REVIEW OF
Governance
Welcome from Bishop Vincent
REVIEW OF
Governance
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Following the conclusion of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse and our Diocesan pastoral plan, Faith in Our Future: Pastoral Plan for the Catholic Diocese of Parramatta 2014 – 2018, I have sought advice on how we can best respond to these challenges.
To ensure we are operating with the correct structures and the right governance that is accountable to the people we serve in Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains, I commissioned a governance review of the decision-making and advisory bodies that currently provide the structures and processes for the governance and administration of the Diocese of Parramatta. This review was led by Adjunct Professor Susan Pascoe AM with the support of Adjunct Professor Murray Baird.
Susan and Murray looked at and reviewed the various bodies, committees and councils that govern our Diocese. In their work, they analysed the founding documents of those various bodies, interviewed people in key roles and reviewed the mission, purpose, and values of each body. This work also included, but was not limited to, looking at the governance and management structures of the Diocese and our parishes. Their work covered accountability, transparency, synodality, and the attainment of clerical and secular participation and co-responsibility in the decision-making processes of the Diocese.
The final report, with its recommendations and commendations, was delivered to me on 19 December 2020.
I welcome the final report with its commendations and recommendations. As affirming and also challenging as they are, they will only remain a written report. We will need to make it into a living document. Therefore, I trust that we together will work together in turning the report into a fertile ground into which new seeds of hope, life and love will grow. Let us continue to follow the ‘Parramatta Way’ of clergy and laity walking together and exercising our baptismal responsibility for the building up of the Kingdom.
Most Reverend Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv
Bishop of Parramatta
Welcome from Bishop Vincent
<br>
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Following the conclusion of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse and our Diocesan pastoral plan, Faith in Our Future: Pastoral Plan for the Catholic Diocese of Parramatta 2014 – 2018, I have sought advice on how we can best respond to these challenges.
To ensure we are operating with the correct structures and the right governance that is accountable to the people we serve in Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains, I commissioned a governance review of the decision-making and advisory bodies that currently provide the structures and processes for the governance and administration of the Diocese of Parramatta. This review was led by Adjunct Professor Susan Pascoe AM with the support of Adjunct Professor Murray Baird.
Susan and Murray looked at and reviewed the various bodies, committees and councils that govern our Diocese. In their work, they analysed the founding documents of those various bodies, interviewed people in key roles and reviewed the mission, purpose, and values of each body. This work also included, but was not limited to, looking at the governance and management structures of the Diocese and our parishes. Their work covered accountability, transparency, synodality, and the attainment of clerical and secular participation and co-responsibility in the decision-making processes of the Diocese.
The final report, with its recommendations and commendations, was delivered to me on 19 December 2020.
I welcome the final report with its commendations and recommendations. As affirming and also challenging as they are, they will only remain a written report. We will need to make it into a living document. Therefore, I trust that we together will work together in turning the report into a fertile ground into which new seeds of hope, life and love will grow. Let us continue to follow the ‘Parramatta Way’ of clergy and laity walking together and exercising our baptismal responsibility for the building up of the Kingdom.
Most Reverend Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv
Bishop of Parramatta
Resources
Any questions? Please contact Jasmine Sammy, Manager, Governance Implementation, governance@parracatholic.org or 0473 301 239
COMMENDATIONS
Ecclesial and civil governance practice across diocesan entities is generally excellent, notwithstanding some recommendations for improvements.
There is good governance practice in the up-to-date presentation and document control for many of the governance documents within the diocese.
The Bishop is commended for clearly communicating his vision for the diocese, and for engendering commitment to it.
The Bishop is commended for the appointment of two women to the Curia – a religious and a laywoman.
Contemporary approaches to human resources are adopted across diocesan agencies, including open recruitment, clear role descriptions for lay staff, and a whole-of-diocese appraisal approach.
The prudent, long-term financial focus of the DFC, situates the diocese well for a sustainable financial future where its ministries can be maintained.
The Bishop’s vision for an inclusive, synodal Church has been well communicated and widely embraced.
Formalised arrangements for the Diocesan Pastoral Council to have regular engagement with the Council of Priests is a positive development.
The particular law that every parish have a Parish Pastoral Council is commended.
There is a clear sense of purpose in the diocese, good committee and administrative structures, and high standards of accountability with relevant audit paths.
The comprehensive approach to risk management, including efforts to enculturate a risk-based approach to planning and decision-making across diocesan entities, and the provision of an online platform to record incidents, represents exemplary practice.
The CEDP is commended for its transparency, accountability and access to information on a variety of platforms.
The dedicated voluntary involvement of expert laypeople to the various advisory bodies in the diocese is a rich contribution which adds high levels of professionalism and assurance to the governance of the diocese.
The stance of inclusive respectful listening of the Bishop in meetings contributes to effective decision making.
