Attending multiple parishes

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What is the protocol for this if any?

I have two parishes that are equal in distance to me. I like both. One offers a Saturday vigil in English, the other does not…one offers more pastoral support, the other does not. One is charismatic and Spirit filled, the other, a different sort of feel to it.

So both have their positives and between the two, fulfill all needs. Is it OK to float back and forth between the two? As a former protestant you are the captain of the ship and float whenever you want, where ever you want. But I want to understand Catholic protocol.

Thoughts?
 
It isn’t just protocol. Canon Law addresses this issue.

A parish is a territory, just like a city, county or state. A Catholic is automatically a member of the parish in whose territory he has a residence.

Can. 107 §1. Through both domicile and quasi-domicile, each person acquires his or her pastor and ordinary.
Can. 518 As a general rule a parish is to be territorial, that is, one which includes all the Christian faithful of a certain territory. When it is expedient, however, personal parishes* are to be established determined by reason of the rite, language, or nationality of the Christian faithful of some territory, or even for some other reason.

So, one does not “choose” a parish any more than one chooses a state or city. Of course, one can choose to move there, or leave, but that doesn’t address the question.
When asking “what is my state?” The answer doesn’t depend on the distance to the state capital, but on which side of the border ones house is located. It’s the same with regard to a parish. Both are territories. It isn’t about “which is closer?” but “which territory do I live?”

The above is about parish membership, and by extension the rights one has as a member of a parish (such as a right to receive the Sacraments and other spiritual goods of the Church from ones pastor). A Catholic is free to attend Mass or any other acts of worship anywhere in the world.

What that means is that you can attend Mass at any parish of your choosing whenever you like, but you are a member of the parish in whose territory you actually reside.
  • There are also a relatively small number of what are called “personal parishes” meaning that the parish membership is determined by persons rather than by territory. These must be established by the bishop specifically as personal parishes, and their membership defined. Examples are ethnic parishes (Polish, Spanish, etc…) or Anglican-use parishes (such as the Anglican Ordinariate). This doesn’t seem to apply to your question.
 
I’m assuming you are in the United States, so there may or may not be a strict parish “boundary” within which your residence is situated. I have found some diocesan websites offer a “parish map” or parish “finder” to help you figure out which parish’s territory you are in. If that is true for you, I would suggest registering at your “territorial” parish and considering it your “home” parish, even if you sometimes attend Mass elsewhere.

However, not every diocese/archdiocese has this information readily available. I live an equal distance from 3 different Catholic churches, though one is across the state border and is therefore in a different diocese than my house. As far as I can tell, the diocese I live in does not have a way for me to determine which of the remaining two parishes I’m actually in. So I chose one myself.

If you cannot determine which parish’s territory you are in, I believe that it’s fine to spend time at each of the two for a while, but you would do well to move forward in choosing one to be your “home” parish. (Hint: pray about it, and then select the one that you think will help you grow closer to God and improve your spiritual life, not necessarily the one where you feel most “comfortable” or that has the most social events, etc.)

Once you’ve made a decision or discovered which is your parish, register as a member of the parish, and support that parish financially, as well as with your time and talent, as you are able. And try to get to know the priest and others in the parish–building community connections and friendships–not just for yourself, but for the good of the parish, also. :cool:
 
What Fr. David has stated is correct. I also live equi-distance to two parishes. ‘My’ parish, according to the territorial boundaries had no priest for almost two years. Everything was on hold. I did find another parish to help with questions of regularizing my marriage, dealing with my husband who wanted to convert, etc. But we were demoted back to ‘our’ parish who had no priest. What to do? We eventually stepped out of the boundaries of the local church and found one whose boundaries included us. One of those personal parishes, Fr. David mentioned. My husband converted to Eastern Catholic.

Church politics are sometimes very uncharitable to reverts and convert want-to-be’s.
 
CatholicRaven said:
I’m assuming you are in the United States, so there may or may not be a strict parish “boundary” within which your residence is situated. …
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Can you show where or how canon 518 does not apply in the United States?

I’m not aware of any such particular law or dispensation which exempts the U.S. from that canon, but based on your post, you are aware of such. Please share that with me because it’s something I very much need to know.

Thanks.
 
If you don’t know what parish you live in, call your diocese.They do have maps. The closest church may not be your parish church, just like the closest state capital may not be yours. Go to any parish you wish but know which one is your home parish. The pastor there is the one responsible for the care of your soul.
 
Thanks for your responses.!! 🙂

I’ll call the diocese and figure it out.
 
FrDavid96 said:
It isn’t just protocol. Canon Law addresses this issue.

A parish is a territory, just like a city, county or state. A Catholic is automatically a member of the parish in whose territory he has a residence.

