Highlights

Diocesan Pastoral Council Meeting

August, 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.

August Retreat Day Agenda

- New Diocesan Pastoral Council Members are: Father Jerry Berger (Priests’ Council), Darrel Breyfogle (Region 3), Paulette Collins (DCCW – 2nd Term), Rosemary Kirtz

(Region 5), Mary Ann Kramer (Region 2 – 2nd Term), and Ron Polman (Region 3). Two representatives from Region 4 and one from Region 1 have not yet been named. Representatives are still to be selected from the Worship and Evangelization and Catechesis Committees.

- Bishop John Nienstedt presented an update on the diocesan priorities for 2003 – 2008. Two new priests were ordained in July and over one hundred and fifty potential seminarians have been surfaced in the past two years. By June of 2006, all of the Area Faith Communities will have completed the planning process. Plans are proceeding to conduct an annual diocesan appeal. An Ad Hoc Committee is preparing a proposal to establish the permanent diaconate and a lay ecclesial ministry formation program. The Diocesan Pastoral Council continues to study how to initiate an "evangelization process" in the Diocese. Safe Environment training and compliance in response to the sexual abuse crisis is proceeding well.

- The remainder of the day was spent in reflection on passages from the Acts of the Apostles and how these texts can guide pastoral council activity.

- New members of the Executive Committee were elected. Barb Kloster will serve as Chairperson and Doreen Kronback is the new Vice-Chairperson. A Secretary and Membership Representative will be selected at the October meeting.