Verghese V Joseph –
A resource booklet to enhance laity participation in parishes was launched at an event held recently at Atma Darshan in Mumbai. The book takes a synodal approach to parish administration to facilitate the building of a common understanding and appreciation of the systems and processes involved in making parishes more vibrant.
The booklet, developed over a period of nine months, was an outcome of deliberations on the Synod consultation findings of the Diocese of Poona. The inputs came from a team of 35 members, which included men and women religious, diocesan clergy and laity. From the various themes proposed, parish administration was found to be the most practical, relevant, and implementable focus area. This book should be considered a laity suggestion and not a Church mandate.
The genesis of the “Parish Administration Resource Booklet” came from the encouragement given by Cardinal Mario Grech, the Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops and concluded with the endorsement of Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay.
Dimensions Global Christian Chamber of Commerce, an organization that helps build, connect and grow Christian Entrepreneurs has come forward to take this initiative to gather steam. According to a press note by Mr Vincent D’Silva, president, Dimensions Global Christian Chamber of Commerce, “The Synodal process launched by His Holiness Pope Francis has made us realise that the Church can go far, but not without the full involvement of the Laity. A team of 35 clergy, religious and lay persons was set up, post synod consultations, to come out with practical solutions in the light of Synod consultation findings.”
The team worked in active collaboration with the Evangelizing for a more Vibrant, Alert and Aware Church (E-VAAC) Group and developed the “Parish Administration Resource” booklet. This initiative was encouraged by Cardinal Mario Grech, General Secretary for the Synod of Bishops and endorsed by Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay.
Dimensions also stated that “as organisations around the world continue to leverage the power of automation, systems and technology to create common understanding and deliver impact, this booklet provides us with many tools and checklists to enhance the productivity and quality of our Church administration. The mapping of various processes down to the activity level will promote better coordination and ensure consistency. The booklet will facilitate greater clergy and laity collaboration in parishes.”
Fr Reuben Tellis, Fr Anthony Fernandes, Fr Cajetan Menezes, and Fr Tony Menezes, along with a few members of the Parish Pastoral Councils across the city received a copy of the booklet.
The book aims to assist the parish priests ensure a smooth functioning of the parishes, help the council members realise the need and duty to share responsibilities with the parish priest and also motivate the parishioners to enhance their bonding and contribution. It guides teams to fulfil their responsibilities without being micromanaged and projects the need for transparency and accountability to avoid costly mistakes and wounds that damage the reputation of the Church.
The book describes the handover protocol and checklist to ensure the continuity of good practices even after a change in the leadership team in parish units. It provides a Parish Vibrancy Indicator that assesses the current state and suggests corrective action. It contains a brief guide to develop the Parish Pastoral Plan and has ideas for developing the Parish Annual Calendar. It describes the different Parish Ministries and Groups and the role of the Parish Pastoral and Finance Council.
Dimensions plans to conduct sessions for deanery heads and parish priests to help them appreciate the concept and related challenges, for council members and ministry leaders to help them understand their roles and responsibilities, and for the Parishioners to create an awareness of the change involved and options to volunteer. To drive implementation, Dimensions will strive to multiply the pockets of excellence by documenting and sharing success stories. This will ensure a more vibrant and synodal church and make good things come to be.
The online version of the booklet is available on: www.atmadarshan-svd.org/book.html
The `Parish Administration Resource Booklet’ is an excellent initiative by the Diocese of Poona. The booklet is dated June 2023. Yet Bishop Thomas Dabre’s name comes as the leader of the team when Pope Francis accepted his resignation in March 2023.
The Parish Handover and Takeover exercise is a very important aspect as it is opaque and the laity are NOT involved. The suggestion of qualified and specially trained staff for both Handover and Takeover is very appropriate. Engagement of lay persons in this respect is a MUST (instead of “recommended” as suggested in the booklet). Who is the “Overseeing Manager” mentioned in the handover and takeover process? There have been cases where a parish priest vanished without any handover.
Also under Finance, a cursory glance reveals that there is no mention of (1) Parish Assets Register and (2) its inspection by any interested parishioner. In fact any addition / disposal of assets should be announced on Sunday Masses or a notice thereof put up on parish notice board.
There should be a limit on holding petty cash (say not more than Rupees Ten Thousand). There have been several reports of attack/robbery in parishes where the Parish Priest had up to Rupees Five Lakh in his drawer. According to 4 June 2023 report in mattersindia.com, six masked men at 3 am on May 31 broke into Amlikhaman parish church under the diocese of Sambalpur Orissa. They attacked parish priest Father Sushil Kerketta, who sustained head injuries and allegedly took 500,000 rupees in cash from Father Kerketta, 175,000 from another priest, 10,000 rupees each from two other priests, and 1,200 rupees from the layperson. The link is https://mattersindia.com/2023/06/parish-looted-priest-wounded-bishop-issues-safety-guidelines/
Sections on Parish Leadership, Parish Community, Technology & Communication and Stewardship are well covered. There should be increased emphasis on building up Human Resources, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship programmes.