TYPICAL STATUTE

OF THE PARISH COMMITTEES

 

Preconditions

 

It is the duty of all believers to accept Jesus' call to live his teachings today. For this reason, all Christians must feel co-responsible for the life and mission of the Church. In the current situation of the Diocese of Trento, characterized by important changes in the community organization and by the need for a new evangelization, an innovative, hopefully effective way of guaranteeing a widespread Christian presence in the area is to establish, elect and make it work. of the "Parochial Committees", which symbolically gathered around a baptistery and a church, maintain the "Christian roots" of a historical community, even if small and guarantee all men of good will contact with the good news.

 

Purposes

 

1. The Committee, in communion with the parish priest, is jointly responsible for the life of the parish and is a tangible sign of the closeness of the Church to the people of the area.

It allows you to prevent smaller parishes from losing their identity.

Similarly, the Committee is also called to work to ensure that the small parishes do not close and do not offer the faithful that wide breath that every baptized person needs.

 

Composition and functioning

 

1. The parochial committee is established in every parish belonging to a pastoral unit; it can also be established in the case of several parishes entrusted to the same parish priest, by informing the diocesan Ordinary.

2. The Committee is made up of faithful who are at least sixteen years of age, have already received the sacraments of Christian Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist), profess the Catholic faith and have a desire to work for the good of the local Christian community. Each Committee is composed of a minimum of three to a maximum of seven people.

3. The Committee elects an internal contact person, who convenes it, chairs it and takes care of the preparation of the minutes of the sessions and their transmission to the parish priest. A Secretary can be appointed.

4. Intervention areas can be defined and individual responsibilities assigned, taking into account the availability, inclinations and resources present and the general co-responsibility of all the components.

5. It is up to the Committee to elect its representatives in the interparochial pastoral or pastoral unity council (the number is established by the parochial pastoral or pastoral unity council). In the case of a single representative, he will preferably be the Referent of the Committee.

6. The Committee meets - even without the presence of the parish priest - whenever the Contact person deems it necessary and in any case at least four times a year. The convocation, containing the agenda, is prepared by the Referent and communicated to the members of the Committee and to the Parish Priest. The Committee will also be convened at the request of the parish priest or at the request of the majority of its members, manifested to the Referent.

 

Establishment procedure

 

1. The term of office of the parish committee coincides with that of the pastoral councils. The mandate of member of the Committee ceases due to resignation or three consecutive unjustified absences.

2. The members of the parish committee are elected by the community from among the names of a list of people who have declared themselves available to work for the community; Voting takes place within the times established by the Ordinary. The ballot paper is individual. Christian faithful who have reached the age of sixteen can vote. Multiple applications within the same family are to be avoided.

3. The card shows the names of the people who have given their availability. The people with the most preferences will be elected. The outcome of the votes is displayed on the register of the church.

 

Tasks

 

1. The parochial committee aims to promote and make fruitful the life of the Church in its parish community. The chosen people take responsibility for the animation of the Christian life of the local community, in the field of the proclamation of the Gospel, of the Liturgy and of Charity.

 

Fraternity and relationship with other pastoral bodies

 

1. In its concrete action, the parochial committee must act in collaboration and fraternity with the other pastoral bodies. In this spirit he will:
   - keep in contact with the pastoral council of pastoral or inter-parochial unity and make its decisions and operational guidelines known;
   - take care in synergy with the Council for the economic affairs of the parish, the structures of the parish: decoration and cleanliness of the oratory, community room, playground etc.
   - take care of the celebrations, such as the patron festival, or convivial moments of the community.

2. The members of the parish committee must be aware of the service that has been entrusted to them and act for effective collaboration, facilitating the greatest possible participation to achieve a good climate in the community.