Decree on Missionary Activity
Vatican II, “Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity,” Ad Gentes Divinitus, December 7, 1965, translated by Redmond Fitzmaurice, OP, in Austin P. Flannery, General Editor, The Documents of Vatican II, Preface by John Cardinal Wright (New York: Costello Publishing Company, 1975).
“It is the responsibility of the bishop, as the head of the diocesan apostolate and its center of unity, to promote missionary activity, guide and coordinate it, so that the spontaneous zeal of those who engage in this work may be safeguarded and fostered. . . . For better coordination, the bishop should, as far as possible, establish a pastoral council in which clergy, religious and lay people would have a part through elected delegates.” (no. 30, p. 847)
