College of Consultors
The
College of Consultors is an institute established by canon law (Canon
502) as one of the specific consultative bodies with which the
archbishop must consult on matters determined under canon law. This reflects an essential element of canon law that reserves
final responsibility and a final decision on many matters to the
archbishop, but only after he has consulted and received advice from
particular groups in reaching that decision.
The College of Consultors is chosen by the archbishop and must include six but no more than 12 members chosen from the Council of Priests. The College of Consultors is established for a five-year term. When the five-year term is over, the College of Consultors can continue to function until a new College of Consultors is established (cf. Canon 502.1), at which time the archbishop can reappoint the same people or designate new members.
Current members of
the College of Consultors include the archbishop, auxiliary bishops,
moderator of the curia, and other priests from the Council of Priests. The College of Consultors membership is listed in the current Archdiocese of Los Angeles Catholic Directory. Under canon law, the College of Consultors meets as
needed to advise the archbishop regarding the more important matters affecting the archdiocese, especially acts of
administration in light of the economic condition of the archdiocese. In
discharging its consultative role, the College of Consultors provides
advice to the archbishop in the performance
of acts of extraordinary administration as defined by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
(USCCB). The consultative role includes whether they should advise the archbishop to alienate goods of the
archdiocese or a juridic person over whom the archbishop exercises
responsibility, when the value of the goods whose alienation is proposed
exceeds the minimum amounts set by the USCCB from time to time for
dioceses in the United States (cf. Canon 1292.1). The College of Consultors also has specified duties under canon law when the office of
archbishop is vacant or impeded.
Where
canon law specifies that the consent or advice of the College of Consultors is required, an absolute majority of
those present must consent and the counsel of all members present must have been sought by the archbishop (cf. Canon 127.1). All whose consent or counsel is required are obliged
to offer their opinion sincerely (cf. Canon 127.3).
Meetings of
the College of Consultors are confidential as specified under canon law
or as determined by the archbishop (cf. Canons 127.3 and 471.2).
Council of Priests
Under
canon law, a presbyteral council is required to be convened and
presided over by the archbishop as the consultative board on matters
promoting the pastoral welfare of the people of God entrusted to him
(Canons 495 §1 and 500). In the archdiocese, the Council of Priests of the
Archdiocese of Los Angeles is the presbyteral council.
The Council of Priests operates as an advisory body and as a "senate" of clergy under statutes
and bylaws adopted and updated by the Council of Priest from time to time, as appropriate. The Council of Priests is
organized to
aid the archbishop in the governance of the
archdiocese according to the standards or norms so that the pastoral
welfare of the people of God committed to the archbishop with the
cooperation of the priests may be carried forward as effectively as
possible;
provide a forum through which the presbyterate can
offer their wisdom, raise questions, and engage in the full and free
discussion of all issues of concern in the archdiocese;
search for and propose ways and means for more effective pastoral ministry among the people of God; and
provide dialogue and advice that foster what is appropriate for effective priestly life and ministry.
The
Council of Priests generally meets as a body on a monthly basis and
also has both standing and ad hoc committees that meet and report on a
regular basis.
Members of the Council of Priests are elected by
(a) priests incardinated in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, including
those working and residing within the archdiocese, studying or
ministering in an assignment outside of the archdiocese, or who are
retired (Canon 498.1.1) and (b) priests incardinated elsewhere, whether in
another diocese, a personal prelature, a religious institute, or a
society of apostolic life, but who have faculties to minister in the
archdiocese and who are then serving in the archdiocese (Canon 498).
The
members of the Council of Priests include the archbishop, auxiliary and
regional bishops or regional episcopal vicars, and the moderator of the
curia, who are all ex officio members, as well as the deans of the 20
deaneries of the archdiocese. The archbishop may appoint other members.
Other clergy with official roles may serve as consultants. Members are
generally elected for five-year terms but automatically resign when
transferred to a different region or when no longer a dean, as the case
may be.
As one of the key consultative bodies set by canon law,
the Council of Priests acts by majority vote. The council is consulted
on policy matters that directly impact priests generally such as
compensation and standards for issuance of faculties to minister, and
may be consulted on any matter when the archbishop is seeking advice.
