The word means deputy or representative and is used at many levels of church life
By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Parochial vicars seem to be appearing more frequently in parishes. Meanwhile, associate pastors have been vanishing from parish staff listings.
What’s a parochial vicar?
Let’s start with the “pastor.” Every parish gets one, or its conditional stand-in, an “administrator.”
A pastor, in the words of canon law, is the “proper shepherd” of the parish, exercising “pastoral care” of his community through “teaching, sanctifying and governing.”
However, according to diocesan judicial vicar Father Mark Gantley, the word “pastor” is actually an American idiom “borrowed from the Protestants.”
The more correct term, he said, is “parish priest,” which is the literal translation of canon law and used in most of the rest of the English-speaking world.
When a parish is too big for a pastor, he may be assigned a helper priest. A half century ago, these were usually called “assistant pastors.” Then, probably due to the “enlightenment” of the Second Vatican Council, they became “associate pastors,” a term that shifted the title’s implication from aide to partner. It sounded more clerically correct.
But it still wasn’t canonically correct. The Code of Canon Law uses the word “vicarius” — vicar — which means more a deputy, or representative, than associate.
Add “parochialis,” the Latin word for “of the parish,” and you get parochial vicar.
Although Father Gantley said the phrase “parochial vicar” has been around at least since the 1917 version of the Code of Canon Law, only in the past few decades has it enjoyed more common usage as people have become more aware of the proper expression.
Unfortunately, to some, “parochial vicar” sounds officious and ecclesiastical, which is probably why the title “associate pastor” sticks around. But for all practical purposes, they are the same thing.
According to the guidelines of the Diocese of Honolulu, “A parish that has been identified as requiring the services of more than one priest on a full-time basis will ordinarily be staffed with a parochial vicar.
“While the pastor is responsible for the total life of the community, the parochial vicar, by his canonical appointment, should share in the responsibilities and decisions concerning the parish.”
Vicar forane
A vicar forane is a priest assigned by the bishop to oversee the activities and common pastoral initiatives of other priests and parishes of a particular geographic area of a diocese called a vicariate. “Forane” comes from the Latin for “outside.” In some dioceses on the mainland, vicariates are called “deaneries” and vicars “deans.”
Hawaii has nine vicariates, five on Oahu, two on the Big Island, one each for Maui and Kauai counties.
The diocese has a 1,145-word job description for the vicars forane. It begins as follows: “In his vicariate the vicar forane represents the bishop especially in pastoral matters. By serving as a link between the pastoral leadership of the vicariate and the bishop, the vicar forane facilitates more effective communications and pastoral care.”
These vicars also serve on two of the bishop’s main advisory boards.
Some of their many other duties are priest-oriented: to “encourage a spirit of fraternity and support especially among the priests of the vicariate” and “reach out to the recently ordained and parochial vicars in order to support them in their ministry and provide resources for their particular needs.”
Vicar general
The vicar general, at usually one per diocese, is the bishop’s main deputy, assisting him in the “governance of the whole diocese.” He is either a priest or an auxiliary bishop.
It’s a job that covers as much ground as the bishop wants to lay out for it, usually encompassing communications, administration, spiritual and pastoral duties, and meetings, lots of meetings.
The vicar general, in our diocese Father Gary Secor, may do the confirmations the bishop is unable to administer, preside at funerals the bishop cannot attend, be present at important gatherings as the bishop’s representative, step forward as the bishop’s ready spokesman, and stand in for him on dozens of boards, committees and commissions.
In the Diocese of Honolulu he is also the moderator of the curia, coordinating and overseeing the administrative affairs of all the diocesan central offices and departments.
Other vicars
The judicial vicar is the priest the bishop picks to head the diocesan court which, according to the Honolulu diocesan directory, “handles petitions for declarations of marital nullity and other judicial causes that come before the bishop for adjudication.”
In Hawaii, the judicial vicar, Father Gantley, also takes on educational and advisory roles, promoting a greater understanding of church law, and providing guidance and counsel on canon law to the bishop, diocesan officials and parish staffs and the general faithful.
The diocese also has a full-time vicar for clergy, Father Manny Hewe, who represents the bishop in dealing with personnel matters for priests and deacons, including everything from recruitment and assignments to retirement.
Hawaii used to have a vicar for religious who would be the bishop’s liaison to religious congregations and societies.
And the bishop has in the past appointed “episcopal vicars,” a kind of generic vicar position designated for a specific task.
And, last but not least, in Catholic teaching, every bishop, including the pope, is a vicar — a vicar of Christ.
