While Our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount urged his disciples to “store up for yourselves treasure in heaven that neither rust nor moth can destroy,” he also encouraged his disciples to be wise in the ways of the world to support the work of furthering the Kingdom.

To this end, the Code of Canon Law states in canon 537 — “In each parish there is to be a finance council which is governed, in addition to universal law, by norms issued by the diocesan bishop and in which the Christian faithful, selected according to these same norms, are to assist the pastor in the administration of the goods of the parish, without prejudice to the prescript of can. 532.”

While the code of canon law requires a council to assist the pastor in the administration of parish temporal goods, in effect, the primary scope of this Parish Finance Council is to attend to the financial good of the parish, leaving the other temporal goods as defined by the physical plant, infrastructure systems, and stewardship of other material and human resources to the parish Administration Commission.

These procedures are designed to aid the pastor and members of the Finance Council in effective work, but also to assist the other parish commissions and leadership groups in defining their own key responsibilities so as to encourage collaboration and avoid conflicts of interest. This framework supports the pastor in his stewardship of parish resources his being accountable for these resources to the parish and the diocesan bishop.

An active, well-formed parish Finance Council is a key element for promoting the financial health of a parish, assuring accountability, and assisting the pastor with his temporal and pastoral responsibilities.