Also, under canon law, the Council of Priests must be consulted by the
archbishop in matters of great moment (Canon 500.2), including matters
related to
the advisability of an archdiocesan synod (Canon 461.1);
the
establishment, suppression, and division of parishes or the
modification of the nature of a parish or its boundaries (Canon 515.2);
regulations of the allocation of offerings on the occasion of parish services (Canon 531);
mandating that a Parish Pastoral Council be established in every parish (Canon 536.1);
granting
permission to build a church (Canon 1215.2) or authorizing that a
church be converted to secular purposes except where it has become
impossible to continue using it for worship (Canon 1222);
the imposition or the modification of archdiocesan assessments (Canon 1263); and
other
matters that have or could be expected to have a significant impact on
the patrimony, organization, or operation of the archdiocese or on the
life of the clergy as a whole.
Finance Council
The
Finance Council of the archdiocese was formally established in 1986 by
Archbishop Roger Mahony to comply with the requirements of canon law
(Canon 492).
It is subject to the provisions of canon law and
consists of clergy and lay or religious members of the Christian
faithful who serve as volunteers or ex officio members and are skilled
in financial matters and familiar with the applicable elements of canon
and civil law. The Finance Council exists to assist the archbishop in
handling those financial matters that fall within the purview of the
archbishop and has the duties set forth in the Code of Canon Law, Book 5, The Temporal Goods of the Church (Canon
493). The Finance Council advises the archbishop on those acts of
administration, which are more important in light of the economic
condition of the diocese (Canon 1277), and, in particular, acts of
extraordinary administration that he is required to submit to the
Finance Council pursuant to the norms of the USCCB (Canon 1277 and the USCCB Complementary Norms).
In
addition, the Finance Council reviews and adopts an annual budget for
the Archdiocesan Catholic Center, including the cemetery and mortuary operations and
the regional offices; examines the annual financial reports and
statements of operations; and oversees the annual independent audit of
the financial statements for the Archdiocesan Catholic Center, and any other operations in the archdiocese over which the
archbishop exercises direct control (Canon 493).
The Finance
Council also directly and through committees advises on a wide range of
fiscal and financial matters ranging from gifts and wills
administration, parish and school financial status and planning,
strategic financial and banking issues, capital and real estate development and
management matters, material litigation and contingencies, debt and
other financings, insurance and the investment and management of the
Investment Pool, major fund-raising and stewardship initiatives,
oversight of major assets, parish assessments, operation of funds, the
selection of the chief financial officer of the archdiocese, and such
other matters as the archbishop refers to the Finance Council.
The voting
members of the Finance Council include at least nine but no more than 25
individuals appointed by the archbishop and designated as voting
members. Voting members include an auxiliary bishop and no more than
five other clergy, with the balance being non-clergy persons selected
from religious communities in the archdiocese and from the Roman
Catholic laity in the archdiocese. The moderator of the curia and the
chief finance officer are ex officio and do not vote on matters before
the Finance Council. The archbishop participates in the meetings of the
Finance Council but does not vote.
The voting members of the
Finance Council are appointed for staggered five-year terms and may be
appointed to additional five-year term at the discretion of the
archbishop.
The archbishop designates a
chair and vice chair. A secretary, who need not be a member, is designated. The Finance Council meets
regularly, generally monthly, and operates both as a full council and
through several committees with substantial responsibility for
overseeing the particular aspects of the Finance Council's charge.
Other Advisory Groups
In
addition to the College of Consultors, Council of Priests, and Finance
Council, which are mandated by canon law, the archbishop is expected to
designate people for the Office of the Archbishop and establish such other advisory boards, committees, and
administrative groups as he considers appropriate to advise and assist
him in the discharge of his pastoral and administrative duties. The
archbishop has designated certain administrators as senior directors to oversee various functions
in the archdiocese and the Archdiocesan Catholic Center and to be his
principal administrative advisory group. In addition, he meets regularly
with the auxiliary bishops on matters of pastoral or administrative
concern to the archdiocese, the California Catholic Conference, the USCCB, or the Church generally.
There
are a number of other archdiocesan advisory boards that serve as
important advisory bodies to the archbishop and assist him in a wide
range of administrative needs and other archdiocesan programs and social
and community activities. The boards and their members are listed in
the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Catholic Directory.
3-9-2021, 7-21-2022