FIRST PARISH LIFE COLLABORATOR
APPOINTED IN DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH

PITTSBURGH – In a pilot program, Bishop Paul Bradley, Diocesan Administrator, has appointed the first Parish Life Collaborator in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

Sr. Dorothy Pawlus, CSFN, has been appointed by Bishop Bradley to serve at St. Bartholomew Parish, Penn Hills effective July 9, 2007.

Sister Pawlus had been serving as the Pastoral Associate and Social Service Minister at Saint Bartholomew.

Father David J. Bonnar, current pastor of Saint Bartholomew, will be moved to a new assignment in the Diocese of Pittsburgh at the end of June.

A Parish Life Collaborator is a deacon, non-ordained religious, or a lay person appointed by the diocesan bishop to share in the exercise of the pastoral care of a parish when a pastor is not available to serve.

A Parish Life Collaborator oversees the overall day-to-day pastoral care and administration of the parish including everything from the buildings and budget, to parish personnel and staffing.

The Parish Life Collaborator also plans and coordinates liturgical celebrations throughout the church year and oversees the implementation of religious education, sacramental catechesis and evangelization efforts.

Parish Life Collaborators have been functioning in the United States and in other countries around the world. It is estimated that there are about 700 Parish Life Collaborators working in parishes in the United States.

Franciscan Sister Patricia Rogan, delegate for religious and director of the diocesan Institute for Ministries, is overseeing the Parish Life Collaborator program.

“Our local church has been experiencing a steady decline in the number of active priests available for parish ministry,” Sister Pat said. “Canon Law permits the appointment of Parish Life Collaborators when there is a shortage of priests in a diocese. The ministry of the Parish Life Collaborator enables the diocesan bishop to provide pastoral care for all the faithful.”

Two dozen priests in the Diocese of Pittsburgh presently serve as pastors for two or more parishes. Within the next five years the number of active priests will be less than the number of parishes in our diocese.

In a statement to parishioners at Saint Bartholomew Parish announcing the appointment, Bishop Bradley said, “in many ways, this moment is bittersweet. While we are proud to name Sister Dorothy our first Parish Life Collaborator, we are reminded today in a concrete way of the shortage of vocations to the priesthood. All of us must pray together that the Holy Spirit will move more young men to consider the selfless, devoted service to the People of God found in the priesthood.”

In the Diocese of Pittsburgh, there presently are seven approved applicants in the “pool” for parish life collaborators, Sister Pat noted. “Two of them are deacons, two lay women, one lay man and two religious sisters,” Sister Pat said. “There are presently an additional 10 in the process of completing the application packet for a parish life collaborator.”

Parish Life Collaborators must be practicing Catholics who have proven pastoral and administrative skills. The Diocese of Pittsburgh requires that they have a minimum of five years of pastoral experience working in the Catholic Church and a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) or a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in theology, or its equivalent.

To work with the Parish Life Collaborator, a Priest Director is also appointed by the diocesan bishop. The Priest Director ensures the authentic teaching of the Faith, the pastoral care of souls, and that sacramental ministry reserved only to a priest is provided for the faithful in the parish.

The Parish Life Collaborator will work closely with the Clergy Office and the local cluster to ensure that priests are regularly available for the celebration of Mass and the sacraments. Ordinarily, one priest will regularly serve as Sacramental Minister to a parish.

Father Albin C. McGinnis, pastor of Our Lady of Joy Parish and dean of the East Suburban deanery in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, has been appointed Priest Director for Sister Pawlus. Father James P. McDonough, administrator of Saint Regis Parish, will serve as Sacramental Minister at Saint Bartholomew.