Reports
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Deacons Entrusted with the Pastoral Care of a Parish According to Canon 517.2
by
Mark M. Gray, Ph.D.
July 6, 2008
The number of parishes entrusted to deacons under Canon 517.2 has been steadily rising over the past fifteen years. Project studies conducted by CARA indicated significant differences between deacons and others who served PLCs and so an analysis of those differences has been developed.
Listening to the Spirit: Bishops and Parish Life Coordinators
by
Mary Bendyna, RSM, Ph.D.,
Tricia C. Bruce, Ph.D.,
Mary L. Gautier, Ph.D.
March 17, 2008
Bishop focus groups discussed the use of Canon 517.2 and the use of parish life coordinators and sacramental minsters. "Overall, bishops report a positive assessment of their experience with PLCs. Most, however, identify this as a less-than-ideal solution to the priest shortage, describing PLCs as a 'temporary' measure until priests can be assigned as pastors."
An in-depth study of Canon 517.2 is one of a number of research initiatives conducted on different emerging models of pastoral leadership.
Suggested Best Practices for Parish Life Coordinators and Sacramental Ministers
May 2, 2007
During the winter of 2007, nearly one hundred pastoral leaders gathered to discuss best practices for those ministering under Canon 517.2. Following is a list of suggestions surfaced by the participants.
Understanding the Ministry and Experience: Parish Life Coordinators in the United States
August 1, 2005
New to the Roman Catholic Church’s 1983 Code of Canon Law was the following (517, §2): If the diocesan bishop should decide that due to a dearth
of priests a participation in the exercise of the pastoral care of a parish is to be entrusted to a deacon or to some other person who is not a priest or to a
community of persons, he is to appoint some priest endowed with the powers and faculties of a pastor to supervise the pastoral care.
Parishes Entrusted to Parish Life Coordinators
July 1, 2005
This report presents a profile and analysis of trends from data on parishes without
resident priest pastors that are entrusted to Parish Life Coordinators (PLCs) collected by
the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University for
The National Association for Lay Ministry (NALM) and its five partner organizations as
part of a Lilly funded project “Developing and Sustaining the Emerging Models of
Pastoral Leadership in the Catholic Church in the United States.”
Understanding the Ministry: Parish Life Coordinators in the United States
March 1, 2005
This report presents a comprehensive profile of those deacons, religious, and lay persons providing, under Canon 517.2, pastoral and administrative leadership in parishes without a resident pastor. Called 'parish life coordinators' in this study, there are more than 30 titles for this position.
A Profile of Lay Ecclesial Ministers Serving as Parish Life Coordinators
April 1, 2004
This report presents results from the 2002 Lay Ecclesial Minister Poll conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University. This national random sample telephone poll includes interviews with 795 lay ecclesial
ministers in Catholic parishes in the United States.
