The hierarchy vs. team dichotomy is a classic debate in organization studies. Proponents of participatory management have criticized hierarchy as an obstacle to efficient communication, motivation, and learning, while those who have defended hierarchy view it as indispensable for large organizations.
A similar debate exists in the Church, where there is long tradition of participatory vs. hierarchical modes of governance.
During the webinar our guests discussed:
What is the right balance between hierarchy (clergy) and participation (of the laity)?
Can hierarchy and teamwork coexist and leverage each other?
Is there a theology of hierarchy and a theology of “inverted hierarchy”?
How can we avoid the pitfalls of both organizational models as suggested by organization science?
Mary Hallan FioRito
Cardinal Francis George Fellow de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture
University of Notre Dame, United States
Rev. Fr. Robert Gahl
Vice Director, Markets, Culture and Ethics Research Centre at the
Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome, Italy
Dr. John Hillen
Experienced CEO, Author, and Business School Professor at
One of the titles of the chief priest in Rome, the pope, is Supreme Pontiff. Pontiff means “bridge”. The Vicar of Christ, and every priest for that matter, “bridges” Heaven and earth by going to God for the people and going to the people for God. In addition to the spiritual, the new Congregation for Clergy instruction on parishes reaffirms that priests must be the metaphorical bridge on the physical plane as well. As a framework for thinking in this way, the document references Pope Francis’ continual call for greater “creativity” in fostering a culture of encounter that unites people in a vision of a parish as a “community of communities”. Being the “bridge” in a “community of communities” is not an easy task for anyone, much less a parish priest who typically lacks any prior training in leadership. Furthermore, as the instruction notes: “the current Parish model no longer adequately corresponds to the many expectations of the faithful, especially when one considers the multiplicity of community types in existence today.”
To overcome the obstacles that parish priests face within the standard parochial structure toward achieving the goal of being a missionary “bridge” in a “community of communities”, the Congregation for Clergy document makes a series of practical suggestions, all in accordance with the Code of Canon Law, for reorganization at the diocesan, deanery, and parish level. These ideas are timely, especially considering how many bishops throughout the world are drafting plans for transforming the structures within their respective dioceses in response to rapid growth or decline. While some bishops see the Vatican as halting greater lay oversight of parishes,the essence of the instruction envisions the parish priest as providing missionary leadership and “keeping the dynamic alive” of a parish as a “community of communities”.
To help priests and seminarians step into these “bridge” roles, seminaries and other ecclesial entities like the Global Institute of Church Management (“GICM”) will need to train clergy to have a collaborative, missionary mentality in thinking about and implementing the most effective structure possible for their “community of communities” parish that conforms to the norms of the Church regarding governance and administration. Because this shift from a traditional parish to a “community of communities” will inevitably entail a series of iterative changes, some successful and some not successful, seminaries and GICM might facilitate a global conversation of best practices among clergy. Also, recognizing that all men called to the diocesan priesthood will have varying degrees of natural talent for leadership, administration, and governance, the seminary evaluation process must include some specific assessment of a man’s ability to fill those roles. All priests and seminarians ought to receive instruction in being a “bridge”, but those exhibiting such natural gifts should refine their skills through modules produced by groups like GICM. Doing so ensures everyone that our parochial shepherds, full of missionary zeal, have been properly equipped to be “bridges” for a parish “community of communities” that save souls.
On February 2020, Rev. Robert A. Gahl, Jr., Vice-Chair of the Program of Church Management, held a Lectio Magistralis on The Theological Foundations of Church Management. Here you may find a short summary and the full video of the Lectio.
Lectio Magistralis
Inaugural Lecture PCM 3rd Cohort
Rev. Robert A. Gahl, Jr.
February 10, 2020
The Program of Church Management offers at once a theological framework and the necessary skills to manage the Church – including the people, with their immortal souls, so as to most effectively achieve the Church’s aim: that Christ might rule in and through all things, to direct them to God the Father.
The Church is the longest standing business enterprise in history. The Mystical Body of Christ is a corporation, composed of the faithful of Jesus Christ. Moreover, the Church is a for-profit corporation that aims to win souls for Christ by means of wisely employing her temporal resources. The Church’s mission to save souls and to strive for sanctity, although supernatural and therefore to some extent intangible, may be measured through quantifiable indicators of spiritual goods: for example, baptisms, weddings, reception of Holy Communion, intensity of belief, witness of virtue and even processes of beatification. By measuring select indicators and standards, we can make interventions and verify before and after, so as to determine performance, always in view of making the most of the talents the Lord has given us.
