CONSTITUTION OF THE PRIESTLY LIFE AND MINISTRY BOARD OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE
The name of this elected body shall be the PRIESTLY LIFE AND MINISTRY BOARD OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE.
SEC. 1 This body shall serve in an advisory capacity to the Archbishop of Baltimore and his staff through the Director of Clergy Personnel on personnel matters relating to the priests of the Archdiocese.
SEC. 2 The specific purposes of this body shall be:
SEC. 1 The Priestly Life and Ministry Board is formally constituted by and exists under the authority of the Archbishop. It is an elected, advisory body with a changing membership resulting from periodic elections.
SEC. 2 The Board serves the interests of all Archdiocesan and religious priests within or outside the Archdiocese.
SEC. 3 The Board’s recommendations are made to the Director of Clergy Personnel, to the Archbishop and Regional Vicars and Vicars.
SEC. 4 The Board, through the Director of Clergy Personnel, develops and maintains communications and collegial relationships with other Archdiocesan bodies having related purposes or mutual interests.
SEC. 1 Membership shall consist of 10 priests elected by the 5 peer groups of the active priests of the Archdiocese and 1 priest elected by the retired priests of the Archdiocese.
SEC. 2 All incardinated and religious priests performing ministry or living within the Archdiocese of Baltimore are eligible for Board membership except those serving as Vicars General, Chancery staff or Clergy Personnel Staff.
SEC. 1 The officers of the Board shall consist of a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman.
SEC. 2 Officers shall be elected by the Board members and require confirmation by the Archbishop.
SEC. 1 There shall be a three-member Executive Committee of the Priestly Life and Ministry Board which shall consist of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Director of the Office of Clergy Personnel. All members shall be voting members of the Executive Committee.
SEC. 2 The Chairman of the Priestly Life and Ministry Board shall be the Chairman of the Executive Committee.
SEC. 1 Peer groups, for purposes of conducting elections of priest Board members, shall be those which are established by the Office of Clergy Personnel.
SEC. 2 A priest may serve simultaneously as a member of the Priestly Life and Ministry Board, the College of Consultors and the Presbyteral Council.
Six voting members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at a Board meeting.
SEC. 1 Amendments to any Articles or Sections of this Constitution may be proposed at any time by any member of the Board or the Executive Committee.
SEC. 2 Proposed amendments shall be submitted in writing to the Board. Provision for discussion of a proposed amendment shall be made by the Chairman within one month after receiving the written proposal.
SEC. 3 A vote on a proposed amendment shall not be taken until the amendment has been sent in writing to all members for review at least ten days prior to the voting.
SEC. 4 For adoption, amendments require an affirmative vote of a 2/3 majority of the total number of Board members and the approval of the Archbishop of Baltimore.
This Constitution becomes effective upon ratification by a 2/3 affirmative vote of the total Board members and approval by the Archbishop of Baltimore.
SEC. 1 Election of Board members shall be supervised by the Director of the Office of Clergy Personnel.
SEC. 2 Election of members shall take place in June of each election year. The new Board shall take office at the meeting in September following the June elections.
SEC. 3 Special elections shall be conducted, if necessary, to insure full membership on the Board at all times.
SEC. 1 Members shall be elected to serve for a term of three years.
SEC. 2 Unless a member resigns his membership or loses it according to Sec. 7 of this Article, he shall continue to serve until his successor takes office.
SEC. 3 If a vacancy occurs for any reason, the term of office shall be fulfilled by the peer group’s candidate who received the next highest number of votes in the most recent election.
SEC. 4 A member may not serve for more than two consecutive terms. After a break of one year, the member would be eligible for renomination. This provision applies whether the individual remains within one peer group or changes peer groups.
SEC. 5 A member shall not forfeit any portion of the full term for which elected because of attaining eligibility for a different peer group during the full term.
SEC. 6 Special elections shall be conducted if the procedure in Article I, Sec. 1 fails to provide the number of members stipulated in Article IV of the Constitution.
SEC. 7 If, in the judgment of the Board, a member is ruled to be seriously delinquent in his duties including breaking confidentiality regarding board matters, his membership on the Board may be terminated by a 2/3 vote of the total Board members and confirmation by the Archbishop of Baltimore.
SEC. 1 Each Board member shall attend and participate actively in regular and special meetings.
SEC. 2 Each Board member shall represent the interests of the peers who elected him while keeping in mind his obligation to the Archdiocese as a whole. He shall make himself available to his peers for consultation on matters of placement, policy, education or compensation.
SEC. 3 Board members shall serve on Standing and Ad hoc Committees as assigned by the Board Chairman.
SEC. 4 All members are required to observe strict confidentiality concerning personnel matters discussed at Board meetings.
ARTICLE IV – ELECTION OF
SEC. 1 Election of officers shall take place each September.
SEC. 2 The election procedure shall be administered by the Director of Clergy Personnel.
SEC. 3 Board members shall be polled to determine whether any decline to stand for election to the positions of Chairman or Vice-Chairman.
SEC. 4 Voice nominations for Chairman shall be received until a motion to close nominations is carried. A secret written ballot shall be taken until a simple majority is reached.
SEC. 5 Voice nominations for Vice-Chairman will then be received and the procedure noted in Sec. 4 above shall be followed.
SEC. 6 The Director of Clergy Personnel shall appoint a Teller. He shall instruct the Teller to announce voting results in this manner: If a simple majority vote is reached, only the name of the elected individual is to be announced. If a simple majority vote has not been reached, the Teller shall report, in the order of the votes received, the names of the persons who received votes.
SEC. 7 Newly elected officers shall take office immediately upon their election.
SEC. 8 The newly elected Chairman and Vice-Chairman shall require the confirmation of the Archbishop.
SEC. 1 An elected officer shall serve for one year and is eligible for re-election during his term of Priestly Life and Ministry Board membership.
SEC. 2 If an officer position is vacated during the term of an incumbent, the position shall be filled in accordance with the election procedure specified in Article IV, Secs. 2 through 8.
SEC. 1 The Chairman shall attend and preside over the meetings of the Board and the executive Committee.
SEC. 2 The Vice-Chairman shall assist the Chairman as requested and serve in his place when the Chairman is unavailable to carry out his duties.
SEC. 1 The Clergy Personnel Office shall provide the services of a recording secretary to the Board.
SEC. 2 The recording secretary shall be responsible for the Board’s secretarial and clerical work including the preparation of Minutes and follow-up of correspondence of the Board and its committees.
SEC. 1 Standing Committees shall be the Executive Committee, the Placement Committee, and Continuing Formation Committee.
SEC. 2 Ad Hoc Committees shall be established upon recommendation by the chairman and approval by the Board to undertake work deemed necessary by the Board.
SEC. 3 Members shall be asked to indicate their preferences for appointment to standing and/or ad hoc committees.
SEC. 4 The Committee Chairmen for all members of Board Committees are nominated from among the members of the Board by the Board itself and confirmed by the Archbishop.
SEC. 5 The Committee membership is determined by the Committee chair in consultation with the Director of the Office of Clergy Personnel.
SEC. 6 Membership on all Board Committees shall be for a term of 3 years renewable.
SEC. 1 The Executive Committee shall formulate the charge of responsibilities for each standing and ad hoc committee.
SEC. 2 Each committee chairman shall be responsible for directing the work of his committee and for reporting to the Board its activities including interim and final reports.
