St. Aidan’s Cathedral Pastoral Council

The concept of Pastoral Councils stemmed from Vatican II in 1965 and, since then the Church has repeatedly recommended the development of pastoral councils as a means of encouraging the shared responsibility of all the baptized in the life and mission of the church. When Pope John Paul II spoke to over 100 bishops in Asia, in New Delhi, he proposed that they ‘foster greater involvement of the laity and consecrated men and women in pastoral planning and decision making through such structures as pastoral councils and parish assemblies.’