AMPJP Formation Framework

At their May 2021 meeting the AMPJP Council approved the AMPJP Formation Framework for MPJP Canonical Stewards.

The introduction to the Framework explains:

The Association of Ministerial Public Juridic Persons Ltd (AMPJP) and its Members recognises the importance of the civil and canonical responsibilities of the Canonical Stewards of Ministerial Public Juridic Persons (MPJP). These responsibilities may include the additional standards that regulatory bodies require of those involved in the governance of certain ministries.

Canonical Stewards are appointed by the Church because they possess the high levels of professional and personal skill/knowledge/competence necessary for their role. Furthermore, a process of formation is needed to assist Canonical Stewards to identify and respond to their development needs at individual and group level, both at the beginning and throughout their term of service.

This Framework is offered to AMPJP members as a guide to support the development of their own formation framework. The AMPJP anticipates that most MPJPs will maintain their existing Frameworks as these have arisen from their experience and they find them helpful. The AMPJP values the diverse expressions of MPJP life amongst its membership. This diversity reflects the differences in: heritage, ministries, size, resources and needs. There is potential for rich learning in AMPJP members when they are prompted to reflect on their existing structures and processes in light of differences they see in others.

The AMPJP Council is indebted to the working group that drafted the Framework and consulted with Ministerial PJPs and others to refine its contents. Working group members were: Carmel Ross (MercyCare), Peter Pritchard (Sophia Education Ministries); Lawrie Hallinan (AMPJP); Peter Howard (Mary Aikenhead Ministries), Elizabeth McClintock (Sophia Education Ministries), and Eileen Young (Dominican Education Australia).

The working group drew on the existing formation frameworks of MPJPs to develop an AMPJP Formation Framework for Canonical Stewards. The resulting Framework has sections addressing:

• Introduction;
• Definition of formation;
• Principles for addressing formation;
• Domains within the AMPJP Formation Framework for Canonical Stewards; and
• Assessing individual/group competency with the AMPJP Formation Framework.

The six domains of the AMPJP Formation Framework are:

The AMPJP Framework for MPJP Canonical Stewards will be revised as needed.