Can. 107 §1. Through both domicile and quasi-domicile, each person acquires his or her pastor and ordinary.
Can. 518 As a general rule a parish is to be territorial, that is, one which includes all the Christian faithful of a certain territory. When it is expedient, however, personal parishes* are to be established determined by reason of the rite, language, or nationality of the Christian faithful of some territory, or even for some other reason.

So, one does not “choose” a parish any more than one chooses a state or city. Of course, one can choose to move there, or leave, but that doesn’t address the question.
When asking “what is my state?” The answer doesn’t depend on the distance to the state capital, but on which side of the border ones house is located. It’s the same with regard to a parish. Both are territories. It isn’t about “which is closer?” but “which territory do I live?”

The above is about parish membership, and by extension the rights one has as a member of a parish (such as a right to receive the Sacraments and other spiritual goods of the Church from ones pastor). A Catholic is free to attend Mass or any other acts of worship anywhere in the world.

What that means is that you can attend Mass at any parish of your choosing whenever you like, but you are a member of the parish in whose territory you actually reside.
  • There are also a relatively small number of what are called “personal parishes” meaning that the parish membership is determined by persons rather than by territory. These must be established by the bishop specifically as personal parishes, and their membership defined. Examples are ethnic parishes (Polish, Spanish, etc…) or Anglican-use parishes (such as the Anglican Ordinariate). This doesn’t seem to apply to your question.
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Two follow-up questions, Father:
  1. There is a defined ethnic (non-territorial) parish near me. I’ve heard the pastor describe how the bishop has designated that parish as such. But is there an assumption that one must share that ethnic root / heritage to licitly belong there, as opposed to just using it as a parish of convenience if one does not share that ethnicity?
  2. I know several deacons who serve at parishes that are not their territorial parish in terms of where their homes are. Do they have an obligation in Canon Law to formally join and financially support their territorial parish despite their serving outside their community?
 
FrDavid96 said:
Can you show where or how canon 518 does not apply in the United States?

I’m not aware of any such particular law or dispensation which exempts the U.S. from that canon, but based on your post, you are aware of such. Please share that with me because it’s something I very much need to know.

Thanks.
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I apologize for the misunderstanding. My post was poorly worded. I am not aware of any such law or dispensation, and I defer to your expertise on the matter.

Rather than, “there may or may not be…” (as though implying some areas have boundaries and some don’t), I meant, “I don’t know whether there is…”

I have never experienced any requirement to determine which parish’s territory I’m in… only which diocese. So I have no idea what being a “member” of a parish’s territory vs. being a “registered member” of a parish would mean on a practical level for the average practicing Catholic in the U.S.A. :confused:
 
Tarpeian_Rock said:
  1. I know several deacons who serve at parishes that are not their territorial parish in terms of where their homes are. Do they have an obligation in Canon Law to formally join and financially support their territorial parish despite their serving outside their community?
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If the person who attends a personal parish has no obligation to the territorial parish in which he resides. why would a deacon have an obligation to a parish in which he’s not serving. One would think that he becomes a member of the parish to which the bishop assigns him.
 
Tarpeian_Rock said:
Two follow-up questions, Father:
  1. There is a defined ethnic (non-territorial) parish near me. I’ve heard the pastor describe how the bishop has designated that parish as such. But is there an assumption that one must share that ethnic root / heritage to licitly belong there, as opposed to just using it as a parish of convenience if one does not share that ethnicity?
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I don’t understand how that’s a question. The parish has a defined ethnicity, so the idea that one must belong to that ethnic group isn’t just an assumption, it’s a fact of law.

Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t understand the question.

HOWEVER, a parish can have an ethnicity while remaining a territorial parish. Just for example, if the territory of the parish is such that everyone who lives there happens to speak a given language (for non-U.S. members, yes, that happens quite a lot in our larger cities) it would be both ethnic and territorial, but without being personal. NB: I can see that you said it’s non-territorial (which makes it de facto personal. I’m just including this paragraph for conversation.
  1. I know several deacons who serve at parishes that are not their territorial parish in terms of where their homes are. Do they have an obligation in Canon Law to formally join and financially support their territorial parish despite their serving outside their community?
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The Code does not address this issue directly. A deacon is a member of the parish where he resides (canon 518). As to where the deacon ministers, that’s something to be determined by the bishop on an individual basis (or by particular law). It’s simply not addressed in the Code. A bishop certainly could assign a deacon to a parish other than the one of his residence. I say this not so much because the Code specifically says that, but because the Code is silent on the matter. While a pastor is bound by the Code to live within his own territory, no such canon binds deacons.

Also, keep in mind that Catholics do not “join” their parish of residence. They are parishioners by virtue of their residence, so one “joins” (de iure) the moment he establishes a residence.
 
