Another Parish boundry question

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THurifer2

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hello,

Another recent thread mentions that one is not bound by geographics. If that is so then is there really such thing as parish boundries?

If so WHY?

I have a unique situation at my parish.

The parish Council president lives in the area of another parish…this is rural Iowa so the other parish is 20 miles away…

Is this OK?
 
My understanding (based on conversations with Priests and Deacons) is that it is OK to live in one Parish and go to Mass in another Parish. This might be totally incorrect so I will be very interested if someone can show documentation for back up. My situation is interesting in that the Parish where I live is rife with liturgical abuses and when I attended Mass there even had a female who, according to the Priest, was in training to be a Deacon. The Priest actually had her read the Gospel. The parish that I am a member of is actually about 10 miles away but is in a different diocese. While it is not perfect it light years better then the parish in which I live.
 
Hey we dont’t have a parish council. Or if we do they are really really quiet, black box operation. We were about to get one with our new Pastor but he left for rehabilitation four months ago. So we shelve that idea for the time being. I know in our diocese they strongly encourage you to sign up for the parish in which you live.
 
Sorry i don’t have any offical documentation to provide you, but i don’t think 20 miles in a rural area is bad. We had one where a trustee lived out of state (job transfer) and the LEGAL documents of the parish said that was a no-no, since trustees are legal entities with authority to sign checks, etc. and it was an accountign thing.
 
TAS2000 said:
Sorry i don’t have any offical documentation to provide you, but i don’t think 20 miles in a rural area is bad. We had one where a trustee lived out of state (job transfer) and the LEGAL documents of the parish said that was a no-no, since trustees are legal entities with authority to sign checks, etc. and it was an accountign thing.
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I don’t know what the rules are now, but it’s pretty obvious that people go where they want.

I distinctly remember when I was little, boundaries were redrawn, and we got switched parishes. Much wailing and gnashing of teeth in our neighborhood, but we obeyed.
 
I guess my real question is if its is OK for a Pastoral COuncil (parish council) president to reside in another parish’s area.
 
THurifer2 said:
I guess my real question is if its is OK for a Pastoral COuncil (parish council) president to reside in another parish’s area.
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I suppose it must be - ours lives in a different town altogether. 🤷 (She used to live here, though, when she was working.)
 
Most diocese require you to live within the boundaries of a parish unless the pastor gives you permission to join and, sometimes, the pastor in your “boundary” church gives you permission to not join.

In actuality, there is a lot of lea-way.

For example, one town we lived in had two very different parishes. One was extremely liberal and one very conservative. The pastors basically had a gentlemen’s agreement that people could join whichever parish fed them best.

My current parish has a very strict boundary policy because it is a wonderful old historic church with an excellent school. Therefore, lots of people want to join in order to get married or get their children in the school. I went to the pastor when I moved here, explained to him my children were grown and in other towns, and I could either join the parish and support it, or just show up every Sunday! He let me in. (And, naturally, my youngest daughter – a member of the military – promptly got engaged and wanted to be married in my church! Father was very generous in not reminding me of my promise not to need a wedding or a school. 😉 )
 
Without going into other threads to read your posts or looking up stats about Iowa, I don’t know… Do you live in a diocese that restricts people to registering in their geographic parish? Are there diocesan or parish laws regarding membership in parish councils? Depending on the answers to my questions I think you could figure out if it’s okay for a parish council member to live outside of the parish geographic boundaries.

As for why parishes have geographic boundaries set up for them I can give a suggestion from personal experience.

When I moved to the city in which I currently reside I stayed registered in my former parish because I still lived within a twenty minute drive of that parish and I was continuing to sing with the choir of that parish. At some later point I was in a serious automobile accident in my home town that put me in the hospital. I contacted my parish (for reasons I won’t go into here) needing some spiritual guidance but when I was eventually visited by a clergymember it was someone from the geographic parish who came to see me.

Most parishes are more than happy to register anyone who is willing to be registered. But if the parish has to reach out to someone, Catholic or not, geographic member or registered member, it will be to someone who is physically in that parish.

I would also point out that being registered with a parish may or may not be the same thing as being a member of that parish. Most people use the terms interchangably.
 
