Southwark Report Internals final single

When a Priest is appointed to a Parish it is the
Chancery that draws up, once the Archbishop’s
Council have finalised the appointment, the
appropriate documents which a new parish
priest needs for his Induction. The Chancery
also issues Documents of Appointment in the
name of the Archbishop for an assistant priest
and also for any official offices that a priest or
deacon is appointed to within the Diocese. All
copies of these documents are preserved in the
Chancery Archives.
When a priest or deacon is ordained the
Chancery prepares the documentation that is
required for their ordination and ordinations
celebrated in the Diocese are recorded in
the Ordination Register which is kept in the
Chancery office.
Before a priest or a deacon is allowed to
exercise any ministry in the Diocese they must
be issued with Diocesan Faculties and these
are issued via the Chancery. The Facilities
are issued for the Duration of their stay in
the Diocese (if they are priests/deacons from
another diocese or a religious order or until
expressly revoked) In addition any clergy from
outside the Diocese, or those appointed to
work in this diocese must also be in possession
with up to date letters of Testimonial from
their own Bishop or Religious Superior. It is the
Chancery’s responsibility to request and obtain
these.
Every year the Chancery receives requests
from Clergy from overseas to come and
minister in the Diocese and in addition to the
Testimonial letters required from the Bishop or
Religious Superior, the Chancery Office liaise
with the UK Government Visa and Immigration
to act as the Sponsoring Body recognised
by the Home Office in order to facilitate the
granting of a visa to enable the priest/deacon
to work in the United Kingdom.
The Chancery also sends out each year and
collates each year the Annual Mass Count Figures
(required by the Bishops’ Conference of England
and Wales) and the Annual Pastoral Statistical
Return (required by the Central Statistical Office
of the Secretariat of State.
When a priest or deacon dies, it is the Chancery
who, in the name of the Archbishop, notify the
Clergy of the Diocese as to death and also records
the death in the Deceased Clergy Register. Once
the funeral arrangements have been finalised it
sends notification of these to the clergy and the
parishes. The Chancery also prepare the official
Obituary which is sent out to ahead of the
funeral liturgy.
In collaboration with the Diocesan Archives,
the Chancery now holds the Adopted Children’s
Baptism Registers and deals with all requests
pertaining to this.
The work of the Chancery is very varied and in
addition to the above it is very often the first
port of call for many Clergy, parish secretaries or
members of the public seeking advice or help.
The Chancery is there to assist the Archbishop
in his pastoral role and to be an instrument of
service to the clergy of the Diocese.
The task of the Chancery is to support the clergy
and lay people of the Archdiocese of Southwark
in building our life of faith and our witness to the
Gospel.
Our role is principally administrative, but exists to
enable the Sacramental life of the Diocese to be
fulfilled in keeping within the norms of the Church.
We also say “We are here to help, to advise and
to guide”. But most of all we are part of the
Diocesan Family and as that family we are friends,
here to help and serve each other and most of all
to allow the Mission of the Church in Southwark
to go forward in the spirit of the Gospel.
Deacon Michael Kennedy, Chancellor
(appointed in 2022)
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