Phemie said:
If the person who attends a personal parish has no obligation to the territorial parish in which he resides. why would a deacon have an obligation to a parish in which he’s not serving.
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The difference is that a member of a personal parish already has a parish & pastor (the personal one), so membership in the personal parish would be somewhat redundant.

In the law, however, sometimes members of personal parishes also have rights in the territorial parish. By way of example, a member of an Anglican Ordinariate parish has certain rights, and the territorial pastor has certain limited obligations and jurisdiction. Given that precedent, I don’t see any reason why a diocesan bishop would be prohibited from applying the same model to personal diocesan parishes.

In any case, keep in mind that the proper parish of a deacon (same as when he was a layman) is his parish of residence, not where he ministers.

You phrased your question “why would…?” The answer is rather straightforward: by virtue of canon 518. I don’t mean that to be dismissive. I simply mean that the code is quite clear in answering the question.
One would think that he becomes a member of the parish to which the bishop assigns him.
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Except that that isn’t the way the law works.

Of course, for all practical purposes, he would be a “member” of the parish where he ministers, but still canonically, he would be a member of the parish of residence.

This actually has a very practical application. In my own diocese, there’s some casual talk among the priests about assigning Spanish speaking deacons to occasionally serve nearby parishes with no Spanish speaking clergy. That would help both pastors and deacons because instead of “calling around” we would have designated pairings (when a need arises). In such a situation, the deacon would remain a member of his home parish, but he would have faculties for the parish of assignment without needing formal permission or delegated faculties for each time those are needed.
 
I do not know the official Church law, but this is how it has worked for us living in the USA in practice: We are always required to register as active and contributing members in the parish, where our children go to school. The school is determined based on where there is space available for my children, and it has nothing to do with the territory or our residence.
 
FrDavid96 said:
I don’t understand how that’s a question. The parish has a defined ethnicity, so the idea that one must belong to that ethnic group isn’t just an assumption, it’s a fact of law.

Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t understand the question.

HOWEVER, a parish can have an ethnicity while remaining a territorial parish. Just for example, if the territory of the parish is such that everyone who lives there happens to speak a given language (for non-U.S. members, yes, that happens quite a lot in our larger cities) it would be both ethnic and territorial, but without being personal. NB: I can see that you said it’s non-territorial (which makes it de facto personal. I’m just including this paragraph for conversation.

The Code does not address this issue directly. A deacon is a member of the parish where he resides (canon 518). As to where the deacon ministers, that’s something to be determined by the bishop on an individual basis (or by particular law). It’s simply not addressed in the Code. A bishop certainly could assign a deacon to a parish other than the one of his residence. I say this not so much because the Code specifically says that, but because the Code is silent on the matter. While a pastor is bound by the Code to live within his own territory, no such canon binds deacons.

Also, keep in mind that Catholics do not “join” their parish of residence. They are parishioners by virtue of their residence, so one “joins” (de iure) the moment he establishes a residence.
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OK then, just so I understand your point on the ethnic non-territorial parish: Let’s assume an ethnic, non-territorial parish, authorized as such by the Ordinary, whose roots, heritage, and establishment were to serve, say, Lithuanians. As it happens, an Irish (by heritage) couple lives across the street. If I understand you correctly, that couple violates the Code of Canon Law by registering in that parish? And the expectation is that the pastor would be responsible for maintaining the ethnic “integrity” (for lack of a better term) of that parish by refusing to register anyone whose ethnic heritage did not “match” the ethnicity for which that parish was designated - and if he did register the Irish couple, he, too, is in violation of the Law? Is all this at least theoretically correct?
 
OK, I hope I’m not going to muddy the waters with my post.

So far this thread has addressed Sunday Mass. I wanted to point out for the OP that many Catholics go to different parishes for daily Mass. I work at home two days a week and at my office three days a week. So my schedule looks like this:

Mass on Sat/Sun, Parish A: the one I’m registered at
Mass on Mon, Parish B: near my office
Mass on Tues/Thurs, Parish C: near my office (Parish B doesn’t offer lunchtime Mass on these days)
Mass on Weds/Fri Parish D: Near my house (Parish A doesn’t offer lunchtime Mass at all)

Because I am registered at Parish A that is the one I financially support and where I do volunteer work.
 
I think the point that is confusing is that canonical membership and registered membership are not necessarily the same thing in many US dioceses. The concept of registration is for mailings, tracking, fundraising, etc. It carries no legal rights or responsibilities. I’ve never set foot in my parish church based of Canon Law; I’m registered 25 minutes away, and there’s never been a sacramental issue as our bishops are lenient on this. When our next archbishop is installed, he may well (within his rights) enforce things more strictly meaning I will need to be more acquainted with my true parish pastor, whoever he is…
 
This is one of those topics that crops up regularly on CAF, and the responses are often varied and unclear. I am afraid that most US Catholic laypeople are quite ignorant of the territorial nature of parishes. Maybe it is something that Catholic Answers should write about.

