What is a Parish?: Canonical, Pastoral, and Theological Perspectives

The parish is the venue in which both the mission of the Church is lived, and the relationship of Catholics to the local and universal Church is mediated. Catholics come to the parish, to celebrate the sacraments, to be catechized and formed, and to receive pastoral care. The parish is the Church inserted into the neighborhood and the world, the place in which the Church encounters the world and the world encounters the Church. However, the parish is rarely examined theologically or understood from a pastoral perspective. This book has three objectives: 1. It frames the parish with respect to the theological, pastoral, canonical and civil status of the parish. 2. It outlines further theological work to be done; and 3. It proposes criteria for evaluating further theological, pastoral, and civil judgments and initiative concerning the parish and parish life. This book features the following chapters: Can You Tell Me What a Parish Is? by Michael Sweeney, OP The Parish in the Mission of the Church, by Francis Cardinal George The Status of the Parish in the 1983 Code of Canon Law, by Joseph Fox, OP The Difficulties Faced by the Parish: Some Solutions (A Response to Joseph Fox, OP), by Roch Pagé Constitutional Reflections on the Parish: An Entity in the Fabric of the Church, by Mark E. Chopko Our Structural Constitution: Religious Freedom and Church Autonomy (A Response to Mark E. Chopko), by Richard W. Garnett Bonds of Communion among Parishes and among Pastors, by Robert Christian, OP Trinity and the Parish: Some Insights from the Theology of Yves Congar, OP, by Anthony Oelrich The Parish and the Apostolic Formation of the Laity, by Sherry Weddell Ideal for Pastors, parish administrators, parish staff, seminarians, pastor training workshops, canon lawyers, and attorneys.