The main objective of PCM is not to make managers out of those who participate, but to free up the participants, especially the clergy, from their time spent in the office so as to dedicate more time to the sacramental ministry, on account of being able to more effectively entrust and delegate to the lay faithful.
Another aim of the Program is that the Church might be exemplary for the implementation of Catholic Social Teaching: just wages, transparency, subsidiarity, solidarity, competence, overcoming corruption, freedom and autonomy of workers. All of these principles need to be implemented in an exemplary fashion and through a spiritual perspective while at once elevated by grace in Christ.
Pope Francis teaches that we are living an historical moment of epochal change. To achieve the reform of holiness, each of us baptized must tell the story of Christ with our lives so that the Church may eloquently express the divine comedy by all of her daughters and sons living together the mystery of Christ as characters in a story on the stage of the world performing anew the divine comedy that is the Paschal mystery. Pope Francis challenges us by explaining that “the Gospel, the living book of God’s mercy... must be continually read and reread.” Even though the Gospel still has “many blank pages left. It remains an open book that we are called to write in the same style, by the works of mercy we practice. … What are the pages of your books like? Are they blank? May the Mother of God help us in this. May she… give us the grace to be living writers of the Gospel.”
Now, if this is true of us individually – that each of us are characters in a great story and that we’ve been chosen by God to write the Book of life – it’s also true of us as a community, as an organization, as a Church. Our mission and identity should be a story which indicates that we’re on a journey enlightened by the Gospel.
Saint John Paul II drew some implications for Church governance from Vatican II to emphasize that clergy are ordained to serve and thereby proposed what I like to call “inversion of hierarchy”. While still Archbishop of Krakow, John Paul wrote that “kingship, whether natural or supernatural, are comprised in human and Christian morality. Both of them constitute the very root of that morality” (Sources of Renewal.) John Paul elucidated Vatican II’s powerful proposal to overcome clericalism by turning upside down the worn out idea that laity are called to serve the hierarchy. Consequently, the Program of Church Management proposes to offer effective skills to live one’s vocation with accountability to the whole Church and the spirit of poverty so that we should all make the best use of the limited resources and the unlimited, supernatural resources, in order to achieve the unlimited aim of the Church. If we’re looking for an ethics of Church management it should be an ethics of kingship. Such kingship requires three components: 1) zeal and hunger for the kingdom, 2) a personal life of authenticity by living out the life of Christ in our personal situation, and 3) enacting the kingship of Christ through our lives by letting Him rule in and through us and our institutions.
Chapter 3 of the Gospel of John reports the following words of Jesus that are crucial for implementing best management practices in Church affairs: “The light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.” We must counteract the sad rejection of the light. We want to accept Jesus and His light in the most exemplary and paradigmatic way in and through Church institutions, so that nothing is hidden with respect to the Church’s management of her temporal goods.
In Christ, with our love for the Church, we want the Church to be resplendent with beauty and to be the paragon of justice and transparency which lets the light of Christ shine, as actively and heroically portrayed by Our Blessed Mother, Mary.
Congratulations to the winners of the First Program of Church Management Capstone Project Award, Fr. Joel P. Agad and Chrisma Bangaoil!
Throughout the Program, students learn a wide range of management skills that prepare them for using the resources of the Church in accordance with Catholic Social Teachings. Capstone projects give PCM students the opportunity to go fully hands-on, translating theory and research into action.
On June 30th, 2020, three capstone projects, developed by students of the second cohort of PCM, competed for the award:
Fr. Joel P. Agad, Chrisma Bangaoil – Diocese of Dipolog, Philippines: Love the Poor Program (winner project)
Fr. Kokto Kurian – Diocese of Kohima, India: Integrated Child Development Programme for the 300 Poor, Semi-orphan and Orphan Children of Shamator Civil Block
Fr. Marvin Funa – Archdiocese of Capiz, Philippines: Sustaining the Shepherd’s Ministry: Archbishop’s Annual Appeal
Capstone Projects have been evaluated by an invited panel of judges composed of PCM organizers and teachers, Catholic entrepreneurs, managers, and investors. Judges assessed the overall quality of the project and evaluated if the ideas developed were aimed at addressing a specific social and evangelical need. Other criteria include the appropriate use of management tools and techniques and a clear and concise presentation.
The first-place award consisted in 1,000 euro.
We deeply thank the members of the International Business Leaders Advisory Council (IBLAC) for voting on the competing projects. The event was made possible by the help and support of EWTN Rome studios.
Here’s the thank you message from the winners, Fr. Joel and Chrisma:
