Highlights
Diocesan Pastoral Council
Meeting
December, 2004
According to Church law
(Canon 511),
“In each
diocese, to the extent that pastoral circumstances recommend it, a pastoral
council is to be established whose responsibility it is to investigate under
the authority of the bishop all those things which pertain to pastoral works,
to ponder them and to propose practical conclusions about them.”
Membership of the Diocesan
Pastoral Council is comprised of representatives from diocesan committees and councils,
and two representatives from each region, who meet five times each year with
the bishop.
Meeting Agenda
- The Council nominated Wayne
Carlson to serve as a representative on the Committee on Parishes for a
three-year term. Another representative
is also needed.
- A preliminary outline for
the observance of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Diocese of New Ulm was sent
unanimously to the Priests’ Council for their discussion and review. The outline was summarized from suggestions that were submitted through a survey to Area and
Parish Pastoral Councils and Diocesan organizations. Approximately thirty surveys were
returned. The Council will continue to
study and develop the Diocesan evangelization priority which will be integrated
with the observance in a yet to be determined way.
- A proposal to establish a
Diocesan Legacy Society in conjunction with the Catholic Community Foundation
of the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis was submitted by the Diocesan
Development Office. The Society would serve
as a planned giving vehicle for the Diocese, all of its parishes, and specific
programs and areas of ministry. The
proposal was recommended and sent to the Priests’ Council for further review.
- A report on the use of the
Center for Youth Ministry in Renville from the Youth Ministry Office was
discussed. The use of the Center has
decreased over the years but the Council recommended that parish ministers
should be encouraged to use the facility.
There is a sentiment that the use of the Center will increase as Area
Faith Communities develop their collaboration on youth activities.
- The Council summarized its
discussion of the Executive Summary of a Report to the Diocese of New Ulm on
lay ministry. An on-site visit was
conducted in September of 2003, by consultants from the National Association
for Lay Ministry (NALM). Priorities in
six different challenge areas were determined and will be merged with a list of
priorities that the diocesan staff completed.
The final list, along with recommendations for the responsibility for
implementation, will be forwarded to the Priests’ Council after the next
meeting.
- The training video on
"Boundaries" was viewed. The
video features Mr. Thomas Thibodeau of