Subcommittee on Certification for Ecclesial Ministry and Service

Chairman

Most Reverend John M. Quinn
 Bishop of Winona

Members

Most Reverend Octavio Cisneros
 Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn

Most Reverend Arturo Cepeda

Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit

Most Reverend Christopher J. Coyne          

Auxiliary Bishop of Indianapolis

Most Reverend George Rassas                   

Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago

Consultants




Dr. H. Richard McCord                              (Effective January 1, 2013)                










Retired USCCB Executive Director of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth


Dr. C. Vanessa White










Director - Tolton Pastoral Ministry Program, Catholic Thelogical Union   


David A. Lichter, D. Min.










Executive Director - National Association of Catholic Chaplains


Sr. Angela Gannon, CSJ






 


Secretary - Secretariat for Catholic Education and Formation, Diocese of Brooklyn



USCCB Staff

Harry Dudley, D.Min.
 Assistant Director
202-541-3349
@email

 

Administrative Secretary
202-541-3154


Mandate/Goals for the Subcommittee

The subcommittee assists the bishops in reviewing and approving certification standards and procedures to be used on a voluntary basis by arch/dioceses and national organizations in the certification of specialized ecclesial ministers. It also offers consultative services aimed at improving the quality of lay ministry formation programs that are sponsored by arch/dioceses and by academic institutions.

This mandate includes the following areas of responsibility:

KEY MISSION RESPONSIBILITIES
  1. Embody the concerns and priorities of the bishops of the United States for ministry, namely, that those who minister in the name of the Catholic Church, each according to his or her status in the Church, are humanly and spiritually mature, well-prepared through education and formation, possess professional competence and pastoral skills, and adhere to the authentic teaching of the Church.

  2. Review and approve sets of competency-based certification standards and certification procedures that have been developed for voluntary use by dioceses and national associations for various ministry specializations in such roles as campus minister, parish catechetical leader, youth minister, pastoral associate, director of music ministries, as well as hospital, prison, and seafarer chaplaincies.

  3. Promote the development and application of voluntary certification standards for specialized ministry that are based on expectations and competencies reflected in the four areas of formation outlined in the U.S. bishops' document Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord, namely, human, intellectual, spiritual and pastoral.

  4. Offer consultation, upon request, to lay ministry formation programs in arch/dioceses and academic institutions for the purpose of improving the quality and effectiveness of these programs in accord with the guidance offered by Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord and by other relevant pastoral documents of the USCCB and the universal magisterium.
KEY MISSION RELATIONSHIPS
  1. With other committees, sub-committees, task forces, and offices of the USCCB, especially the Committees on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth (LMFLY), Evangelization and Catechesis (EC), Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations (CCLV), Cultural Diversity in the  Church (CD), and Catholic Education (CE).

  2. With bishops, Church institutions and leadership personnel of national ministry associations, academic institutions, and diocesan offices.