Decision #1 - Viking Catholic
Problem to be Solved
Viking Catholic (formerly the WWU Newman Center and before that the Shalom Center) has long been defined by its relationship with Sacred Heart Parish and the Pastor of Sacred Heart. Now that Sacred Heart is part of the Whatcom County Parish Family, what is Viking Catholic’s relationship – and the Chaplain’s relationship – to that family?
Background and Context
History
AD 1970 - The Archdiocese of Seattle first assigns a full-time chaplain specifically to the students at Western Washington University. This chaplain collaborates with the Christian Campus Ministry (CCM) group at WWU and starts out living in the Assumption rectory.
AD 1980s - Chaplain responsibilities and the collaboration with CCM (later the Shalom Center) are assigned to the Pastor of Sacred Heart instead of a separate chaplain.
AD 2005 – The Catholic ministry at WWU splits from the Shalom Center and becomes the Newman Center, later rebranded to Viking Catholic.
Changes with Partners in the Gospel
In the most recent decades, the same priest was appointed “Pastor of Sacred Heart and the WWU Newman Center”. However, on July 01, 2024, Fr. Jeffrey Moore will be appointed Pastor of Sacred Heart (along with all of the other parishes in Whatcom County), while Fr. Tyler Johnson will be appointed Chaplain of Viking Catholic (as well as Parochial Vicar to all the parishes of Whatcom County), splitting the previously combined roles.
After the decision was made to combine all of the parishes in Whatcom County into one family, the default assumption was that the county would be given one pastor and three non-specialized parochial vicars. However, Fr. Cody Ross (current Pastor of Sacred Heart and Viking Catholic) asked that the Archdiocese assign one of the vicars specifically to Viking Catholic, so that the necessary charism for university ministry would be accounted for in the priest assignment process and so that the Western students would have more stability in their pastoral care.
What is a Chaplain?
In the 1983 Code of Canon Law, parishes and parish priests are discussed in canons 515 – 552, while chaplains are discussed in canons 564 – 572.
In both cases, these roles are established to provide pastoral care to a particular group: the parish priest usually to a general, territorial group of Christ’s faithful and the chaplain to a more specialized group. The difference mostly comes from the administrative responsibilities. Parishes exist de jure as separate administrative units (called “Public Juridic Persons”) which are allowed to own property, receive and spend money, hire staff, etc. Chaplains, however, are usually assigned to special groups who already have an established administrative structure like, for example, religious orders, military units, hospitals, and schools.
A parish priest may be assigned as a chaplain, for example, to a group of religious sisters living within the parish territory, but his responsibilities are different in each role. For the parish, he is the pastor who is ultimately responsible for the direction and stewardship of the parish community. But for the sisters, he is responsible for their pastoral and sacramental care, while the governance of their order is entrusted to their own hierarchy of superiors.
Status of Viking Catholic
On the one hand, Viking Catholic has been a chaplaincy from its inception. The first chaplains did not possess their own administrative infrastructure, but instead offered pastoral care to the WWU students through their integration into a larger chaplaincy body (CCM, later Shalom) which was self-governing. Even during the 80s and 90s, when day-to-day pastoral care was entrusted to a lay Catholic, the Pastor of Sacred Heart functioned as a chaplain to this otherwise self-governing ministry by offering the sacraments and a priestly presence.
On the other hand, Viking Catholic acted more and more like a parish ministry as the decades progressed. It is unclear who funded the priest chaplains and later lay ministers through the years, but by the early 2000s the lay Catholic minister at the Shalom center was hired and funded by the Pastor and Parish of Sacred Heart. When the Catholic ministry broke off from the Shalom Center, the new buildings and administrative infrastructure were technically purchased and overseen by Sacred Heart. Even though the Viking Catholic of today is seen and run like an entity independent of Sacred Heart, it legally remains part of the administrative structure of the parish.
