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How to Cover the Catholic Church
Presbyteral Council and College of Consultors
Each diocese has a
priests’ council
—called a
presbyteral council
in church
law—which serves as a consultative body to the bishop. About half the priests
on the council are elected by their fellow priests. In addition, some priests,
such as certain diocesan officials, may belong to the council automatically, and
some may be appointed by the bishop. The statutes of the council determine
whether or to what extent priests in religious orders residing in the diocese are
also represented. From among the members of the priests’ council the bishop
selects six to 12 priests to serve as the diocesan
college of consultors
. When the
diocesan bishop dies, retires or is transferred, if there is no auxiliary bishop,
the college of consultors is responsible for the governance of the diocese and
elects a diocesan administrator from among the priests of the diocese. On
certain matters the administrator must consult with the college. The priests’
council is automatically dissolved when a diocese is vacant, but the college of
consultors is not.
Pastoral Council
A consultative body to the bishop, a diocesan
pastoral council
is made up
mainly of laypeople but typically includes representatives of the diocese’s
clergy and religious as well. Church law says it is to be convened at least once
a year. It is automatically dissolved when the diocese is vacant.
Local Diocesan Directory
Most dioceses produce an annual directory of their diocesan offices and all
parishes, including staff personnel at the diocesan and parish level. A number
of dioceses have this information on an Internet site, but Internet savvy varies
widely from diocese to diocese. If you are new to covering religion, contact
your diocesan communications officer to find out what directory resources
the diocese has online or in print to help you do your job.
PARISHES
The priest who heads a parish is its
pastor
and is appointed by the diocesan
bishop. Sometimes between pastors a parish may be headed temporarily by an
administrator, also appointed by the bishop. In dioceses where there are insuf-
ficient priests to have a resident pastor in every parish, some parishes may be
administered by a deacon, sister, brother or layperson. In such cases a priest