A parish is a certain community of Christ’s faithful stably established within a particular Church, whose pastoral care, under the authority of the diocesan Bishop, is entrusted to a parish priest as its proper pastor.

The parish priest is the proper pastor of the parish entrusted to him.

The parish priest is helped in the running of the parish by 3 committees/councils:

• The Parish Pastoral Council

• The Parish Coordinating Council

• The Parish Finance Committee

The Church has issued the following:

Diocesan and parochial Pastoral Councils and Parochial Finance Councils, of which non-ordained faithful are members, enjoy a consultative vote only and cannot in any way become deliberative structures. Only those faithful who possess the qualities prescribed by the canonical norms may be elected to such responsibilities.

It is for the parish priest to preside at parochial councils. They are to be considered invalid, and hence null and void, any deliberations entered into (or decisions taken) by a parochial council which has not been presided over by the parish priest or which has assembled contrary to his wishes.

(INSTRUCTION on certain questions regarding the collaboration of the non-ordained faithful in the Sacred Ministry of Priests Consultative vote: advisory role, with no power to make decisions. Deliberative: executive, with power to make decisions.)