Diocese of Ootacamund

All Christ's faithful are obliged by divine law, each in his own way, to do penance. However, so that all may be joined together in certain common practice of penance, days of penance are prescribed. On these days the faithful are in a special manner to devote themselves to prayer, to engage in works of piety and charity and to deny them selves by fulfilling their obligations more faithfully and specially by observing fast and abstinence (Can. 1249).

01Fasting

a. The days of fasting are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
b. The law of fasting binds those who have completed their 18th year till the beginning of the 60th year.
c. The law of fasting prescribes that only one full meal be taken per day. A light break-fast may be taken in the morning and a light supper in the evening. It is always permissible to reverse the order of the meals, e.g. take the full meal in the evening.

02Abstinence

a) The days of abstinence are Ash Wednesday and all Fridays of the year.
b) The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their 14th year.
c) The new code of Canon Law has left it to the Conferences to determine, in place of abstinence, other forms of penance, specially works of charity and exercises of piety. In virtue of this the Tamil Nadu Regional Bishops' Conference has suggested one of the following substitute forms of penance, prayer / works of charity for abstinence :

a) Rate of Offering for Mass

The following is the present rate of offering for various masses

1. Low Mass Rs. 25/-

2. High Mass Rs. 35/-
(Celebrant 25/-Church 6/- Diocese 4/)

3. Novena Masses Rs. 360/-

4. A set of Gregorian Masses Rs. 1200/-

b) Binations and Trinations

i. All the priests working in the diocese, whether diocesan or religious are permitted to receive a offering for binated and trinated masses; but the amount ought to be forwarded to the diocesan procurator to be used for the seminary or for support of the Sisters of the Adoration Monastery, Kotagiri or for the support of the Sisters of the Poor Clare’s Monastery at Panakahalli.

ii. A priest who on the same day concelebrates a second mass may not under any title accept an offering for the Mass (Can 951/2).

a. The pastor shall keep with utmost care the parochial registers for baptisms, confirmations, marriages and deaths. He should also maintain an accurate up-to-date 'Status Animarum' containing all items worth-knowing about individual parishioners. The importance of such well-ordered ‘Status Animarum' in every parish cannot be sufficiently stressed.

b. The pastor shall have a parochial seal, and all the above mentioned parochial books including the 'Status Animarum' must be kept in a safe place, where he should also keep the Bishop's letters concerning the parish, circulars and other documents which is necessary or useful to preserve.

c. The marriage papers (certificates of baptism, prenuptial enquires etc.) should be securely filed and serially numbered corresponding to the number in the marriage register.

a. The Annual Returns of Financial Statements must be sent to the Procure by the 2nd week of April.
b. The Annual Returns of the Spiritual Administration in the parishes should reach the chancery before the end of February.
c. The Quarterly Returns of Marriages must be sent to the concerned District Registrar of Marriages on the 1st of January, April, July and October and where no marriage has taken place within the quarter, a 'Nil Certificate' must be sent to him.

a) Inventory

The parish priests and others incharge of the Diocesan Institutions should maintain an up-to-date inventory to be produced at the request of the Ordinary. The inventory should contain all the movable properties of the parish / institution and there should be a permanent register of inventory in each parish or institution.

b) Buildings

i. A previous written permission of the ordinary must be obtained for erecting new builldings, or making structural alteration to the existing ones, and also for undertaking major repairs or renovations, even if no financial aid is sought from the diocese.

ii. For any new construction or structural alteration to the existing ones, plans and estimates in duplicate have to be submitted to the Ordinary for approval. The Ordinary in consultation with the project cum building committee will approve them.

c) Account Books

i. The account books (Daily Cash Book, Ledger etc) regarding the parish or institution should be carefully maintained and kept up-to-date with vouchers to support the items of expenditure. Each parish and institution under the Nilgiris Diocesan Society should have Bank Accounts only in the name of the parish / institution for church accounts.

ii. Aquittance registers should be maintained for the payment of salaries to all church servants, including the cook, to avoid embarrassing situations arising for want of such acquittance registers.

iii. A previous written permission of the Ordinary is required to incur an expense exceeding Rs.10,000/- in the parish or diocesan institution.

iv. Auditing of all the parishes and institutions belonging to diocese will take place every year during the month of April. Hence the parish priests and the heads of the diocesan institutions must be ready with the annual account of their parish / institution of the previous financial year (April 1st to March 31st) when it is called for at the begining of each financial year.

d) Loans

i. No priest is permitted to take any loan for the parish or institution from banks, financial institutions or individuals nor is he permitted to loan money from the funds of the parish or institution without the prior written sanction of the Ordinary.

ii. No priest is permitted to invest his personal money by way of loan either, for the development of the parish / institution without the prior written sanction of the Ordinary. The amount thus invested without prior permission will be considered as a gift to the parish / institution.

e) Vehicles

The Priests and Religious who have obtained monetary help from different organizations for purchase of various types of vehicles (mo torcycles, jeeps, vans etc.) should on no account consider them as their personal property since they have been financed with the sole purpose of facilitating pastoral work in the diocese. The vehicles thus secured belong exclusively to the diocese. The beneficiaries, therefore possess no right whatsoever either to transfer or dispose them, without the written permission of the Ordinary and in case any vehicle has been sold by any one, the proceeds should be handed over to the diocese.

a) Office File
Whenever an application for financial assistance from foreign agencies is recommended by the bishop, a copy of the application is to be given for diocesan office files.

b) Statement of Accounts
All those who receive foreign contribution through the diocese must submit to the procurator a statement of the account of it with vouchers as soon as the money is utilised and the project is realised.

c) Utilisation of Foriegn Funds
Foreign contributions are to be utilised only for the purposes for which they have been received.