There is general adoption of ecclesial values and norms, and civil governance principles across governing bodies and agencies in the Diocese.
There is a generally high standard of governance practice in the advisory and decision-making bodies in the Diocese.
RECOMMENDATIONS - NOT YET STARTED
All governing documents be catalogued and held in a common document bank, accessible to authorised persons which would include all members of those bodies.
Documents that can be made available such as board and committee Statutes or Charters, and the current list of membership be made publicly available to enable transparency, and support the potential inclusion of a more diverse group of people on diocesan committees.
Maintain a Governance Oversight Schedule of regular self-review and external review of the effectiveness of each entity.
Maintain a Conflicts Register for each entity, and as a standing item on each agenda.
Ensure adequate induction and formation for members of each governance body.
The Diocesan Audit and Enterprise Risk Management Committee be renamed the Diocesan Audit Risk and Compliance Committee to reflect its current functions and establish a consistency in its naming.
Consideration be given to renaming Diocesan Property Council as the Diocesan Property Committee.
The Personnel Board develop a charter to clarify its role, accountabilities and composition.
Consideration being given to the Charter and composition of the Board of Management, including the input of a qualified accountant and the role of lay men and women.
That all entities have a Mission Discernment Framework at the committee level which relates to their values, governance principles and missionary purpose, and which is used as a means of assessing their performance at each meeting.
Boards and committees conduct annual self-appraisal to reflect on their effectiveness, and organise an independent assessment every 3-5 years.
Role descriptions drawn from the tenets in canon law be developed for senior clerical roles to provide role clarity, criteria for performance assessment, and the basis of accountability with provision for review to meet changing needs.
The Bishop is encouraged to provide stable succession pathways for aspiring leaders through making new appointments at the point of turnover in vicar roles.
Consider transferring the formal reporting line for the heads of some diocesan agencies to the relevant Vicar or Board Chair to lighten the load of the Bishop, avoid potential ambiguity, and locate the reporting close to the person with the deepest knowledge of the enterprise (under the principle of subsidiarity).
Improve information and communication to Parish Priests on the operation of the Diocese, including greater information on finances.
Guidance on decision-making within the Diocese be provided to new board and committee members as part of an enhanced process of induction.
That the Diocese develops a Charter for the Curia and that Statutes for key ecclesial bodies (The Curia, The College of Consultors and the Council of Priests) be presented in the form of a standard template with document control and provision for periodic review.
Provide induction, and targeted training and support for Deanery Pastoral Council chairs.
That a culture of synodality be emphasised and adopted as part of the ‘Parramatta Way’ of clergy and laity walking together and co-operating together in the mission of the Church.
Consideration be given to the optimal legal form of CatholicCare Social Services and its part in the longterm strategy of the Diocese’s missionary outreach.
The diocese engage in a broad-based process of discernment to consider moving the governing body for the CEDP, from an advisory council to the board of an incorporated body.
A process for timely board and committee appointments be developed and applied either centrally within the Chancery, or by each committee or board.
Develop a talent bank of prospective board and committee members through advertising openly through channels such as the parish bulletins or pastoral councils.
Consider inviting like dioceses to share information on agreed topics with a view to improving practice, creating peer support, and generating benchmarks.
Where Parish Pastoral Councils do not operate, they be established in accordance with the pastoral approach and particular law of the Diocese.
The Diocese undertake a modified process to produce an interim Pastoral Plan to guide direction until the outcomes of the Plenary Council are available for the diocesan synodal process.
The Diocese assess the effectiveness of internal and external communication to ensure effective channels with key stakeholders, and adequate transparency including the use of available information and communication technology for efficient, timely and effective communication between stakeholders.
A Governance Authority Matrix be developed for the Diocese of Parramatta.
A governance person be appointed to oversee governance processes and to support decision-making and advisory bodies in the Diocese with maintaining up-to-date charters, reviews, appointment processes and regulatory compliance.
The Diocese provide access to formation activities for lay people to deepen their understanding of ecclesiology to support their synodal approach.
A consultation policy detailing the matters on which people will be consulted and the processes for consultation be developed for the Diocese.
That the Diocese adopts a posture of transparency in its financial reporting so that unless there is an imperative for confidentiality, high-level financial information will generally be published.
Parish Priests implement a means of gathering parishioner feedback on the pastoral, liturgical and support services of the parish as a means of receiving feedback and guiding good practice.
The Diocese introduce a professional review and feedback service for priests to voluntarily opt in to receive independent advice on their strengths and areas for improvement.
RECOMMENDATIONS - IN PROGRESS
As a Recommendation is in progress, it will be updated and moved to this section.
RECOMMENDATIONS - COMPLETED
As a Recommendation is completed, it will be updated and moved to this section.