Can I be a member of 2 different parishes?

[Cristiano]

So how do you deal with this scenario. You belong to a parish and you live far away from it. Later in the years because of urban development near your house a new parish is created. Do you still belong to the old parish or you are automatically moved to the new one?

 

[MarkThompson]

So how do you deal with this scenario. You belong to a parish and you live far away from it. Later in the years because of urban development near your house a new parish is created. Do you still belong to the old parish or you are automatically moved to the new one?

If an existing parish is partitioned, you would belong to whichever – the now-reduced old one, or the new one carved out of it – you lived in. The same applies, on a bigger scale, when one diocese is partitioned into several, and the reverse happens when multiple parishes are consolidated into one.

 

[FrDavid96]

So how do you deal with this scenario. You belong to a parish and you live far away from it. Later in the years because of urban development near your house a new parish is created. Do you still belong to the old parish or you are automatically moved to the new one?

You are a member of the parish where you have a residence.

Since your residence is located in the territory of the new parish, you are a member of that new parish.

 

[StrawberryJam]

You are a member of the parish where you have a residence.

Since your residence is located in the territory of the new parish, you are a member of that new parish.

Father,

I admit to not reading all the posts carefully. I have never been a believer but I attend a Mass closest to me, and one that may be really only 6 blocks from my home. I’ll try to get actual distance when I go again. Is it based on distance from the home? I do apologize for asking this without reading all the posts. It just made me wonder since most of the replies seemed to be coming from believers.
If I were to be a catholic, do I have a choice of the two?

 

[FrDavid96]

Dear fellow CAFers,

Please understand that a Catholic is a parishioner of the parish in whose territory he has a residence (personal parishes like ethnic parishes aside).

It won’t matter what the scenario is, that won’t change. A Catholic is a parishioner of the parish in which he has a residence.

Here’s the relevant canon law:

Can. 100 A person is said to be: a resident (incola) in the place where the person has a domicile; a temporary resident (advena) in the place where the person has a quasi-domicile; a traveler (peregrinus) if the person is outside the place of a domicile or quasi-domicile which is still retained; a transient (vagus) if the person does not have a domicile or quasi- domicile anywhere.

Can. 102 §1. Domicile is acquired by that residence within the territory of a certain parish or at least of a diocese, which either is joined with the intention of remaining there permanently unless called away or has been protracted for five complete years.

§2. Quasi-domicile is acquired by residence within the territory of a certain parish or at least of a diocese, which either is joined with the intention of remaining there for at least three months unless called away or has in fact been protracted for three months.

§3. A domicile or quasi-domicile within the territory of a parish is called parochial; within the territory of a diocese, even though not within a parish, diocesan.

Can. 106 Domicile and quasi-domicile are lost by departure from a place with the intention of not returning, without prejudice to the prescript of can. 105.

Can. 107 §1. Through both domicile and quasi-domicile, each person acquires his or her pastor and ordinary.

§2. The proper pastor or ordinary of a transient is the pastor or local ordinary where the transient is actually residing.

§3. The proper pastor of one who has only a diocesan domicile or quasi-domicile is the pastor of the place where the person is actually residing.

Can. 515 §1. A parish is a certain community of the Christian faithful stably constituted in a particular church, whose pastoral care is entrusted to a pastor (parochus) as its proper pastor (pastor) under the authority of the diocesan bishop.

§2. It is only for the diocesan bishop to erect, suppress, or alter parishes. He is neither to erect, suppress, nor alter notably parishes, unless he has heard the presbyteral council.

§3. A legitimately erected parish possesses juridic personality by the law itself.

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.

Can. 519 The pastor (parochus) is the proper pastor (pastor) of the parish entrusted to him, exercising the pastoral care of the community committed to him under the authority of the diocesan bishop in whose ministry of Christ he has been called to share, so that for that same community he carries out the functions of teaching, sanctifying, and governing, also with the cooperation of other presbyters or deacons and with the assistance of lay members of the Christian faithful, according to the norm of law.

source: vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_INDEX.HTM

One more time, a Catholic is a parishioner of the parish in which he has a residence.

 

[curlycool89]

Father,

I admit to not reading all the posts carefully. I have never been a believer but I attend a Mass closest to me, and one that may be really only 6 blocks from my home. I’ll try to get actual distance when I go again. Is it based on distance from the home? I do apologize for asking this without reading all the posts. It just made me wonder since most of the replies seemed to be coming from believers.
If I were to be a catholic, do I have a choice of the two?

It’s not closest per se. It’s a territory, like an electoral district or a congressional district.

 

[FrDavid96]

Father,

I admit to not reading all the posts carefully. I have never been a believer but I attend a Mass closest to me, and one that may be really only 6 blocks from my home. I’ll try to get actual distance when I go again. Is it based on distance from the home? I do apologize for asking this without reading all the posts. It just made me wonder since most of the replies seemed to be coming from believers.
If I were to be a catholic, do I have a choice of the two?

It’s not based on distance. It’s based on which parish territory you actually have a residence. This might or might not be the closest parish–it depends entirely what the territory of that parish actuall is.

When you become Catholic (actually, even now, before you’re Catholic) your parish is the parish which includes the territory in which your home is located.

You can attend Mass anywhere, but your parish is the place where you live.

 

[MarkThompson]

Father,

I admit to not reading all the posts carefully. I have never been a believer but I attend a Mass closest to me, and one that may be really only 6 blocks from my home. I’ll try to get actual distance when I go again. Is it based on distance from the home? I do apologize for asking this without reading all the posts. It just made me wonder since most of the replies seemed to be coming from believers.
If I were to be a catholic, do I have a choice of the two?

