ZIMBABWE CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONFERENCE
CONSTITUTION OF THE ZIMBABWE CATHOLIC
COMMISSION OF THE LAITY
Saturday, 3 March 2007

PREAMBLE
“The Church is the entire people of God in whom the Spirit dwells to sanctify and save mankind. To achieve these goals, the Spirit furnishes and directs the people of God with various gifts (cf. Cor. 12:4-11). The laity, as well as bishops, priests and religious, have the responsibility of using these gifts in the service of the Church and the world.” (cf. Peter 4:10-11).
“The Church was founded for the purpose of spreading the Kingdom of Christ throughout the earth for the glory of God the Father to enable all men to share in His saving redemption, and that through them the whole world might enter into a relationship with Christ. Since the laity in accordance with their state of life, live in the midst of the world and its concerns, they are called by God to exercise their apostolate in the world like leaven with the ardour and Spirit of Christ” (AA.1.2) “The Laity have the right, as do all Christians, to receive in abundance from their sacred pastors the spiritual goods of the Church, especially the assistance of the Word of God and the Sacraments. Every layman should openly reveal to them (pastors) his needs and desires with that freedom and confidence which befits a son of God and brother in Christ and individual layman, by reason of the knowledge, competence, or outstanding ability which he may enjoy, is of the Church. When occasions arise, let this be done in truth, in courage, and in prudence, with reverence and charity towards those who, by reason of their sacred office, represent the person of Christ.” (The Church LG 37) “Let sacred pastors recognise and promote the dignity as well as the responsibility of the laymen in the Church. Let them willingly make use of his prudent advice. Let them confidently assign duties to him in the service of the Church, allowing him freedom and room for action. Further, let them encourage the layman so that he may undertake tasks on his own initiative. Attentively in Christ, let them consider with fatherly love the projects, suggestions, and desires proposed by the Laity. Furthermore, let pastors respectfully acknowledge that just freedom which belongs to everyone in this earthly city.” (The Church LG 37) “Church communion is a gift, a great gift of the Holy Spirit, to be gratefully accepted by the lay faithful, and at the same time to be lived with a deep sense of responsibility. This is concretely realized through their participation in the life and mission of the Church, to whose service the lay faithful put their varied and complementary ministries and charisms.” (Christifideles Laici 20) “At this moment the lay faithful, in virtue of their participation in the prophetic mission of Christ, are fully part of this work of the Church. Their responsibility, in particular, is to testify how the Christian faith constitutes the only fully valid response – consciously perceived and stated by all in various degrees – to the problems and hopes that life poses to every person and society. This will be possible if the lay faithful will know to overcome in themselves the separation of the Gospel from life, to again take up in their daily activities in family, work and society, an integrated approach to life that is fully brought about by the inspiration and strength of the Gospel.” (Christifideles Laici 34) In the light of the above comments from Church documents and with a fervent desire to fulfil the objectives of the Lay Apostolate as espoused at the Second Vatican Council and in consultation with the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ZCBC), the national representatives of the Catholic Laity adopted the following constitution.
Saturday, 3

1. NAME
The name of this Organisation shall be the ZIMBABWE CATHOLIC COMMISSION OF THE LAITY (ZCCL) (herein after referred to as the ‘Commission’)
1.1 The Headquarters of the Commission shall be situated in the offices provided by the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference (ZCBC) currently in Africa Synod House, corner Selous Avenue and Fourth Street, Harare (or such other place as may from time to time be determined by the Commission at a general meeting in consultation with the Bishops’ Conference).

2 COMPOSITION
2.1 The Commission shall consitute a national representation of the Catholic lay faithful (national lay organisations, national lay associations, national lay guilds and Diocesan Councils) in Zimbabwe enjoying perpetual succession.
2.2 The Commission shall exist as a Commission of the ZCBC capable of acquiring property apart and distinct from its members and is representative of all Catholic Lay people in Zimbabwe.
2.3 No member of the Commission, by reason of membership, shall have any rights to any property of the Commission.

