The National Federation of Priests' Councils (NFPC) is an organization representing more than 26,000

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priests in the United States through 125 member councils, associations and religious communities. The NFPC supports member organizations and priests through collaboration, communication, ongoing formation, research and advocacy. Formed in 1968 soon after the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

, the NFPC was the first national forum for local priests' councils.

Collaboration

The NFPC has partnered with religious and lay organizations including the

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

Center for Excellence in Ministry and the Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership project. The goal of these collaborations is to research, publish and dialog about contemporary models of pastoral and parish leadership.

Research

The organization has sponsored several significant research projects on the priesthood, including: * Explores the experience of early priesthood based on a survey of recently ordained priests, some active and some who have resigned. * Analysis of a 2001 national survey of priests, including trends from previous surveys in 1970 and 1993. * Examines whether the Catholic Church in the United States should bring in more international priests, and if so, how this should be done. * A profile of priest compensation including retirement, tax issues and trends.

Advocacy

The NFPC was formed on May 20, 1968. The next day, the new organization made a public statement in support of the

Poor People's Campaign The Poor People's Campaign, or Poor People's March on Washington, was a 1968 effort to gain economic justice for poor people in the United States. It was organized by Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCL ...

that was underway in Washington, DC. The NFPC has continued to advocate on issues affecting social justice and priestly life.

References

Catholic priesthood Christian organizations based in the United States Religious organizations based in Chicago Catholic organizations established in the 20th century Christian organizations established in 1968 1968 establishments in the United States {{RC-org-stub