As FrDavid has shown, you are a member of the parish you live in. The parish church may or may not be the church closest to you. Think of a parish church like the capital of a state. It does not matter what state capital you live closest to, it matters what state you live in. I live closer to Madison, Wisconsin than Springfield, Illinois, but I live in Illinois.

 

[FrDavid96]

As FrDavid has shown, you are a member of the parish you live in. The parish church may or may not be the church closest to you. Think of a parish church like the capital of a state. It does not matter what state capital you live closest to, it matters what state you live in. I live closer to Madison, Wisconsin than Springfield, Illinois, but I live in Illinois.

But what if you prefer Wisconsin to Illinois? Can you switch?

 

[MarkThompson]

But what if you prefer Wisconsin to Illinois? Can you switch?

LOL – but does the mouse have to be blessed by a priest or deacon? Are you saying that as a layman if I say the blessing over the mouse, God won’t bless it?

 

[FrDavid96]

LOL – but does the mouse have to be blessed by a priest or deacon? Are you saying that as a layman if I say the blessing over the mouse, God won’t bless it?

Wrong thread. Keeping two windows open at the same time?

You can’t just switch threads, you know. You have to stick to the thread in which you have a residence!

 

[utah_rose]

I will not respond to your reasons beyond the fact that being “bored” to me is not a good reason. It’s like saying I’m not being “fed.” You don’t go to Mass for the Community, you go for the Sacrifice of our Lord!

So here’s ma answer to your question: NO. You can not actually remove yourself as a member from the Parish in which you belong. Parishes for the most part are territorial, meaning that everyone that lives in a certain area belongs to the parish. You can call the Diocesan Offices and see what territory you belong to. Many Parishes have registration but this is more for administrative matters. Canonically, you belong to a certain parish. The only way to belong to a different territorial Parish is to move. Really, there is no membership for a certain Parish.

Let me give you an example. When I was asked by the Vocations Director for the diocese “What Parish do you belong to?” I said “I belong to xxxxx Parish, but I go to yyyyy Parish.” Make sense? Now, it is up to the Pastor of the other Parish whether you will be permitted to take part in any liturgical ministries.

Churches are not territorial anymore. You may belong to one miles away from the closest one. And our situation is very much like the poster. Our parish is very liberal and big on “social teachings” and lax on doctrinal things. I’ve never heard an anti-abortion homily for instances (except from our Deacon)and I feel my soul isn’t fed.

The other parish on the other hand has a TLM Mass each Sunday (neither of our priests are interested in even learning the Latin and seem to scorn this type of Mass. Also, I like the pastor, and old fashioned Polish Priest who’s not afraid to talk of sin.

Right now we are torn between the two, but I have a feeling the second one may win.
Hope this helps.

Pax!

 

[ProVobis]

Keeping two windows open at the same time?

Does get drafty here sometimes.

 

[MarkThompson]

Does get drafty here sometimes.

Yes, but every 400 years or so you have to open the windows and let in a little fresh air for a change.

 

[choy]

Wrong thread. Keeping two windows open at the same time?

You can’t just switch threads, you know. You have to stick to the thread in which you have a residence!

can i apply for a canonical change of thread with the owner of the other thread?

 

[Georgia]

My former job transferred me quite a few years ago, so I ended up living in New Jersey for time. About the same time we moved, a new parish was established and that had parish lines that could have used some refinement. They were drawn along major highways without checking some consequences. As a result, I was outside the parish I could walk to and was inside the boundaries of a parish that was miles away. We naturally wanted to register and to stay at the one near our house.

The pastor at the nearby church was very strict and said we would have to get permission from the pastor of the new and much farther away parish. We did and lived happily ever after. In a case wherein there are unintended consequences, it is nice that there was a way to officially register at the nearby church.

We are now members of a parish that we see no more than monthly. Oh, we don’t miss Mass, but we go to another a little farther away. Our parish has a Mass schedule that most certainly does not work out for families and for people with occasional weekend work. On top of that, our home parish seems to have a “well, we might as well start now” attitude to Mass times. An 08:30 will never start at 08:30. Eight to ten minutes late is the general rule of thumb. We can go to the other parish, leave after the closing procession, get home, and have the kids eating before we would be leaving our home parish. A Mass at our parish that is scheduled for 08:30 normally ends around 09:45 to 09:50. We give to both, but we recognize that we are bond to our home parish. Otherwise, we would visit the other parish every Sunday that we are in town.

 

[CoffeeHound]

How do you determine in which territory you live? I checked the diocese website and found nothing. I’ve always assumed it was radial (so you would belong to nearest parish, which apparently isn’t the case).

 

[dans0622]

How do you determine in which territory you live? I checked the diocese website and found nothing. I’ve always assumed it was radial (so you would belong to nearest parish, which apparently isn’t the case).

Hi CoffeeHound,

Someone at each parish should know what it’s boundaries are, as should someone in the diocesan chancery. At least, someone should know where this information is. I have also found it to be rather difficult to track down, sometimes.

The boundaries can tend to be rather irregular, from my limited experience. I suppose this is true because a parish’s territory is based on population, not simply on square mileage.

Dan

 

[CoffeeHound]

The boundaries can tend to be rather irregular, from my limited experience. I suppose this is true because a parish’s territory is based on population, not simply on square mileage.

Thanks Dan. Do the boundaries change if the population centers move?

 

[dans0622]

Thanks Dan. Do the boundaries change if the population centers move?

Only by decree of the Bishop. Canon 515 §2: “It is only for the diocesan bishop to erect, suppress, or alter parishes. He is neither to erect, suppress, nor alter notably parishes, unless he has heard the presbyteral council.”

FYI, here is an “unofficial” map of a certain parish in Virginia: stjamescatholic.org/parish_map.pdf

Dan