THurifer2 said:
I guess my real question is if its is OK for a Pastoral COuncil (parish council) president to reside in another parish’s area.
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I don’t mean to be surly or defensive, but why do you bring this concern here?
 
ASimpleSinner said:
I don’t mean to be surly or defensive, but why do you bring this concern here?
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Because the secular humanist forum told me that the individuals own conscience was rule.

…the muslim forum had no idea what a Parish is

…the jewish forum said they had no idea if it was Kosher or not

…and the Seventh day adventist said it was OK as long as parish council meetings were not on a Saturday.

No really Another thread on this forum prompted my question.
 
THurifer2 said:
Because the secular humanist forum told me that the individuals own conscience was rule.

…the muslim forum had no idea what a Parish is

…the jewish forum said they had no idea if it was Kosher or not

…and the Seventh day adventist said it was OK as long as parish council meetings were not on a Saturday.

No really Another thread on this forum prompted my question.
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Good to see a little more humor on the forum these days, things had gotten pretty testy there for a while…maybe we’re all settled with our Lenten sacrifices :rolleyes:
 
Geography is not the only thing that defines a parish. I lived in a city with 12 parishes. As a military dependent I was a member of the military parish. We lived off base so I was geographically a member of another parish, and by language I was a member of a third parish. I opted for the parish based on language which was a 10 minute drive away when my geographical church was a 3 minute walk down the street. Some members of the ‘language’ parish came from 6 other towns.
 
Phemie said:
Geography is not the only thing that defines a parish. I lived in a city with 12 parishes. As a military dependent I was a member of the military parish. We lived off base so I was geographically a member of another parish, and by language I was a member of a third parish. I opted for the parish based on language which was a 10 minute drive away when my geographical church was a 3 minute walk down the street. Some members of the ‘language’ parish came from 6 other towns.
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Latin, per chance ?
 
THurifer2 said:
I guess my real question is if its is OK for a Pastoral COuncil (parish council) president to reside in another parish’s area.
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Does the document covering Parish Councils issued by your Bishop require that the Chairperson live within the parish boundry? (Here the Pastor is always the President of the Parish Council)
 
Br.Rich_SFO said:
Does the document covering Parish Councils issued by your Bishop require that the Chairperson live within the parish boundry? (Here the Pastor is always the President of the Parish Council)
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Here, our “Parish Council” consists of a local attorney, an accountant, and a hard-core businessman, appointed and led by the pastor.

I’ve never been “big” on parish councils. Part of being Catholic is the hierarcial chain of command, unlike many of our Protestant friends and their “inmates running the asylum” style of governance.

Sometimes, large parish councils wind up being “rubber stamp” committees, at which point, there is no reason for them.
 
Brother_John said:
Here, our “Parish Council” consists of a local attorney, an accountant, and a hard-core businessman, appointed and led by the pastor.

I’ve never been “big” on parish councils. Part of being Catholic is the hierarcial chain of command, unlike many of our Protestant friends and their “inmates running the asylum” style of governance.

Sometimes, large parish councils wind up being “rubber stamp” committees, at which point, there is no reason for them.
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In our case, the purpose of the Parish Council is to present reports to the priest regarding the various activities going on in the parish. In the few months that I have been attending meetings, we have never been asked to vote on anything important.
 
jmcrae said:
In our case, the purpose of the Parish Council is to present reports to the priest regarding the various activities going on in the parish. In the few months that I have been attending meetings, we have never been asked to vote on anything important.
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No vote required since the Parish Council has a consultative role only. Even if everyone in the PC wants something to happen or not happen the priest is free to do whatever he wants. The wise pastor does consider the wishes of the parish but ultimately he’s the one who answers to the bishop, not the PC.

FWIW, there is no canonical requirement a parish to have a Parish Council. There IS a requirement for a Finance Council with suggestion that those on that council have expertise in money management. Even then, its role is consultative.
 
SMHW said:
I would also point out that being registered with a parish may or may not be the same thing as being a member of that parish. Most people use the terms interchangably.
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Could you explain to me the difference. I always thought you were a member of the parish you were registered at. If not…what parish would you then be a member of?

Thanks, in advance.
 
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