piety or for the promotion of the Christian vocation in the world and to hold meetings for the common pursuit of these purposes. Other canons however, seek to balance this right with a call to seek approval. For instance Canon 216 prescribes that no association can lay claim to the title ‘Catholic’ without the consent of the competent ecclesiastical authority. In like manner, the statutes of public associations such as the Laity Council, require the approval of the authority which in accordance with Canon 312 § 1, is competent to establish the association; this approval is also required for revision of, or change in, the statutes (Canons 312 § 1, 314). An association such as the Laity Council is subject to the supervision of the competent ecclesiastical authority (Canon 305). The authority is to ensure that the integrity of faith and morals is maintained and that abuses in ecclesiastical discipline do not creep in.
Functions of the Laity Council
- To evangelize
- To know, promote and protect the Catholic faith.
- To bear witness, the heart and mind of people are awakened more by witness of life than by the internal logic and consistency of what is shared.
- To promote the Apostolate of the Laity in accordance with the Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People of the Second Vatican Council and the Dogmatic constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium).
Pastoral Council
The Pastoral Council is NOT ANOTHER lay organization of the parish but rather a shared effort of the clergy, religious and laity to collaborate in the ministry of the parish community. Canon 536 addresses the formation of a pastoral council most commonly known as a “parish council” in each parish. The first paragraph is very precise, and shows us that its existence is not mandatory at all. It postulates that a pastoral council may be established in each parish, if the diocesan bishop considers it opportune after consulting with the council of priests (Canon 536 § 1). Clearly then, if the local bishop has not determined that each parish in his diocese should have one, there need not be a pastoral council in any parish in his entire diocese. If the bishop requires every parish to have a pastoral council, the law specifies that the parish priest presides over it.
The parish priest is the president of the parish pastoral council. By presiding at the meetings of the pastoral council he brings the authority of the bishop to the work of the council. Hence he bears the ultimate responsibility for decisions regarding pastoral ministry and the overall mission of the parish. He is the proper pastor of the parish and exercises pastoral care of the community entrusted to him by the bishop. He exercises offices of teaching, sanctifying and ruling with the help of his assistant or deacon and the collaboration of the lay faithful.
The pastoral council is only consultative in nature. In the exact words of Canon 536 § 2, “The pastoral council has only a consultative vote.” A vote that is consultative is not binding. In other words, members of a pastoral council may vote on an issue in order to share their opinion, but after listening to the members, the pastor of the parish can still choose to disagree with them, and his decision stands.
This may sound autocratic, but it is keeping with the theological implications of the Church’s understanding of the pastor as the leader of the parish. Logically, since the whole purpose is to foster the spiritual wellbeing of the parishioners, it has to be under the control of an ordained priest (Canons 515 § 1, 521 § 1). The pastoral council enables the pastor to obtain the input of members of his parish, and to hear how they stand on various issues affecting the parish. The pastoral council does not have a deliberative vote or becomes a deliberative parish organ hence it cannot in any way become a deliberative structure. It goes without saying then, that the pastoral council cannot make any final decision in the absence of the pastor of the parish. The Instruction on certain questions regarding the collaboration of the non-ordained faithful in the sacred ministry of priest, compiled in 1997 by experts from different Vatican discasteries, states that the pastor must preside at pastoral councils. It goes a bit further: decisions of a pastoral council are invalid if they are made at a council meeting where the parish priest has not presided, or the council has gathered for a meeting against his wishes (Art. 6 § 3.).
Functions of Parish Pastoral Council
It builds a community of faith by making the Church present and functional in the parish.
It calls forth, enables and empowers the charisms given by the Holy Spirit to individual members to be exercised for the edification of the body of Christ.
By participation, it enhances the quality of the parish life and its activities.
It facilitates the growth of the community united in faith and witnessing to the Gospel values within the church and in the neighbourhood.
It gives the pastoral leader access to the best counsel that can be provided within the parish on issues affecting its life and mission.
Laity council and pastoral council are two different entities. Unfortunately, many see them as one hence a good number of parishes in the Archdiocese of Jos do not have parish laity council as different from parish pastoral council. Ordinarily, the parish priest cannot be the chairman of the laity council just as a lay person cannot be the president of the pastoral council because it is an office reserved for the pastor of the parish, who brings the authority of the bishop to the work of the council.