1. Sickness Benefits

Whenever the priest incur expenses of unusal nature it will be met by the diocese. Tonics taken for general health are not to be considered as medicine. Whenever with the permission of the Ordinary they are hospitalised, the hospital, the doctors, and the medicine bills will be entirely met by the diocese.

2. Benefits for Retired Priests
For the priests who have retired from service on approval of the ordinary of the diocese for reasons of health or any other disability.

a) As for those who are not able to celebrate mass, the expenses concerning their boarding and lodging are to be met by the diocese and besides they will be given an allowance of Rs.500/- per month from the diocesan funds for their ordinary expenses. It is clear they are, besides, entitled to settlement of their expenses of unusal nature in connection with the hospital, doctors and medicine bills, as above.

b) If retired priests reside out-side the diocese, they will be eligible for all the privileges and benefits as those who retire within the diocese.

c) If they are able to celebrate mass only on some days, the offerings of the masses received for the days they have celebrated will be so adjusted as to meet the requirements as for para b) and they will be allowed only Rs 500/- per month in their hands for their routine expenses.

a) Rule of Residence

Canon 533 concerning the rule of Residence is to be strictly observed by all priests.

b) Permission

When a priest goes out of the diocese for a week or more, he must get the prior permission of the Ordinary (Canon 533/2)

c) Arrangement of a Priest

When a priest is absent from his parish for a shorter period he must arrange with his neighbouring priests for the pastoral needs of his parish. If he is to be absent for a longer period (eg. going for holiday) he has to leave a substitute priest to look after his parish during his absence or he must make necessary arrangements for the substitute with his neighbouring priests or others so that the pastoral needs of his parish may not suffer.

d) Informations

When a priest from out-side the parish is invited for a liturgical celebration in a convent or institution, the superior of the convent / insitution is expected to inform the Chaplain of the Convent / institution about it. Likewise when priests from out-side the diocese are invited for retreats or missions, the priest or the head of the convent / institution inviting them has to inform the Local Ordinary of it.

a) Age for Marriage

As per the notification of the Union Government dated 21-9-1978 the minimum age of marriage for boys is 21 completed and for girls 18 completed, irrespective of religion, with effect from October 1978.

b) Prenuptial Investigations

These investigations should be carried out strictly in acordance with the norms laid down by the Plenary Council of India 1950 and Canons 1066, 1067.

c) Publication of Banns

a). Whenever the bishop is invited for mass, pastoral visit,any religious function, or civil function an offering is to be made to the bishop. This amount will be used for education purposes.

b). Since the programme of the bishop for each month will be given for printing in the OOTACAMUND DIOCESAN NEWS BULLETIN before the 23rd of the previous month, those who fix engagements with the bishop are to do so well in advance before this date.

Parish priests are earnestly requested to make contributions to the diocesan funds before the 30th of April, every year as per the SLAB SYSTEM given below :-

1. Parishes having gross income of Rs 50,000/- upto 1,00,000/- will contribute 5% of the gross income to the diocese. 

2. Parishes having gross income of Rs 1,00,000/- upto 5,00,000/- will contribute 10% of the gross income to the diocese. 

3. Parishes having gross income of Rs 5,00,000/- upto 10,00,000/- will contribute 15% of the gross income to the diocese. 

4. Parishes having gross income of Rs 10,00,000/- and above will contribute 20% of the gross income to the diocese. 

Note 1 : The following collections and income will make the GROSS INCOME of the parishes :-

1. Sunday Collections
2. Dumb Box Collections
3. Subscriptions
4. Rent from houses, shops and halls
5. Feast day net income
6. Stall net income
7. Agriculture net income
8. Donations given in general

Note 2 : This amount will be used in a special way for the maintenance of poor parishes in the diocese.

Parish priests are requested to remit a special collection taken on the 1st Sunday of August every year to the Diocesan Education Bureau and this amount will be used towards the education of poor students in their Higher Education.
All the religious institutions in the diocese are expected to give an annual contribution to the Diocesan Education Bureau as it was agreed by the religious superiors during the general body meeting held on 16.03.1982.

i    No fee should be charged for funeral services, except the mass offering.

ii.  Priests who are working in institutions, will be given fulll congrua if they will have to pay their mess bill from it. Otherwise they will be given a monthly allowance of Rs 500/-.

iii. Priests teaching in schools should hand over their full salaries to the procure. On their retirement their provident fund, gratuity, pension, insurance etc will be given to the procure.

iv.  Chaplains who get free food from convents / institutions are entitled to have a monthly allowance of Rs 500/- from the diocese towards their personal expenditure.

v.   In order to obtain mass wine , it is a must that the parishes and institutions should have a valid mass wine permit (F Authority II), as per the rule 28 of the Tamil Nadu Liqour (L&P) Rules, 1981. Application for renewal is to be submitted along with the permit before the 15th of February every year.