About the Diocese of Wagga

Governance Chart

Evangelisation, outreach + pastoral care

• Bishop
  The Bishop is entrusted by the Church to teach, sanctify and govern the Diocese. All diocesan offices, councils, agencies and ministries exercise their responsibilities under his authority. Some bodies assist him through advice, administration, consultation, or consent. Where consent is required, the Bishop cannot validly act without it. Where consultation is required, he must seek the body’s opinion but is not strictly bound by it, though he should not act against it without an overriding reason.
• Trustees
  The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Wagga Wagga are the civil legal body through which Church property is held and dealt with. The Trustees are constituted under the Roman Catholic Church Trust Property Act 1936. In canon law, property belongs to the relevant Church juridic person, such as the Diocese or a Parish. In civil law, the Trustees hold title, enter contracts and execute legal instruments on behalf of the Diocese and parishes. The Trustees are the Bishop and the members of the College of Consultors, but the two bodies act in different capacities, one civil, one canonical, and are not interchangeable.
• Diocesan Finance Council
  The Diocesan Finance Council is required by canon law and assists the Bishop with financial and legal advice. Its members are experts in financial or legal matters. For acts of greater importance, the Bishop must consult the Finance Council. For acts of extraordinary administration, he cannot act validly without the consent of both the Finance Council and the College of Consultors.
• Diocesan Financial Administrator
  The Diocesan Financial Administrator is responsible for the financial administration of the Diocese. In this Diocese, this role is carried out by the Chief Operating Officer. It is a canonically defined office, and its duties are set by universal canon law. The Diocesan Financial Administrator administers the temporal goods of the Diocese under the Bishop’s authority and in accordance with the budget determined by the Diocesan Finance Council. This mandate extends to all diocesan temporal goods, including the assets, income and expenditure of the Diocese and its agencies. The Diocesan Financial Administrator reports income and expenditure to the Diocesan Finance Council, presents annual budgets for review, and acts as the Bishop’s delegate in supervising parish administration.
• Council of Priests
  The Council of Priests represents the presbyterate and assists the Bishop in the pastoral governance of the Diocese. It gives advice on matters affecting the pastoral life and mission of the local Church. On certain matters, the Bishop cannot act without at least hearing the Council.
• Personnel Board
  The Personnel Board is an advisory body, not specifically mandated by canon law. It advises the Bishop on clergy appointments.
• College of Consultors
  The College of Consultors is a small body of priests appointed by the Bishop from among the Council of Priests. Canon law requires the Bishop to consult the College on acts of greater importance, and to obtain its consent on others, especially in acts of extraordinary administration. In the event of a diocesan vacancy, the College governs the Diocese until a new Bishop is appointed or an Apostolic Administrator is named.
• Vicar General
  The Vicar General is the principal deputy of the Bishop in the governance of the Diocese. He assists the Bishop in governing the whole Diocese and can carry out administrative acts with the same canonical effect as if they were carried out by the Bishop himself, except in matters reserved to the Bishop or requiring a special mandate.
• Practical Example
  CEDWW may identify the need for a significant financial or administrative act, such as a major school development involving substantial capital expenditure and significant borrowing.
• The value of the work is above the thresholds for extraordinary administration.
• CEDWW prepares the proposal with the necessary background, rationale, financial information and risk assessment. The Chief Operating Officer, as Diocesan Financial Administrator, analyses the matter and presents it to the Diocesan Finance Council and the College of Consultors.
• If the matter is an act of greater importance, the Bishop must hear the advice of both bodies. If it is an act of extraordinary administration, he must obtain the consent of both bodies.
• The Bishop then makes the decision. If approved, CEDWW may proceed, with any necessary civil-law steps carried out through the Trustees or other delegated authorities.