Pastoral Planning

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POR FATHER DAVID ESQUIILIANO

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Q. Why are we creating so many church buildings, which means no weekend liturgies?
A. The priests and Bishop Nickless prefer to move to a fairly stable design of parishes and schools, with the goal of little to no change for the next decade. We are moving more parishes to church building status and “retiring into” a design of parishes through 2025. During the process of consultation and parish cluster pastoral planning, the local pastors, finance councils and unified pastoral councils will need to assess, plan, and propose the use and care of church buildings, as well as perpetual care of cemeteries.

Q. Why are we using three Masses per weekend as a design parameter?
A. Three weekend Masses actually equals six key sacramental obligations for most pastors on a weekend. Confessions, a wedding and a funeral are typical. In addition, as pastors have responsibility for more than one church, there is a need for both travel time, and more importantly, time with parishioners after liturgies.
One of the goals of Ministry 2025 is to increase Sunday Mass attendance. This will include making sure the Masses we celebrate are done with care and proper planning, including preaching, sacred music and other important liturgical elements that inspire people to come to Mass. By limiting the number of Masses, it allows the priest to celebrate those Masses with energy.

Q. Is there a policy that offers guidance on the use and care of church buildings?
A.  A policy was developed for the use and care of church buildings in consultation with the Diocesan Presybteral Council and Bishop Nickless. That policy offers clear guidelines about how church buildings are administered. Contact the Office of Pastoral Planning at (712) 233-7536 or prosserm@scdiocese.org.

Q. How will parish administration know what to do with the finances of a church building or a parish grouping?
A. The pastoral planning office and the finance office of the diocese have created a set of guidelines to provide direction to handle finances. This will also offer some guidance on parish councils, finance councils and other parish organization and administration. Contact the Office of Finance at (712) 233-7515 or juliem@scdiocese.org.

 

Q: What criteria were used to determine the recommended status changes for parishes?
A. The criteria for the parish restructuring was based on the demographics compiled by TeamWorks International, the Diocese of Sioux City, a survey of diocesan priests and multiple meetings of the priests, who provided feedback to the consultants, the Office of Pastoral Planning and Bishop Walker Nickless. That data has been updated and the pastoral planning committee has reviewed it and met with Bishop Nickless for recommendation.

Q. Why can’t we have a Communion service instead of not having weekend Masses at our proposed church building site?
A. The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. As Catholics, we have an obligation to assist at Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. A Communion service cannot take the place of a Sunday Mass when Mass is readily available. In the Diocese of Sioux City is has been our longstanding policy to only allow communion services in hospitals, nursing homes and other institutions. Even after Ministry 2025 goes into effect, Mass will still be accessible throughout the diocese without requiring travel more than 20-25 minutes to get to a church.

Q. Why can’t we simply bring in priests from foreign countries to solve our priest shortage?
A. The Diocese of Sioux City has over 20 percent of our active priests serving our faithful who are foreign-born. The issue of bringing priests from other countries is complex and more difficult than one might initially consider. A diocese should foster native clergy for its own health and vitality. 

Q. Can parishes within a parish grouping share a pastoral council?
A. All parishes within a parish grouping are encouraged, but not required, to form a grouping pastoral council, made up of representatives from all the parishes. If one parish is merged with another, or a new parish is formed, then a single finance/parish council is to be utilized.

Q. Can parishes within a parish grouping share a finance council?
A. No. According to canon law, all parishes must have separate finance councils. If one parish is merged or assumed by another, then a single finance council is used.

Q. Do church buildings have a finance council or trustees?
A. No. Church buildings are not parishes and thus do not have a finance council, pastoral council or trustees. The finances used for maintaining a church building will be managed by the finance council of the receiving parish (with representation from parishioners of the now-church building).

Q. Can members of a parish becoming a church building have a say in the future of the church building?
A: Yes. Once a parish becomes a church building, it will be managed by the receiving parish and financed by a line-item in the receiving parish’s budget. However, the pastoral plan can recommend that a certain percentage of the receiving parish’s finance council be made up of those who were formerly parishioners of the church building.

Q. Will the receiving parish pay for the upkeep of the church building?
A: The receiving parish will be responsible for managing the care of the church building with a special line-item fund, the money in this church building budget will come from the church building’s current assets, or funds specially raised for the specific purpose of caring for the church building.

Q. Do parishioners of a parish moving to church building status automatically become members of the receiving parish?
A: All parishioners whose parish is merging with another parish are incorporated as members of the receiving parish. This is because the receiving parish assumes responsibility for all persons and items of the parish becoming a church building, including the registration database. However, some parishioners may wish to register at a parish other than their receiving parish. Thus, receiving parishes will contact all new members, informing them of the change in registration and offering them the opportunity to switch their registration to a different parish if they wish. The exact method of reaching out to parishioners and making requested registration changes is to be determined by each receiving parish and to be presented as part of the pastoral plan.

Q. What will happen to parish cemeteries if a parish moves to church building status?
A: Specific guidelines and protocols have been established to maintain cemeteries into perpetuity.

Q. What will happen to sacramental records if a parish moves to church building status?
A: Sacramental records from that parish will be transferred to the receiving parish.

Q. Can television screens or similar technology be placed in a church building from liturgies monitored from another location?
A. No. The Holy Father has made it clear in recent months that a virtual Mass is to only be done in an emergency situation such as COVID-19. He has said it is not a true Mass. The practice is to be discontinued as soon as the pandemic or the emergency situation passes. The only exception would be the watching of a Mass in an overflow room or hall adjacent to an actual live liturgy.