Bibliography

Pastors and councillors can find an enormous amount of published material about pastoral councils in the Catholic Church.

Vatican documents, especially the Vatican II Decree on Bishops, define the basic purpose of councils. In addition, most of the dioceses in the USA publish guidelines for pastoral and finance councils.

And in the years since Vatican II, a significant popular and scholarly literature has has been published about councils.

For more information, click below:

• Vatican documents. They lay down the foundations for parish pastoral councils and legislate them.
• Diocesan guidelines. Most dioceses throughout the U.S. publish guidelines for them. These are the best sources for defining the local purpose of councils.
• Literature. In addition to Church documents, an enormous number of popular and scholarly books and articles have been published since 1965. These testify to the enormous variety of experiences regarding councils.
• Mark F. Fischer. Click here for a complete list of his articles and books about pastoral councils.

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