Pastoral Council

Canon Law provides for the formation of Parish Pastoral Councils in Canon 536 #1.

“In every parish of the diocese, a Pastoral Council shall be established, if the diocesan Bishop, after consulting with the Council of Presbyters, so decides.  .” Canon 536 #1

“…In this regard, all lay men and women are called to give greater attention to a particularly meaningful, stirring and incisive passage from the Council: “Their activity within Church communities is so necessary that without it the apostolate of the Pastors is generally unable to achieve its full effectiveness”[100]. [Saint Pope John Paul II, CHRISTIFIDELES LAICI – On The Vocation and the mission of the Lay faithful in the Church and in the World, no.28]

Hence, “the lay faithful should accustom themselves to working in the parish in close union with their priests, bringing to the Church community their own and the world’s problems as well as questions concerning human salvation, all of which need to be examined together and solved through general discussion. As far as possible the lay faithful ought to collaborate in every apostolic and missionary undertaking sponsored by their own ecclesial family”(101). [Ibid no.28]

From this page, you can view the minutes of the Parish Pastoral Council, whose meetings are held every 6 weeks alternating between St Columba’s and St Theresa’s, jointly chaired by Ann McCarthy and Pauline Rourke. The minutes are in PDF format. To view our Parish Development Plan click here.