Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan has approved an expansion of the Pastoral Council from 10 to 55 members with a greatly expanded base of representation.

The present Council has recommended and the Archbishop has approved a new council composed of: - An elected delegate from each parish.

- An appointed representative from each existing archdiocesan board and commission.

- Two representatives each from the priests’ and sisters’ senates.

- Up to 10 delegates appointed by the Archbishop.

The parishes already have elected their delegates. Others will be chosen prior to the council’s first meeting.

The present Pastoral Council is made up of Thomas Kratzer, chairman, Herb Farnsworth, Mrs. James Callison, Mrs. Benjamin Jones, Msgr. Michael Manning, and Father Paul F. Kelley, priest-secretary.

The restructuring is designed to make the Council a more effective organization for the advancement of the Church of North Georgia.

The present Council was established by the Decree of the First Synod of this archdiocese in 1966 and officially constituted by Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan in February 1967. As a result of two years of experimentation, this body has decided that in its present form, it is ineffective in serving as a means of bringing to the attention of the archbishop the views of the faithful throughout the archdiocese.

The members of the Council have concluded also that it did not serve adequately as a means of informing the members of the archdiocese of the actions taken by the archdiocesan administration and the duly created councils, boards and commissions.

The Pastoral Council was intended by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council to have a vital role in the life of the Church. In the Decree on the Bishops Pastoral Office in the Church it is stated: “It is highly desirable that in each diocese a Pastoral Council be established over which the diocesan Bishop himself will preside, and in which specially chosen clergy, religious and lay people will participate. The function of this council will be to investigate and to weigh matters which bear on pastoral activity and to formulate practical conclusions regarding them.”

The Provincial Council of the Archdiocese of Atlanta was commissioned by the Archdiocesan Synod of 1966 to represent all of the faithful of this archdiocese, to review periodically the guidelines enacted by the Synod, and to establish communication between the clergy, religious and laity, for the purpose of evaluating continuously the Synods structures.

On the basis of its experience the present Council has recommended that the Council should be broadened in membership.

Archbishop Donnellan has appointed the members of the present Council as an “ad hoc” committee to organize and activate the new Council. The first meeting will be held in the spring of this year.

The present plan calls for meetings twice a year open to all the faithful of the archdiocese. The Council will be presided over by an elected chairman, assisted by an executive board. The term of office for the first members will be three, two and one year so that each year one third of the membership will complete its term. Future terms of office will then be for three years.