On November 1st, new regulations for church councils come into force in North Rhine-Westphalia. The management of the assets of Catholic communities will then no longer be regulated by a state law, but rather by a new church asset management law.
Who does the new law apply to?
For all Catholic church councils in the five North Rhine-Westphalian dioceses of Aachen, Essen, Cologne, Münster and Paderborn. Church councils are particularly responsible for representing the parish externally and for managing the assets of a parish. Formally, each of the five dioceses in North Rhine-Westphalia has its own church asset management law. But they are largely identical.
What is changing in the communities now?
The basic principle does not change: the church assets are managed locally by parishioners. The changes primarily affect the way we work. The existing church councils will remain in office until the next election. Only then will the new regulations on composition come into effect.
How will church councils work in the future?
Digital meetings are permitted, many things that were previously dependent on paper are now possible digitally, for example invitations and minutes, and legal transactions only require two instead of three signatures from members of the church council. The pastor can give up the chairmanship of the church council in order to be relieved of administrative tasks. In this case, another member of the church council takes over the acting chairmanship.
Bild: ©picture alliance / Pacific Press | Elena Aquila (Symbolbild)
The bishops should not have any more influence under the new church council law, say the dioceses. However, critics see the wording on the dismissal of church councilors as too vague.
When and how will the church council be elected next?
The next church board election will take place parallel to the parish council elections on November 8th and 9th, 2025. What is new is that all church board members are elected at the same time instead of half every three years. The term of office was shortened from six to four years.
The number of members to be elected depends on the size of the parish and is more flexible than before. A church council consists of at least five elected members. The pastor and a member appointed by the parish council also belong to the church council.
As before, all Catholics who vote in the territory of a parish elect their church council. What is new is that the church council can also be elected by Catholics who take part in the life of a parish but do not live there: upon request, they can vote and be elected in another parish instead of at their place of residence – but only in one parish.
Does the bishop now have more influence on the congregations?
According to their own statements, this is not what the dioceses want. The old law provided for approval reservations by the state government. These are now no longer applicable; the diocese is responsible instead. However, the state has not exercised these approval reservations in recent years anyway.
Previously, church leaders could be removed from office by the diocese due to “gross breach of duty or offensive lifestyle.” In the new version, dismissal is possible “for good cause, in particular due to gross breach of duty”. Critics of the new laws see them as too vague a regulation. In addition, due to the lack of church administrative courts, there is a lack of opportunities to independently review decisions.
Bild: ©dpa/Federico Gambarini (Symbolbild)
The state still has a say in the new version of church council law.
Can the country still have a say?
The five dioceses have reached an agreement with the state of North Rhine-Westphalia on state involvement. Changes to municipal boundaries therefore need state recognition in order to become legally effective in the state sector. However, the responsible district government may only refuse recognition if the documents submitted by the diocese are incomplete.
In addition, the dioceses have made a commitment to the country that the administration of church assets will in any case be carried out by a body that consists mostly of elected church members.
Why is there a new church council law at all?
So far, the administration of church assets has been carried out regulated by a state Prussian law from 1924. In all other federal states, this law has long since been replaced by canon law; only in North Rhine-Westphalia was state law still applied. The state parliament repealed the law because the regulation of church assets by state law is not compatible with the constitution. A report commissioned by the state government came to the conclusion that the Prussian law was therefore void. In order to ensure legal certainty, the state parliament formally repealed the Prussian law.
By Felix Neumann (KNA)