3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The aims and objectives for which the Commission is established will, among others, include:
3.1 Provide a forum for the exchange and coordination of views of the laity on the divine mission of the Catholic Church throughout Zimbabwe (AA19);
3.2 To advise and consult with the Church Hierarchy in Zimbabwe (AA 24) and to act as a forum for promoting dialogue and strengthening relationships among and between the laity, clergy and religious;
3.3 To act as a forum for gathering and communicating information on matters affecting the laity and to disseminate that information to all stakeholders such that the laity are an informed community;
3.4 To coordinate, formulate, consolidate and make known Catholic lay opinion in all matters of public concern (AA 11, AA 14, AA 19). It is the responsibility of the Commission to encourage the growth of structures through which lay people can become involved in building of the Catholic Community and the spread of the Church’s mission;
3.5 To obtain reports on the activities of the organisations represented on the Commission with an element of direct contact and to formally report at least once a year on the overall Commission and stakeholders’ activities to the Bishops’ Conference.
3.6 To provide relevant, qualitative and informed advise to individual Bishops and to the ZCBC on matters of national policy regarding laity perceptions, needs and suggestions;
3.7 To be the voice of the laity in consultation with the Bishop President representing the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference;
3.8 To have liaison and promote dialogue with the Catholic laity internationally and regionally (neighbouring states), providing a link for collaboration with similar national and international lay organisations as well as cooperating with Christian and non-Christian (ecumenism) bodies on matters of mutual concern;
3.9 To co-ordinate Catholic lay and Apostolic movements / organisations at the national level and assist in the development and growth of the movements that correspond to religious, professional, social and secular needs (AA 27);
3.10 To assist the lay people and organisations in their spiritual and human growth in order to promote change for the better through social, human and material development whilst paying particular attention to matters of justice and social concerns (AA 20).

4 MEMBERSHIP
The membership of the Commission shall consist of priests, religious and laity representatives
from the diocesan pastoral councils, national lay organizations and associations:-
4.1 The Bishop appointed by the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference who is the President of the Commission for the Lay Apostolate, or his duly appointed deputy / representative;
4.2 Two representatives of each Diocesan Pastoral Council or Diocesan Lay Council, one of whom must be the chairperson of the council (but not more than two people from each Diocese) (See Annexure A);
4.3 The national chairperson of each lay organisation / association that is a member of the Commission as well as the diocesan chairperson of each lay organisation / association operating at a national level (see attached Annexure B);
4.4 The Diocesan Spiritual Advisor of the laity / lay apostolate responsible for the Pastoral Centre from each diocese;
4.5 The Director of the National Pastoral Centre at the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference level or his duly appointed deputy / representative;
4.6 The Director of each ZCBC Commission (or their duly appointed deputy) together with the chairperson of each Commission's national committee (e.g. Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP), Catholic Development Commission (CADEC), Education Commission, Health Commission, etc.) (See Annexure C);
4.7 The national chairperson and the national secretary of the National Catholic Youth Council (NCYC), as well as the diocesan chairperson of the Youth from each diocese;
4.8 The Commission shall have the power to co-opt any Catholic person or persons to the Committee for such periods, purposes and responsibilities as it thinks fit, in addition to the above membership categories. The co-option shall be in consultation with the Bishop President or the Local Ordinary. The commission may invite such person(s) to attend meetings as it deems appropriate;
4.9 The Commission may invite and / or welcome any practising Catholic persons from any Catholic organisation, association and /or diocese to its general meetings as observers when duly notified, which persons shall not have any voting rights on the Commission.

5 Termination of Membership
5.1 In the event of death or resignation, the vacancy shall be filled either
5.1.1 in the manner in which the original member was chosen, or
5.1.2 a member being appointed by the local ordinary (Bishop of the diocese the member was representing or the National Association / Organisation).
5.1.3 This member shall hold office until the next Annual General Meeting when new elections and / or nominations shall be made.
5.2 If a member is absent without acceptable excuse from three consecutive meetings, he / she shall be deemed to have resigned and Article 5.1 will be applied.

