Lumen Media to continue promotion of official announcements

Change is difficult. We are creatures of habit, and anything that pulls us out of our established routines can be challenging. However, change is often necessary.

What you are holding in your hands is the last printed edition, or if you are reading the e-version, then this is the last edition you will see in this format. The Lumen has been a great source of local, national and international news related to our Catholic faith and life. It has also been the official newspaper of the Diocese of Sioux City, which means that it has been the official means for Bishop Walker Nickless and his predecessors to promulgate laws and communicate administrative acts.

Canon 7 of the Code of Canon Law states that “A law is established when it is promulgated.” In simple terms, a law cannot exist unless it has been made public in an official way. For laws issued by the Holy Father, Canon Law mandates publication in Acta Apostolicae Sedis, an official publication of the Holy See, although this can vary in some cases. As for particular laws, such as diocesan laws, it is up to the legislator to decide how to promulgate them.

In our diocese, the mode of promulgation has varied depending on the law. Some laws have been promulgated by publication in The Lumen, while others have been communicated to pastors via mail.

For example, you may have read a story about new policies regarding sacramental records. Although The Lumen published a thorough story, the law itself was not published there. Instead, pastors received a copy of the Bishop’s decree and the new law.

The decrees you may recall seeing published in The Lumen are those related to pastoral planning, particularly those by which Bishop Nickless altered the composition of parishes. These are not considered legislation in Canon Law but administrative acts by which a church authority makes a decision known.

Canon Law requires that these decisions or decrees be done in writing and made known by a legitimate document. The law does not mandate that such decrees be published or promulgated, only that they be made known. It has been the recent custom in the diocese to publish decrees altering the composition of a parish for everyone's knowledge and to read them at Masses in the affected parishes. Pastors, as legal representatives of the parish, also receive a copy of the decree as part of the official notification.

Priest assignments and resignations are another category of official announcements you have seen published in The Lumen. There is no obligation to publish such lists, as legally speaking, the only person directly affected is the one receiving a new assignment or office, or the one losing one.

Nevertheless, the arrival or departure of a pastor is an important event in the life of a parish, which is why these lists are published. Making these lists public also helps people know what else priests are doing besides their parish assignments.

Without a diocesan newspaper, you may be wondering what will happen to these official documents. As I hope you have learned in this column, our bishop and the diocese have not been obliged to publish them thus far, but in a spirit of transparency, they have done so. I can assure you that the desire for transparency remains. While the details will vary for each particular case, the diocese will use Lumen Notes and the Lumen Media website (lumenmedia.org) to promulgate laws and make decisions known, in addition to relying on pastors to communicate important issues that pertain to their parishes.

Change is difficult, but in this case, we have an opportunity to reach even more people. I often receive articles from different e-publications forwarded to me with just a couple of clicks, which would not have been possible with traditional printed media. Hopefully, you will join us and help share the great things happening in the diocese.