Highlights

Diocesan Pastoral Council Meeting

October, 2005

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.

October Meeting Agenda

- Elections for the Executive Committee were completed. Joining Chairperson Barb Kloster and Vice-Chairperson Doreen Kronback are Secretary Sr. Carmen Sonnek and Member Representative Jim Gunter.

- The Council will begin a study of the Diocesan Policies for the Pastoral Council and Committees. The selection process for members will be carefully examined.

- A policy developed by the Priests’ Council which specifies a number of Masses which would be celebrated by each priest for the repose of the soul of a diocesan bishop, priest or deacon was recommended for approval by the Bishop.

- A suggestion to initiate an annual diocesan celebration for 25th, 50th and 60th wedding anniversaries was discussed. The Council determined that a celebration would be planned for the fall of 2006 and would be developed in collaboration with the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women.

- The final plan and logo for the 50th Anniversary observance of the establishment of the Diocese of New Ulm were recommended.

- The discussion about the evangelization priority continued. The Executive Committee will develop a resolution for the Priests’Council based on the conclusions that have been drawn from the previous discussions. The resolution will be reviewed at the next meeting.

- The Council reviewed a number of new and ongoing developments in the diocese: the progress of the implementation of the Area Faith Community model, the proposed diocesan budget review process, the youth evangelization project which will be funded by a $45,000 grant from the Catholic Extension Society, and the results of the random survey that researched the level of support for the Plan for Parishes, diocesan stewardship, and an annual appeal.