Tag: canon law

On
Guest Columnist

How Catholics join together as a community of faith

This is the first of a two-part series on how Catholics join together as a community of faith as expressed in the Church’s law on parishes (part one) and sacred places (part two).

Man is a religious being. Man is a social being. These two fundamental truths of human nature spring from our having been created with an immaterial soul capable of knowing and loving.

As such, we have an innate desire to use these faculties to be in communion with God and with those around us. This aspect of humanity is expressed beautifully in the account of creation in Genesis 2, in which Adam and Eve are established in a state of perfect harmony with God and with each other.

One result of mankind’s dual religious and social nature is the desire to come together in order to worship, a ritual expressed in every civilization in human history. We naturally join with those around us to pray and worship God, and what’s more, we often set aside some space dedicated to this purpose of communal prayer.

In this two-part article I will examine the way in which we, as Catholics, join together as a community of faith as expressed in the Church’s law on parishes (part one) and sacred places (part two).

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Paul Matenaer, For the Catholic Herald

Vicariates Forane created in the Madison Diocese
What is a Vicar Forane?

A vicar forane, sometimes called a dean, is a priest appointed by the bishop in order to promote a common pastoral activity in a region of the diocese and to provide spiritual and pastoral counsel to the other priests in that region.

History of Vicars Forane

The term “vicar forane” comes from Latin, meaning a representative (vicarius) who is outside (foras), because these priests were considered representatives of the bishop outside of the cathedral city. The office of vicar forane probably dates back to the fourth century when Christianity began to spread beyond the major cities to rural areas. Seeing the need to send representatives to these communities which had embraced the faith, bishops would send an “archpriest” with special delegation and responsibilities to act as a kind of overseer in the region who also was in charge of communication between the bishop and the local priests.

The 1917 Code of Canon Law mandated the establishment of vicars forane in every diocese. However, the understanding of this office experienced a pastoral renewal in the period following the Second Vatican Council. The fathers of the Second Vatican Council saw the vicar forane as a preeminently pastoral office, as a way to bring presbyters together in order to promote and direct a common pastoral activity in their territory. The 1973 directory for bishops likewise affirms the pastoral nature of the office and speaks of the vicar forane as one who animates and enlivens the local presbytery in pastoral action.

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