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Pastoral Regions Contact:
Rev. Len Wenke 100 East Eighth Street |
FAQFREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. Why has the Archdiocese created pastoral regions? The Archdiocese of Cincinnati has been planning for a number of years how to live the mission of Jesus Christ in the future using available resources (personnel, programs and finances) as effectively as possible, with changing demographics and fewer priests. Part of this future planning was the “clustering” of our more than 200 parishes into approximately 100 pastoral regions. For administrative purposes, parishes of the Archdiocese are grouped together geographically into deaneries. Each is led by a dean, a priest appointed by the Archbishop. Deans worked with the parishes of their deaneries to determine the pastoral regions, using the most appropriate process for their area. The formation of these pastoral regions was approved by Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk in October 2005 as part of the Futures Project.
There are three types of pastoral regions: Single Parish Regions, Collaborative Regions and Merged Regions.
In each pastoral region setting, – The pastor and laity minister together out of their respective vocations;, working in a collaborative manner to build up a ministerially complete, vibrant church in the region. A pastoral administrator may be engaged to enable ongoing parish life including liturgy, pastoral care and administration. The administrator would assist the pastor in his function of liaison between the parish and the diocesan church, local church and community.
Pastoral regions are formed on a commitment of the parishes involved to work together, share ministries as needed and coordinate sacramental schedules. Eventually, the parishes will be prepared to share one pastor. The parishes’ goal is to become a vibrant pastoral region to live the mission of Jesus Christ.
In the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, the call for parishes to develop collaborative relationships with neighboring parishes started with the For the Harvest 1986 program, a parish-based consultation project focused on two major emerging trends: the development of new forms of ministry and the declining number of priests. Parishes and parish clusters were invited to respond to the question, “What must we do to ensure high-quality parish ministry in the future?” Summaries of cooperative strategies were prepared and presented to an Archdiocesan Planning Committee and to each dean. There are a number of ways two or more parishes can collaborate (Source: Collaboration: Uniting Our Gifts in Ministry by Loughlan Sofield, ST and Carroll Juliano, SHCJ):
Exactly how and when each pastoral region is implemented will be different based on the needs of the Archdiocese and the parishes involved. The sharing of pastors will take place as the need arises, not according to any specific timeline. Implementation may be expedited in the event of an unexpected change in the status of a pastor serving one of the parishes involved. Planning and making preparations for that time when pastoral regions are implemented is the work and purpose of Pastoral Region Planning Teams.
At the end of 2011, 103 parishes share a pastor. These parishes are served by 42 priests. This number includes 10 priests from religious communities or another diocese.
A Pastoral Region Planning Team has five main objectives:
Typically, an equal number of parishioners from each parish in the pastoral region are appointed to serve on the Pastoral Region Planning Team with input from the Pastoral Councils. The pastor(s) sit on the team. It is helpful to have one member of each Pastoral Council on the team to facilitate and insure communication between both groups.
The pastoral region plan is developed by the Pastoral Region Planning Team, presented to the parish communities involved and approved by each parish’s Pastoral Council. The locally approved plan is then presented to the Archbishop for final approval.
Not necessarily. Throughout the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and in other dioceses, two or more parishes in a collaborative pastoral region continue to function as separate canonical parishes (with their own Pastoral Council, Finance Council and Pastoral Staff) while increasingly collaborating to serve their parish communities. These collaborative pastoral regions continue to function after five years and some after 10 or more years. One of the planning parameters set forth in the Futures Project states: “All parishes remain open initially in some form unless the pastor in consultation with parish leadership recommends closing or merging.”
In a collaborative pastoral region the parishes remain independent, canonical parishes. In a merger, the parishes involved close, a new parish is created and a new parish name is established. The resources of the closed parishes are transferred to the new parish.
Experience has shown effective partnering and working side-by-side can insure the integrity of individual parishes’ identities and concerns.
In addition to developing a plan that honors the customs and unique character of each parish in the region, pastoral leadership is called on to acknowledge and tend to the sense of disappointment and loss that naturally flows from the changes involved and guide parishioners to remain hopeful in the Lord and see Him in the breaking of the Bread at each Mass celebrated.
A pastor is assigned for a six-year term, which is renewable once for priests under the age of 63. A priest over age 63 may be permitted to remain at a parish until he retires, provided he is in good health, with the permission of the Archbishop
Not necessarily. For some years to come, retired priests and priests who teach at the Athenaeum of Ohio/Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary or serve in other capacities within the Archdiocese will be available to assist pastors of pastoral regions.
The pastor serves all the parishes of his pastoral region. He develops a plan with the Pastoral Region Planning Team, Pastoral Councils and Pastoral Staffs to ensure that he can best meet each parish’s needs in a way that makes the most sense for the people of his region.
Permanent deacons are ordained by the Church to assist bishops and priests by proclaiming the Gospel, administering the sacraments, offering worship and serving the poor and faithful. Permanent deacons serve in many roles in parishes throughout the Archdiocese. In pastoral regions, their ministries will continue to be valued and determined by the needs of each region.
A pastoral administrator provides pastoral leadership for implementing the mission of the parish(s) assigned to her/him, including the areas of liturgy, pastoral care and administration. The pastoral administrator assists the canonical pastor for the pastoral region in his function of liaison between the parish(s) and the Archdiocese, local church and community. At this time there are just two Pastoral Administrators; one is a permanent deacon, the other is a lay woman.
Published in 1982, the guidelines state:
If these guidelines are not being met, parishes have been encouraged to look seriously at their weekend Mass schedules and make appropriate changes.
The quality of Sunday Mass suffers when there are too many weekend Masses or smaller congregations. The liturgy is always enhanced by a church that is more full than empty, making it easier to have enough lay ministers to celebrate the liturgy well. Likewise, if priests are to be genuinely enthusiastic each time they preside, they normally should not be expected to regularly preside multiple times every weekend.
According to Canon Law, a priest should normally celebrate one Mass per day. Bishops can permit priests to celebrate two Masses per day for just cause, for example, on a Sunday or holyday of obligation, or on a weekday if there is a funeral. Bishops can also permit priests to celebrate three Masses per day on Sundays or holydays of obligation, if there is a genuine and serious pastoral need, for instance, if the priest is responsible for more than one parish.
Yes, the pastoral region’s mission remains the same as that of each Roman Catholic Church, to live the mission of Jesus Christ in the Archdiocese. The purpose of the pastoral region is to build a vibrant church in the region in a way that is ministerially complete, especially in the areas of:
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