Kanton Glarus

Membership

1 The Association of Roman Catholic Parishes (Roman Catholic Cantonal Church) comprises the Roman Catholic parishes and thereby the Roman Catholic population of the Canton of Glarus.

### Legal Nature

1 The Roman Catholic Church parishes and the Roman Catholic regional Church of the Canton of Glarus are independent public law corporations.

Autonomy

1 The Roman Catholic Regional Church of the Canton of Glarus organises its

affairs freely and independently within the framework of state law.

2 Within the internal church sphere, it recognises Roman Catholic canon law,

subject to existing rights and customs.

2. The Regional Church

2.1. General Provisions

Tasks

1 The Cantonal Church aims at the internal organisation of the Roman Catholic

population group of the Canton of Glarus and represents it externally.

2 It is committed to maintaining religious peace and to promoting

understanding and cooperation among the various religious denominations.

3 It regulates financial equalisation among the parishes of the Canton

in accordance with the means at its disposal.

4 It supports cantonal pastoral care concerns.

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Seat

1 The Regional Church has its seat at the domicile of the President of the cantonal Catholic Church Council.

Organs

1 The organs of the Regional Church are

1.

2.

3.

Cantonal Catholic Church Council;

Committee of the Cantonal Catholic Church Council;

Account Auditors.

2.2. Cantonal Catholic Church Council

Composition

1 The Church Council is the supreme authority of the Regional Church and comprises 25 members.

2 The members of the Church Council are elected by the parish communities in proportion to the size of their resident population. The result of the last census is decisive. Each parish community provides at least two members.

3 Further details are regulated by electoral regulations issued by the Church Council.

Election

1. The election of the members of the Church Council takes place either openly at the Church Assembly or, if the latter so decides, by a ballot box election in accordance with the provisions of cantonal law.

2. The Church Community may transfer the election competence to its Executive Board.

3. Every denominational member, both lay and clerical, who is eligible to vote, is electable.

4. The commissioned local pastor/parish leader is also electable, even if he possesses the right to vote in another church community. *

Constitution

¹ The term of office of the Church Council corresponds to that of the Landrat.

2 The Church Council constitutes itself and elects, for each term of office, the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary, the Administrator, and three other members of the committee. *

3 Committee members do not have to belong to the Church Council. If they are not members of the Church Council, they participate in meetings with an advisory vote. *

4 The convocation and management of affairs until the constitution takes place by the incumbent President or Vice-President.

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Rules of Procedure

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1 The meetings of the Church Council are public, unless it decides otherwise in exceptional circumstances.

2 The meetings of the Committee and the Commissions are not public.

3 For the rest, the Church Council adopts its own rules of procedure.

Convocation

1 The Church Council is convened by the President, or in their absence by the Vice-President, and meets at least twice annually.

2 The committee, a parish, or its board of directors may request the convocation of an extraordinary meeting, stating the matters to be discussed.

3 The invitation must be issued at least 14 days before the meeting date, specifying the agenda items and by publication in the Official Gazette of the Canton of Glarus.

1. Dem Kirchenrat obliegen

| | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1. | Vorberatung von Änderungen dieser Verfassung; | | |

| | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2. | Erlass von organisatorischen Ausführungsvorschriften zu dieser Verfassung; | | |

| | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 3. | Erlass allgemeinverbindlicher Vorschriften im Rahmen dieser Verfassung, insbesondere über den Finanzausgleich unter den Kirchgemeinden sowie über Äufnung und Verwendung des zentralen Ausgleichsfonds; | | |

| | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 4. | Festsetzung der Beiträge, die von den Kirchgemeinden an den Haushalt der Landeskirche zu leisten sind; | | |

| | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 5. | Beschlüsse über einmalige und wiederkehrende Ausgaben, die die Höhe der vom Kirchenrat festgelegten Befugnisse des Ausschusses übersteigen; | | |

| | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 6. | Beschlüsse über Anlage neuer Fonds und Auflösung bestehender Fonds sowie über Erwerb und Veräusserung von dinglichen oder obligatorischen Rechten an Liegenschaften; | | |

| | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 7. | Schaffung von Bedienstetenstellen für die Landeskirche und Festsetzung der Entschädigungen, die für die Behördenmitglieder und Bediensteten zu leisten sind; | | |

| | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 8. | Wahl des Ausschusses, der Kommissionsmitglieder, der Delegierten, der Rechnungsrevisoren und der Bediensteten der Landeskirche; | | |

| | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 9. | Aufsicht über die Tätigkeit des Ausschusses; | | |

| | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 10. | Aufsicht über die Verwaltung, die Zentralkasse und sämtliche Fonds, Abnahme der Jahresrechnungen und Genehmigung der Voranschläge; | | |

| | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 11. | Beschluss über die Durchführung von Landeswallfahrten; | | |

| | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 12. | Vorschlag des jeweiligen katholischen Fahrtspredigers; | | |

| | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 13. | Vorschlag der katholischen Religionslehrer an der Oberstufe der Kantonsschule; | | |

| | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 14. | Vorschlag für die Benützung der Freiplätze im erzbischöflichen Seminar in Mailand. | | |

Delegation of Competence

1 The Church Council may delegate its powers to the Committee, provided that the authorization is limited to a specific area and further defined by purpose and scope.