Before the automobile age, I am sure that most Catholics walked (or rode their horse) to the nearest parish. Parish shopping must be a relatively new thing.

In answer to the OP’s request for Catholic protocol, one can attend Mass or confess at any Catholic parish. When it comes to baptism, confirmation, marriages, funerals, however, there is a need to have a home parish.
 
Yes, it is fine to float between multiple parishes!

I don’t know what your particular situation is; i.e. married, single, with kids, etc. however you MAY want to find out which church is considered YOUR parish church. I have a friend whose sister went to church with her parents who lived a couple of towns away from her. The woman gave birth to a little girl and wanted her baptized. She approached her parents pastor as that is where she REGULARLY goes to church an the pastor refused to baptized her child because she did NOT live within the churches boundaries. The funny thing is that she went to the nearest Catholic Church in her town and was told she was NOT in that parishes boundaries. She then went to the closest Catholic Church to her home which was in another town and was also told she was NOT in their parish boundaries. They finally called the Cardinal’s office and learned that her home did NOT fall into ANY church boundaries. At the time the church boundaries were set up her home was owned by a Jewish man who wanted nothing to do with the church boundaries. She was therefore told her child could be baptized in any parish and that the pastor should call the Cardinal’s office if he had an issue with baptizing the infant.
 
Herculees said:
Yes, it is fine to float between multiple parishes!

I don’t know what your particular situation is; i.e. married, single, with kids, etc. however you MAY want to find out which church is considered YOUR parish church. I have a friend whose sister went to church with her parents who lived a couple of towns away from her. The woman gave birth to a little girl and wanted her baptized. She approached her parents pastor as that is where she REGULARLY goes to church an the pastor refused to baptized her child because she did NOT live within the churches boundaries. The funny thing is that she went to the nearest Catholic Church in her town and was told she was NOT in that parishes boundaries. She then went to the closest Catholic Church to her home which was in another town and was also told she was NOT in their parish boundaries. They finally called the Cardinal’s office and learned that her home did NOT fall into ANY church boundaries. At the time the church boundaries were set up her home was owned by a Jewish man who wanted nothing to do with the church boundaries. She was therefore told her child could be baptized in any parish and that the pastor should call the Cardinal’s office if he had an issue with baptizing the infant.
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That makes me very sad. Poor lady
 
Tarpeian_Rock said:
OK then, just so I understand your point on the ethnic non-territorial parish: Let’s assume an ethnic, non-territorial parish, authorized as such by the Ordinary, whose roots, heritage, and establishment were to serve, say, Lithuanians. As it happens, an Irish (by heritage) couple lives across the street. If I understand you correctly, that couple violates the Code of Canon Law by registering in that parish? And the expectation is that the pastor would be responsible for maintaining the ethnic “integrity” (for lack of a better term) of that parish by refusing to register anyone whose ethnic heritage did not “match” the ethnicity for which that parish was designated - and if he did register the Irish couple, he, too, is in violation of the Law? Is all this at least theoretically correct?
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Here is my concern with your question: Church Law does not function according to the principle that someone presents a hypothetical scenario which makes it sound as if the law is being capricious, then the law does not apply.

I’ll say 2 things to address your question directly:
  1. Registration does not make someone a member of a parish. So any question that asks about registration is a non-sequitur. There is no such thing as parish registration in canon law, therefore a pastor cannot be in violation of the law for registering anyone. However, the law does address issues of jurisdiction of the pastor of a personal parish, and does address the rights of the Christian faithful to receive the Sacraments and other spiritual goods of the Church from their proper pastors.
I suggest you read canon 110
Can. 1110 By virtue of office, a personal ordinary and a personal pastor assist validly only at marriages where at least one of the parties is a subject within the confines of their jurisdiction.

Note that the canon makes such an attempt at marriage invalid, not merely illicit. Therefore, this is no trivial matter.

You might (or might not) be of the opinion that such things do not matter. The Church clearly feels that it does matter.
  1. The law says what it says, and it means what it says. You’re asking if a pastor of a personal parish is responsible for maintaining the parish identity for which it was canonically established. The answer is “yes.” Absolutely yes.
When the local bishop establishes a personal parish, he defines the criteria for membership. If he sees fit to establish a Lithuanian parish, he has every right to do so. In such a case, the question of “what is licit?” (which is your question) can only be answered by what the law actually says.

Questions about canon law are not answered by emotion. The law says what it says and it means what it says.
 
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