Abstract

In answer to Vatican II’s explicit concern to see priests and laity take an active part in carrying out pastoral work on local levels, all Belgian dioceses quickly set up their Presbyterial and Pastoral Councils (representing the priesthood and laity respectively). The procedures for setting these up and the ways in which their members were selected, which at the start was generally meant to be very democratic, rapidly moved further and further away from this ideal. Moreover, as no rule determined the respective attributions to the Presbyterial and the Pastoral Councils, most of the time the same themes are to be found in their work. The priest, the new Church structures, the catechesis of the sacraments are the dominant themes in 'the Presbyterial Councils, while the Pastoral Councils are nevertheless more concerned with the deepening of faith, christian identity, the relations between the Church and politics, and solidarity with the least advantaged. Both are concerned to the same extent about the disinvolvement of young people. We can moreover observe that the Frenchspeaking Pastoral Councils tend to base their thought on a critical reading of society, while the Flemish-speaking Pastoral Councils refer primarily to faith. This must all be set against the background of a basic predicament which runs through all these councils: the uncertainty and dissatisfaction aroused in most of their members by the feeling that they do not have an impact on the decisions. This can be explained by the characteristics of the context in, which these Councils were born, and which made people expect more from them than what their very definition as "Consultative Councils" entitled one to see in them.

How to Cite:

Voyé, L., (1986) “De diocesane priester- en pastorale raden: enkele kritische bedenkingen”, Tijdschrift voor Sociologie 7(1-2), 255–277. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/sociologos.85942