2.3. Committee of the Cantonal Catholic Church Council

Composition

1 The Committee consists of the President, the Vice-President, the Actuary, and the Administrator, as well as three other members. They are elected for a term of office; re-election is permissible.

Duties

1 The Committee is the executive authority and attends to all matters of the

Regional Church that are not to be decided by the Church Council or, in the form

of a referendum, by the parishes.

Rules of Procedure

1 The committee is convened and chaired by the President of the Church Council, or in his absence, by the Vice-President.

2 Minutes of the proceedings shall be kept, which the committee shall approve and which shall be preserved.

2.4. Auditors

Composition

1 The Church Council elects two auditors for the term of office who may not be members of the Executive Committee.

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Tasks

1 The financial auditors exercise the functions transferred to them by the Church Council, supervise the accounting, and annually report to the Church Council on their activities and the results of their audits.

3. Referendum and Initiative

Mandatory Referendum

1 Amendments to and repeal of this Constitution require the consent of the majority of the parish communities and the approval of the Cantonal Council.

Optional Referendum

1 Decisions of the Church Council in accordance with Article 7 Paragraph 3, Article 12 Sub-

paragraphs 2-4 and 7, as well as Sub-paragraphs 5 and 6, insofar as they exceed CHF 50,000 for one-off expenditures and CHF 10,000 for recurring expenditures, are subject to the optional referendum.

2 Within a period of 30 days from the publication of these decisions, five members of the Church Council, the board of a parish, or 50 eligible voters of the Cantonal Church may request a vote by the parishes from the President of the Church Council. The decisions are adopted if the majority of the parishes approve them.

Publication

1 Resolutions of the Church Council that are subject to referendum shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Canton of Glarus.

Referendum Vote

1 Within 90 days of the notification from the Cantonal Catholic

Church Council regarding the successful formation of the referendum, the votes

shall take place at the parish assembly meetings. These meetings may

also resolve to hold a secret ballot.

Initiative Right

1 Five members of the Church Council, the board of a parish, or 50 voting members of the regional church may submit proposals to the President of the Church Council in the form of a general suggestion or a fully drafted bill.

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2 A resolution of the Church Council passed as a result of such a proposal is subject to the mandatory or optional referendum in accordance with Articles 19 and 20 above.

4. The Parishes

Tasks

1 The church communities manage their affairs freely and independently within the framework of this constitution and cantonal law.

Organisation

1 The church parishes regulate their internal organisation in the church parish

regulations.

2 Agreements of general significance with other municipalities or

with special purpose associations concerning permanent common tasks must be approved by the cantonal

Church Council.

Membership

1 The parish communities comprise those members of the Roman Catholic

denomination residing within the parish territory who have not

declared in writing to their parish community their resignation or non-membership.

* **Right to Vote and Elect**

1 The right to vote and elect in ecclesiastical matters is vested in all members of the parish who possess Swiss citizenship and have completed their 16th year of age.

2 All members of the parish who possess Swiss citizenship and have completed their 18th year of age are eligible for election as a member of a church authority.

3 Foreign nationals with a settlement permit who identify with the Roman Catholic Church are entitled to vote and are eligible for election in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2.

4 In all other respects, the right to vote and elect is governed by cantonal law.

Competencies *

1 The competencies of the voters and the other parish organs arise from

cantonal law and from the parish regulations.

2 *

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3 The voters elect the clergy and lay theologians declared eligible by the

competent ecclesiastical authority. They also elect the Executive Board,

the auditors, the church employees, and the other organs of the parish

for a term of office, unless their election is delegated to the Executive

Board.

4 If the assigned local pastor/parish leader is not an elected member of the

Executive Board, he participates in the meetings with an advisory vote. *

5. Legal Remedies

1. Gegen letztinstanzliche Verfügungen und Beschlüsse von Kirchgemeindeorganen können die Betroffenen innert 30 Tagen beim kantonalen Kirchenrat oder beim Regierungsrat Beschwerde erheben.

2. Gegen Beschwerdeentscheide des kantonalen Kirchenrates oder gegen Verfügungen und Beschlüsse von Organen der Landeskirche steht den Betroffenen das Beschwerderecht an das kantonale Verwaltungsgericht zu.

1. Mit dem Inkrafttreten dieser Verfassung werden das Gesetz über den Bestand, die Wahl und die Verrichtungen eines katholischen Kirchenrates, genehmigt vom Landrat am 18. April 1866, sowie sämtliche mit dieser Verfassung im Widerspruch stehenden Vorschriften aufgehoben.

Entry into Force

1 This Constitution shall enter into force at the beginning of the next term of office, following its adoption by a majority of the parish communities and with the approval of the Cantonal Council.

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