Cardinal Law Orders Priests to Ignore Parish Councils Group

Bernard Francis Cardinal Law

Function: Archbishop Emeritus of Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Title: Cardinal Priest of S Susanna

Birthdate: Nov 04, 1931	Country: USA

Elevated: May 25, 1985	More information: www.catholic-hierarchy.org

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Cardinal Law Orders Priests to Ignore Parish Councils Group
Sept 18, 2004
Cardinal Bernard Law has ordered priests to ignore a proposed association of church members, calling the idea "potentially divisive" and angering some loyal Catholics.

(Source unknown, 27 April 2002) Law says the church will not recognize a proposed Association of Parish Pastoral Councils, made up of volunteer laity who aid their parish in organizing, fund-raising and advising the pastor, according to a copy of a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

Law issued the order from Rome on Wednesday night. He instructed Bishop Walter Edyvean to draft a letter to tell priests of his disapproval.

"As pastor or parochial vicar, you are not to join, foster, or promote this endeavor among your Parish Pastoral Council members or the community of the faithful at large," Edyvean, the vicar general of the archdiocese, wrote on Law's behalf.

Law told parishioners last Sunday that he wants to find ways for the laity to become more involved, as part of a comprehensive plan to address the clergy sex abuse scandal.

The archdiocese said an Archdiocesan Pastoral Council already exists, and the creation of another group would be "superfluous and potentially divisive."

In his letter, Edyvean wrote that "discussions have begun and will be extended on the topic of how to make the canonically recognized groups more effective in the archdiocese."

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