Second Vatican Council (cf. AA 26, 3) promotes the idea of councils at parochial levels.
Parish Pastoral Council is thus a parochial structure in fulfilling the Church's ministry, stressing the collaboration of pastor and the parishioners.
In the Archdiocese of Trivandrum, this council is mandatory (cf. CIC c. 536 §1) and the statutes on it are to be followed in all the parishes.
The formation of Parish Pastoral Councils from the BCCs is a true representation of listening to the people of God where all the actions of the parishes reach.
List of members
Code of Canon Law Canon 1280 requires that every juridical person to have its own finance council or at least two counsellors. In a parish, as a juridical person by law, this function is carried out by the parish finance council as mentioned in c. 537; which mandates the necessity of the council in every parish. Parish Finance Council is not only charged with the administration of parish property but to offer comprehensive assistance in its governance. The statutes from the archdiocese provide guidelines for its functioning.
The following are the members:The parish audit is referred to as an internal audit because it is done within the parish where most of the works of the parish are done. The aim of it is to ensure that internal procedures, operations, and accounting practices are in proper order; and to ensure maximum transparency of financial transactions.
The following are the members:Focuses on the Bible Apostolate, the Catholic Faith Formation of children and adults/Catechism, Liturgy, Ecumenism and Dialogue. The general body of the Pastoral Ministry consists of the members elected from the BCCs, together with other members related to ministries such as the church choir, catechesis, liturgy, pious associations, sacristan, altar servers etc. The executive of the Pastoral Ministry consists of the Parish Priest, Ministry Convenor, Head Teacher of the catechesis, sacristan, the choir master, altar server’s representative, pastoral ministry women religious representative, ward members for pastoral ministry.
The Education Ministry aims at raising the education level in the parish, the maintenance of St. Mary's HSS and LPS schools and providing better new facilities, guiding activities of teachers' forum, higher and technical education motivation and career guidance, awareness seminars, Vidhyarambham or the prayerful beginning of education, merit awards and educational help to the children. The executive body is formed of the representatives of the ministry, parish priest, ministry convener, the HSS principal and other HMs, education experts in the parish, ward members of education ministry.
Social Action Ministry functions for the empowerment of marginalized people towards a sustainable and participatory development process. The common body of the Social Action Ministry in our parish consists of all the members elected from the BCCs for the social ministry. The executive body of the ministry includes the parish priest, sister animator, the Social Action Ministry secretary, Social Action Ministry treasurer and ward members of Social Action for different purposes.
The Family Ministry functions to the comprehensive care to the families in our parish. The main objectives of the ministry are: ensuring the attendance of Marriage preparation course, Naomi forum for the singles, liturgy to the deaf and mute, honoring grandparents, parents, assistance to the sick, the Pro-Life Movement etc. The common body of the Family Ministry in a parish consists of all the members elected form the BCCs for the family ministry. The executive body of the ministry includes the parish priest, 10 ward reps for the ministry, and sister animator.
Has the key objective to empower the laity in the parish and to make them participate and engaged in the ecclesiastical, political, social, cultural spheres of the society. The ministry includes various pious associations like Confraternity or Combria Sabha, Legion of Mary, Vincent de Paul, Karmala Matha III Sabha, Sodality, Franciscan III order; social organizations like KLCA, DCMS, etc. The common body of the Laity Ministry in our parish consists of all the above associations. The executive body of the ministry includes the parish priest, 10 ward reps for the ministry, and sister animator and the leaders of various associations.
Has the key objective of the empowerment of youth who are aged between 15 and 35. The KCYM (Kerala Catholic Youth Movement) and Jesus Youth are the two youth organizations that function in the parish. The Ministry has various activities like Youth membership drive, career guidance, motivation, self-awareness, leadership, value education, Youth day, Environment day activities, various sports and arts completions etc. The common body of the Youth Ministry in our parish consists of all the Youth in the parish. The executive body Youth ministry includes the parish priest, 10 ward reps for the ministry, and sister animator.
The ministry aims to the welfare of the fishermen in our society. The various programmes of the ministry include: awareness programmes, access to government aids programmes and schemes, weather warnings, financial assistance, educational help to children of fishermen, fish vending women care and welfare etc. The common body of the Ministry in our parish consists of all the selected members from units in the parish. The executive body Fisheries ministry includes the parish priest, 10 ward reps for the ministry, experts in the field, and sister animator.
BCCs are the collective of small faith communities of 20 to 30 neighboring Catholic families in our parish. For administrative facilitation, the 42 BCC units are grouped under 10 wards. The ward leaders form the Parish Council together with the Ministry convenors. The four constitutive elements of BCC are the communion with the Church, the Word of God, Service and the Neighbourhood. The communion and participation are the principles that govern us for the witnessing of the Gospel in the BCCs. The purpose of BCCs is to activate the parish with the participation of the parishioners by forming different administrative and participative structures and actively engaging them in the various activities in the parish. BCCs act as a coordinating agent in the parish for animation and at the same time act as base communities in each BCC.