Geography.
Your domicile resides within the physical boundaries of the parish to which you belong canonically and that is your pastor.
Our parish boundaries are very clear and I was never in doubt as the receptionist. We have a laminated map of the diocese which shows all the boundaries clearly. However I wondered why this information was not accessible online. You’d think it would be a prime piece of public information for the diocese to put out there, but I exhaustively searched and searched and there’s no digital map to be found.
You are free to attend any parish and even to register at any parish (at least in most North American dioceses), but that does NOT constitute canonical membership. You are the member of your geographical parish by virtue of canon law, unless you qualify for a personal parish (such as a specific ethnic parish) based upon the criteria determined by the Ordinary (bishop or archbishop of the place).
I have had the same experience. I know within the city limits the railroad tracks form the boundary between my parish and the other one in town. But in the case of people who live in some of the more rural areas around the city the boundaries are somewhat less clear. I have been told the archdiocese has some kind of map but it doesn’t seem that the archdiocese has much interest in sharing that information with the individual parishes. Pastors are apparently given faculties to administer sacraments to people who live in the general area of the parish even if they are technically not within the actual boundaries of the parish.
No one has said that one “should not” attend a parish near or far. Registration does not make one a parishioner of a parish. Your domicile does. You can *attend *any Catholic parish/Mass of your choosing. You *belong *to the care of the pastor in whose territory you reside.
A parish is a territory of a diocese under the direction of the diocesan bishop. Sometimes an order of priests will staff a parish. Canonically, it is a diocesan parish. If you are talking about Mass at an abbey or something, no that is not a parish.
The diocese and parish go back to the early Church. Mormons might indeed have something similar to the Catholic Church.
Perhaps, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t register at the parish within whose boundaries you reside! One day, you might need documentation (e.g., if you wish to be a godparent or confirmation sponsor, and need proof that you have all your sacraments and are a practicing Catholic), and if you simply call the parish where you “attend, participate, worship” (without being registered anywhere), you’ll find out – to your dismay! – that they can’t help you, since you’re not their parishioner!
What parish is going to deny you a sacramental certificate because you are not a parishioner? That’s ridiculous. I easily received my baptismal certificate and First Communion certificate from two parishes 600 miles away.
Not what the poster meant. Of course you can always obtain your sacramental records from your baptismal parish, regardless of where you live.
That is one way. If one is speaking of a “Personal Parish”.
The Diocese of Pittsburgh makes the information available. It is spread a bit thin though.
According to the website the Archdiocese accepts “registering and regularly attending a parish outside the geographical bounderies” as valid membership in a parish – no mention that it has to be at a personal parish.