6 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Commission is based on the representation at the diocesan level of all the lay faithful, religious and clergy drawn from each Diocesan Pastoral Council in Zimbabwe.
6.1 Election to the Executive Committee
The Commission shall elect the following office bearers from among the Diocesan Pastoral Council Chairpersons as described above in Article 4.2:
· The Chairperson
· The Vice-Chairperson
· Committee members
· The Secretary (See Article 6.1.1)
· The Vice-Secretary
· The Treasurer
6.1.1 The Secretary shall preferably be elected by appointment of the Diocesan Secretary of the Pastoral Council of the elected Chairperson for easier communication and organisation;
6.1.2 The diocesan Pastoral Council Chairpersons not elected to the offices of Chairperson, Vice- Chairperson, Secretary, Vice-Secretary and Treasurer shall be automatically elected to be the Committee members.
6.1.3 These members, together with the Bishop-President of the Commission (representing the ZCBC) and the National Pastoral Centre Director, shall form the Executive Committee of the Commission.
6.1.4 No member of the clergy and no representative of the a religious body shall hold the office of Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson; Treasurer or Committee member;
6.2 The Functions of the Executive Committee
6.2.1 The Executive shall be responsible to the Commission and to the Bishops’ Conference
through the Bishop-President representing the ZCBC;
6.2.2 The Executive shall conduct and manage the affairs of the Commission during the year following the Annual General Meeting and shall be answerable to the Commission for implementing resolutions and recommendations adopted at the AGM.
6.2.3 The President of the Commission of the Laity who is the Bishop appointed by the ZCBC, is also ex-officio or (in his absence) his deputy shall as far as possible preside at all meetings but will not normally assume the chair.
6.2.4 The National Director of the Pastoral Centre is ex officio an officer of the Commission
6.2.5 The Chairperson or in his/ her absence, the Vice-Chairperson shall normally direct all the business of the meetings and deliberations of the Commission according to the standing orders or rules of procedure. In the absence of both, then the members present shall elect a chairperson to conduct the meeting.
6.2.6 The Secretary shall be responsible for the preparation of the agenda in consultation with the Chairperson, the intimation of meetings, the keeping and distribution of minutes , correspondence and the general preparation and conservation of documents.
6.2.7 The Treasurer shall be responsible for all financial administration, recording, reporting, budgetary considerations and preparations thereof of the Commission's finances.
6.3 Executive Committee members’ Term of Office
6.3.1 Executive members shall hold office for two consecutive years and may be eligible for reelection for one further term in office. No member shall serve for more than four years in the same office
6.4 The Executive Committee Meetings
6.4.1 The Executive Committee meetings shall be held at least once every two months or at the request of the Bishop President and / or any other time as maybe deemed necessary after appropriate notice to committee members;
6.4.2 The Chairperson may call for an executive meeting or any four members of the executive may request for a meeting directly to the Chairperson upon which notice of such meeting will be made by the secretary to all members;
6.4.3 All questions will ideally be decided by arriving at a consensus but if a vote is required, they shall be decided by simple majority vote. Voting shall be by show of hands unless the majority of those present request a secret ballot. In the event of a deadlock (split vote), the Chairperson shall have the casting vote in addition to his / her deliberative vote;
6.4.4 The Executive Committee (through the Secretary) shall cause true and proper records to be kept of all proceedings of meetings of the Executive. The minutes shall be proposed and seconded as a true record and signed by the Chairperson with amendments and / or corrections adopted at the meeting;
6.4.5 The quorum for an executive meeting shall require six members representing their respective dioceses to be present.

7 VACATION OF OFFICE
The office of an executive committee member shall become vacant if the officer:
a) ceases to be a Catholic;
b) submits a written resignation to the Secretary which is accepted by the Executive in
consultation with the Bishop President;
c) ceases to officially represent his/ her Diocese, lay organisation or lay association by
virtue of expiry of their term of office. Such member shall be obliged to complete their
term of office on the Commission’s Executive Committee but will not be eligible for reelection thereafter;
d) is absent without leave or reasonable apology from three consecutive meetings of the Executive Committee;
e) is convicted of any criminal offence or one involving dishonesty.
7.1 Should an executive committee member’s term of office expire on his / her Diocesan Pastoral Council before their term of office on the Commission, the Officer shall continue until the expiry of this term of office. The new Chairperson on the Diocesan Pastoral Council shall be appointed ex-officio member of the ZCCL executive committee.

