Embracing the Challenge: Canon and Civil Law for Confident Parish Leadership

This session will go through canonical “hot topics” – those pastorally challenging situations that come up that can throw even the most experienced pastor for a loop. We’ll talk about some basic tools for canonical interpretation and application to help discern how to handle a situation, or when to call for advice. We’ll also review what has changed in canon law in the past decade to make sure your skills are up to date, and talk about resources to have on hand to help you in your ministry.

This presentation will equip pastors to handle a variety of parish legal issues including a discussion of legal responsibilities of pastors, working with trustees, real estate issues, legal issues relating to parish cemeteries, how the chancellor’s office can help pastors, when pastors need to retain outside legal counsel, and the who, what, and how of reviewing the many contracts that parishes encounter.  We will also go through two case studies that highlight legal issues pastors encounter.