In 2003 Bishop Patrick J. McGrath agreed to proceed with a process to surface qualified MPLs who would eventually be assigned by him to lead parish life in specific parishes.
These assignments would be guided by canon law as well as by guidelines specifically regarding MPL appointments. Guidelines included:
In as much as the bishop is committed to appointing the best central leader, a parish may at times have a priest pastor and at other times a Minister of Parish Life.
The bishop makes the final appointment.
“Minister of Parish Life”…new phrase, new idea, new job description?
Yes, and no. Priests have been doing it for years, so, it’s not a new concept. We call them “pastors.”
The fact is, however, that there are some dioceses in the United States where some Ministers of Parish Life are lay people, Religious women and men, or permanent deacons.
At their May 1995 meeting, the Council of Priests of the Diocese of San Jose endorsed a proposal from its ministries committee urging Bishop Pierre DuMaine (retired, 1999) to adopt a strategy of assigning a lay person, Religious or permanent deacon to be the central leader in some parishes in the future.
This person would be responsible for the pastoral care of the parish. Assisting priests would be available for the sacramental needs of the parish. This creative approach to providing adequate pastoral ministry was based on several concerns:
The number of priests is dwindling.
Some priests may choose not to become “pastors.”
There are increasing numbers of highly educated, experienced and motivated lay Catholics who view ministry as a profession.
Closing or merging some parishes was a negative option.
“Circuit-rider” priests who would be the central parish leader in two or more parishes was not considered to be a healthy option for priests or parishes.
The Minister of Parish Life would be a seasoned pastoral leader and would be responsible for the overall life of the parish, not just for “temporalities” as would, say, an administrator.
Qualifications of MPLs include academic studies and pastoral experience in a variety of ministries which may include catechesis, liturgy, pastoral care, social justice and any aspects of overall pastoral ministry.
As part of diocesan policy, serving with and led by the MPL is a priest minister who has responsibility for those rites and celebrations that require ordination. A canonical moderator functions as supervisor of the MPL on behalf of the bishop.
MPLs also are assigned a mentor pastor and are expected, as are priests, to meet regularly with a spiritual advisor.
In an October 1995 letter to priests, Bishop Emeritus DuMaine said, “My aim in encouraging the Council to pursue this matter does not rest on any impending crisis or clergy shortage.
“It is instead an effort to delineate more closely the optimum use of priests in parochial ministry and to establish a doctrinally and pastorally sound basis for lay leadership that has continued to mature and evolve since the Second Vatican Council and which has developed constructively in the brief history of our own diocese,” he said.
In November 2005, Bishop McGrath named Elizabeth Lilly the first Minister of Parish Life, serving Sacred Heart Parish, Saratoga through June 30, 2006. Lilly, an experienced pastoral minister, now retired, had served several parishes in a variety of roles over 25 years and at the time was serving at Sacred Heart Parish as Pastoral Associate and twice served as Administrator pro tem there.
Lilly said then that she viewed her role as a work in collaboration with those who are ordained. “This is another example of the variety of gifts,” she said. “We have to work together to use all the gifts available among all people in the parish community.”
This year Dorothy Carlson has been named Minister of Parish Life at St. Justin Parish in Santa Clara where she has been serving as Pastoral Associate, Business Manager and Director of Liturgy.
She was officially installed in her new position last July 24, by Bishop McGrath at a Mass at St. Justin Church.
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