8 PROCEDURE OF COMMISSION MEETINGS
The Commission shall hold three classes of meetings to conduct the business of the Laity Commission; namely the Annual General Meeting (AGM), the Executive Committee Meetings (described in section 5.4) and the Special General Meetings.
8.1 The Commission shall cause minutes to be made recording all appointments of officers and all resolutions and proceedings of the Commission and such minutes shall be confirmed at the next meeting of the Commission and signed by the Chairperson.
8.2 The Commission shall hold an annual meeting called the ZIMBABWE CATHOLIC
COMMISSION OF THE LAITY PLENARY MEETING at least once each calender year.
8.3 This meeting shall be the Annual General Meeting (AGM) which shall be convened by the Executive Committee during the three- month period following the end of the financial year for purposes of electing a new Executive Committee and the presentation of reports.
8.4 The Special General Meetings shall be convened at any other time by the Executive
Committee on its own initiative, and shall be so convened at the request of the Bishop President or request from not less than eighteen members of the Commission in writing to the Chairperson and copied to the Bishop President.
8.5 Notice of the business to be transacted at any general meeting shall be communicated to all members of the Commission at least fourteen days before such meeting.
8.6 The AGM and any general meeting shall be held in accordance with the Standing Rules of Procedure, some of which are:
8.6.1 Notice of the AGM shall be given six weeks before the date of the meeting;
8.6.2 The Chairperson or in his / her absence, the Vice-Chairperson shall direct the proceedings of the meeting and shall remain in the Chair until the conclusion of the meeting;
8.6.3 At all meetings of the Commission, each member shall be entitled to one vote provided that their annual subscriptions have been paid, while the chairperson shall be entitled to a deliberating and a casting vote. Otherwise the decision shall be taken by a simple majority of those voting;
8.6.4 The quorum for any general meeting shall be half the membership of the Commission. Organisations, associations and Dioceses who have not paid their annual subscriptions shall not be entitled to vote;
8.6.5 All matters on which the Constitution is silent, shall be dealt with by a majority vote of the members present at the meeting.
8.7 The business of the ZIMBABWE CATHOLIC COMMISSION OF THE LAITY PLENARY MEETING (AGM) shall so far as may be necessary, include but not be limited to:
8.7.1 The reading and confirmation of the minutes of the previous AGM and of any other general meetings;
8.7.2 At the Annual General Meeting of the Commission, the Chairperson and treasurer shall present reports on the activities of the Commission for the preceding year;
8.7.3 In order that these reports be as comprehensive as possible on the affairs of the Commission as a whole, each committee, national lay association / organisation, diocese represented on the Commission shall submit a brief report to the Chairperson on their activities during the preceding year.
8.7.4 The Chairperson's report and the Treasurer's financial report with accounts and financial transactions of the just ended financial year shall be proposed, seconded and adopted at the AGM;
8.7.5 The presentation and adoption of the Treasurer's financial budget for the coming financial year;
8.7.6 Any other business of which notice may have been given and with the consent of the meeting, any other business raised from the floor.
9 COMMITTEES
9.1 The Commission shall have power to appoint committees to deal with any matter and to delegate to such committees any of its powers that the Commission may determine.
9.2 The members of such committees need not necessarily be members of the Commission or Executive but the Chairperson of a committee shall be appointed by the Commission and if he / she is not already a member of the Commission, he / she may be co-opted thereto for the duration of the committee.
9.3 Such co-opted chairperson of a committee or chairpersons of committees shall not have voting rights;
9.4 A record shall be maintained by the committee of any decisions taken and meetings held by such committee and it shall be the duty of the chairperson of the committee to report in person or through a deputy or in writing on the committee's activities at each meeting of the Commission.

