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 Vicar for Clergy 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 advisory body with a changing membership resulting from periodic elections by the priests and appointments by the Archbishop.
SEC. 2 The Board serves the interests of all members of the presbyterate of the Archdiocese.
SEC. 3 The Board’s recommendations are made to the Vicar for Clergy and shared with the Archbishop.
SEC. 4 The Board, through the Vicar for Clergy, develops and maintains communications and collegial relationships with other Archdiocesan bodies having related purposes or mutual interests.
SEC. 1 Membership shall consist of a minimum of 8 priests elected by the regional and peer groupings of the incardinated and resident priests of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The Archbishop may, at his discretion, appoint up to 5 additional members.
SEC. 2 All incardinated and resident priests of the Archdiocese of Baltimore are eligible for Board membership except those serving as Vicars General, Chancery staff or Office of 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 Vicar for Clergy. 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 and regional groupings, for purposes of conducting elections of 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.
A simple majority of 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 Vicar for Clergy.
SEC. 2 Election of members shall take place no later than June of each election year. The new Board shall take office at the meeting in June following the 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 terms 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 or regional 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 or regional group or changes groupings.
SEC. 5 A member shall not forfeit any portion of the full term for which elected because of attaining eligibility for a different peer or regional 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. The Archbishop may, at his discretion, remove any Board member.
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.
SEC. 1 Election of officers shall take place each June.
SEC. 2 The election procedure shall be administered by the Vicar for Clergy.
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 Vicar for Clergy 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 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 7.
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 Office of Clergy Personnel 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 the Ongoing 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 Board nominates members to serve as committee chairman subject to confirmation by the Archbishop.
SEC. 5 The committee membership is determined by the committee chair in consultation with the Vicar for Clergy.
SEC. 6 Membership on all Board committees shall be for a term of 1 year 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.
Updated and Approved by Archbishop William Lori, 1 May 2023.
