At PolishFest a lot of visitors made inquiries into how the PNCC differs from the R.C. Church. Outwardly, at least to the casual observer, things would seem to be pretty much the same.
At first, people tend to be surprised by two things, married priests and the role of the laity in managing and overseeing the temporal matters of the Church.
In the PNCC, clergy have nothing to do with collections, running the business of the parish, appealing for money, or many of the other business issues many Roman Catholic and other pastors face.
While no system is perfect, and while there are bad apples every now-and-again, the PNCC system of financial and managerial decision making works. It works at a level that is far more secure than one based on singular decision making and control. The PNCC system makes everyone accountable, and based on that shared responsibility, assures that people are rowing in the same direction.
PNCC members not only “feel” that they have an ownership interest, they do. The entire membership has a voice and a vote in the process —“ and each member is given the time and respect necessary to voice opinions and ideas.
Beyond having a system that works, it rarely if ever devolves into a power and control thing. It actually works to guarantee that what the people invest in —“ their parish church, their property —“ belongs to them.
PNCC clergy are blessed, and I feel particularly blessed, in that we keep our focus on the spiritual.
Artcle VI of the PNCC Constitution (PDF document) states:
ARTICLE VI – CHURCH AUTHORITY
SECTION 1. The authority of this Church is vested in three branches, namely: legislative, executive and judicial.
SECTION 2. In matters of Faith, morals and discipline the authority of this Church lies in the hands of the Prime Bishop, Diocesan Bishops and Clergy united with them. This authority is derived directly from God through Jesus Christ, agreeably with the words of our Savior: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” (Mat. 28:18, 19, 20). “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Mat. 18:18)
SECTION 3. In administrative, managerial and social matters, this Church derives its authority from the people who build, constitute, believe in, support and care for it. It is a fundamental principle of this Church that all Parish property, whether the same be real, personal, or mixed, is the property of those united with the Parish who build and support this Church and conform to the Rite, Constitution, Principles, Laws, Rules, Regulations, Customs and Usages of this Church.
SECTION 4. The administration, management and control over all the property of the Parish is vested in the Parish Committee elected by the Parish and confirmed by the Diocesan Bishop, and strictly dependent upon and answerable to the lawful authorities of this Church.
Democracy and accountability work because they support each other, they are complimentary. They are a shared process that yields the best result.
The Herald-Sun in Priest’s [sic] on run over an $8mil theft points to how a command and control system, run by one individual, can be manipulated by a bad apple.
It is sad, in that the reality of such defalcation, malfeasance, and abuse, along with the realities of church closings and other command decisions affecting the lives of the faithful, works to destroy trust and even faith.
FLORIDA — Two priests have been accused of stealing more than $8.6 million from collection plates to bankroll lavish double lives.
Those lives involved girlfriends, property investments and gambling junkets to Las Vegas and the Bahamas, police say.
Retired Msgr John A. Skehan, 79, pastor at St Vincent Ferrer for more than 40 years, was picked up at Palm Beach airport after returning from Ireland and was in custody.
His successor, the Rev Francis B. Guinan, 63, was also being sought for grand theft; police suspected he may have fled.
With some 3000 parishioners, St Vincent’s is one of Delray Beach’s largest and oldest parishes, and is home to a who’s who of powerful politicians and business leaders.
The Irish-born friends of 30 years are accused of skimming cash from collections for “slush funds” from which they gave generous payments to women, invested in real estate and traveled to their native Ireland and to US resorts.
Skehan allegedly used collection-plate funds to pay for a Palm Beach condominium, a $275,000 coin collection, a cottage on Ireland’s scenic Cliffs of Moher and a pub in his home town of Kilkenny.
He made regular cash payments to a woman, described in the affidavit as a “girlfriend”.
One former church employee told police he “would hide cash from offertories in the ceiling”.
Guinan, who succeeded Skehan in September 2003 and quit two years later, was described as a gambler who visited Las Vegas and Bahamas casinos.
He used church funds to pay for $15,000 worth of dental work, and also made cash payments to his “girlfriend”, according to a police affidavit.
He had a reputation for partying and in 2004 was arrested for drink-driving [sic]…