10 FINANCE
10.1 The Commission shall be responsible for the financial administration of the Commission including movable and immovable assets acquired by the Commission, in conformity with the prescriptions of Canon Law and Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference policies and guidelines.
10.2 The financial year of the Commission shall end on the thirty-first (31) day of December in each year.
10.3 The Commission shall set a subscription for its member organisations, associations, collaborating Commissions from ZCBC and Diocesan Pastoral Councils for the purpose of providing funds to meet the anticipated financial costs for running the affairs of the Commission.
10.4 The subscription fee may be increased from time to time and shall be payable by the last day of the first month of each financial year or on agreement with the Treasurer on a monthly basis.
10.5 The Commission may levy its member organisations or embark on fund raising activities in order to finance the implementation of agreed projects pursuant to the attainment of the Commission's objectives where such levy shall be based on a budget presented to members and approved by a two-thirds majority at the AGM.
10.6 The Commission shall open and operate banking and other accounts in the name of the Commission and all monies belonging to,or held in trust by the Commission shall be banked or invested in such a manner as the Executive may direct from time to time.
10.7 The Bishop President, The Treasurer, the Chairperson, The Secretary and one other member of the Executive shall form the pool of authorised signatories of the Commission.
10.8 All cheques, bills, negotiable documents and any other documents other than routine correspondence required to be signed on behalf of the Commission shall be signed by any two of the authorised signatories.
10.9 The AGM shall nominate external auditors for appointment by the Executive Committee for each financial year.

11 DISSOLUTION OF THE COMMISSION
11.1 The Commission maybe dissolved at any time in consultation with the Bishop President and the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference by a special resolution passed by a threequarter (three-fourths) majority of the votes cast in a secret ballot by the voting members at any AGM or special general meeting.
11.2 Upon dissolution of the ZCCL, all liabilities and debts owing by the Commission shall be paid and/or secured, and any assets and funds realised shall be paid to the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference for dispersal as the Conference shall decide at its sole discretion.
11.3 Notwithstanding the dissolution of the Commission, the Executive shall remain in office for such period after such dissolution as shall be necessary to give effect to section 6.8 above.

12 AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION
12.1 Prior written notification of any proposed amendment to the Constitution must be made to the chairperson at least twenty-one days before the AGM at which these amendments will be tabled.
12.2 This Constitution shall be amended or altered only by a Resolution duly passed at a General meeting of the Commission and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting at the meeting.
12.3 The notice convening such a general meeting must be accompanied by full details of such proposed amendments;
12.4 Any alterations and/or amendments to the constitution adopted at a duly convened meeting will only become effective on written approval of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference or through its Bishop President of the Commission.

13 INDEMNITY
All officers and members of the Commission, while acting in the “bona fide” exercise of their duties under this Constitution shall be indemnified by the Commission against any personal loss, cost or expense consequent upon their acts unless the same occurs through the member's wilful act or default. The liability of individual member organisations in respect of any debt due by the Commission from whatever cause arising, shall be limited strictly and respectively to the subscription payable by each organisation.

14 INTERPRETATION
Should any difference or dispute arise with regard to the interpretation of this Constitution, or should any matter arise in respect of which no appropriate provision is made in this Constitution, then the matter shall be referred to the Executive Committee, whose decision in consultation with Bishop President shall be final.

15 GENERAL
15.1 In the case of any omissions from this constitution, the Commission shall act as it thinks fit until the next general meeting of the Commission.
15.2 This constitution may be added to or amended at any general meeting of the Commission called for this purpose or at an annual general meeting of the Commission. Any alteration to the Constitution shall require a two-thirds majority of the members of the Commission present at the meeting.
15.3 The Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference shall have the ultimate responsibility for all matters and the Conference will normally exercise this responsibility through the appointed Bishop President.

ADOPTION OF CONSTITUTION
This Constitution was first approved by the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference “ad experimentum” for three years on 3 December 1985.

It was then revised and amended at the AGM held on 5 February 1994 in Kwekwe.
The third revision was adopted at the AGM held in February 1997 in Kwekwe.
The fourth revision was adopted at the AGM held on 3 March 2007 in Bulawayo.