Implications and a Path Forward
With the changes on July 01, 2024, we find ourselves in the strange position of assigning a chaplain (which title assumes a lack of governance authority) to an entity that is not self-governing. So who is responsible for the staff, finances, and resources of Viking Catholic? Canonically, that would be the Pastor of Sacred Heart. However, in order to respect the purpose of separately assigning a chaplain to Viking Catholic, that chaplain needs to be given the administrative authority to develop and carry out a vision for the ministry program.
To that end, it is proposed to recognize the Pastor of Sacred Heart as having final oversight of the Viking Catholic program and the Viking Catholic Chaplain as responsible for day-to-day governance; and to explicate these responsibilities in the below memo of understanding.
Viking Catholic Chaplin Responsibilities
Memo of understanding, outlining the different responsibilities of the Pastor of Whatcom County and the Chaplain of Viking Catholic. Discussed and approved by both Fr. Moore and Fr. Johnson.
Canonical Status and Pastoral Desire
Viking Catholic is not established as its own Public Juridic Person, and so derives its juridic personality as a ministry of Sacred Heart Parish. It is therefore ultimately under the authority of the Pastor of Whatcom County. However, by assigning a separate chaplain to Viking Catholic, the Archbishop of Seattle expresses his desire that the community of Western Washington University (WWU) should receive special and focused pastoral care.
Responsibilities of the Chaplain as Chaplain
Pastoral Care
Offer pastoral care to the students, staff, and faculty of WWU by:
Celebrating weekly Mass and regular confessions while WWU is in session.
Developing and carrying out a program of evangelization, re-evangelization, and ongoing formation, especially through regular events and periodic retreats.
Staff Oversight
Manage Viking Catholic staff by:
Hiring, directing, and supervising student employees.
Directing and supervising non-student employees, especially through annual performance evaluations.
Directing and supervising outside contractors (e.g. FOCUS missionaries) according to the requirements of their contract.
Resource Stewardship
Manage Viking Catholic resources by:
Developing and implementing an annual budget for the entire Viking Catholic operation.
Raising the necessary funds for the continued operation of Viking Catholic.
Maintaining Viking Catholic’s physical resources, especially its buildings.
Miscellaneous
Ensure compliance of Viking Catholic with all Archdiocesan policies.
Responsibilities of the Chaplain as Whatcom Vicar
Celebrate daily and weekend Masses in the Family, as assigned by the Pastor.
Provision will always be made to allow the Chaplain to celebrate the Viking Catholic Mass without violating canonical limits.
Provision will be made to allow the Viking Catholic Chaplain to celebrate at least one daily Mass on the WWU campus or at the Viking Catholic buildings.
The Pastor will work with the Chaplain to find coverage for activities like weekend retreats that might impede celebrating Family Masses.
Cover emergency calls at a similar rate as other Family priests, according to a system established by the Pastor.
Celebrate parish confessions when requested by the Pastor, especially during Advent and Lent, according to a negotiated schedule.
Attend meetings of parish staff and/or parish priests when requested by the Pastor.
Responsibilities of the Pastor regarding Viking Catholic
Pastoral Care
Assist the Chaplain in finding priest coverage for sacramental responsibilities when the Chaplain is away for retreat, vacation, or professional development.
Serve as the mediator to resolve conflicts between the Chaplain and those he serves, before such a conflict would be elevated to the Vicar for Clergy.
Staff Oversight
Participate in the hiring process for, and ultimately approve, non-student employees, always working collaboratively with the Chaplain.
Approve requests for outside pastoral contractors (e.g. FOCUS Missionaries, retreat speakers).
Serve as the mediator to resolve conflicts between the Chaplain and Viking Catholic staff.
Resource Stewardship
Approve the annual Viking Catholic budget.
Review the Viking Catholic P&L and Balance Sheets quarterly.
Approve any work on or alienation of Viking Catholic property exceeding the amount that requires Archdiocesan approval.