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PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CATHOLIC YOUTH WORKERS
CONSTITUTION
INTRODUCTION
The following is the Constitution of the Professional Association of Catholic Youth Officers (PACYO). It indicates the formal structure of PACYO, and will be of use to members of PACYO and others involved on youth work, inside and outside of the Catholic Church. PACYO was established in the early 1980’s and is itself a constituent body of Catholic Youth Service (CYS, the agency of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, responsible for youth work.) PACYO is an organisation comprised of people involved in youth work in its many forms on behalf of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
Anyone seeking further information about PACYO should contact:
The Chair of PACYO
c/o Catholic Youth Services
39 Eccleston Square
London SW1V 1BX
Telephone: 0171-834-1175
Fax: 0171-834-0098
CONTENTS
1. TITLE
2. AIMS
3. OBJECTIVES
4. MEMBERSHIP
5. MEMBERSHIP FEES
6. CONFERENCES
7. VOTING
8. OFFICERS OF PACYO
9. JOB DESCRIPTIONS
10. GLOSSARY
11. VALUE BASE
1. TITLE
The group name is PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CATHOLIC YOUTH OFFICERS, hereinafter known as PACYO.
2. AIMS
PACYO exists to support the members of the association and to promote effective youth work within the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
3. OBJECTIVES
4. MEMBERSHIP
Membership is open to people who meet one or more of the following criteria:
The Steering Group (see glossary) shall have the authority, on behalf of PACYO, to co-opt as non-voting members such persons as in their opinion are able to render special service or will benefit from membership.
All applications for members should be made to the Chair or the Steering Group, who should consider and decide on each application on behalf of the membership.
5. MEMBERSHIP FEES
Membership fees will run from September to August, and will be as agreed by the membership at the Spring conference each year. Where more than one person from the Diocese or Organisation is a member of PACYO, the first person should pay full rate, and all subsequent members an agreed lower rate.
6. CONFERENCES
Conferences are to be held at least twice a year, normally in Spring and Autumn, at times and venues that recognise the various needs of the membership. The Spring meeting will be the Annual General Meeting of PACYO. Extra meetings can be called at the request of a minimum of 25% of the membership, or where there is unanimous agreement of the Steering Group.
7. VOTING
Each person who is a paid up member of PACYO is entitled to one vote at conferences. A quorum of 25% of total membership is necessary for voting to be valid. Voting will normally be on a show of hands, except in the case of elections of Officers and where considered appropriate by the Chair.
Decisions will be carried with a simple majority, and should be recorded with votes for, against and abstentions. In cases where there is a tie, the Chair should have a second casting vote.
Nominations for the Officers post should be made to Steering Group in advance of conferences or during conferences up until a time to be decreed by the Steering Group. Where more than two candidates stand for election for any office, the person receiving the least number of votes should be eliminated and another vote taken. This to be done until there is a simple majority for one candidate.
7.1. VOTING BY POST
Voting by post will only be considered for the election of Chair, Vice-Chair and Treasurer. Where nominations are known in advance of the conference, members may send a post ballot to both the Chair and Vice-Chair in a sealed envelope, marked with the appropriate election. These should be opened at the election itself.
7.2. VOTING BY PROXY
There will be no voting by proxy.
7.3. TELLERS
Two tellers should be elected on the day of elections of officers or where there is a secret ballot. They are allowed to vote. They should count all votes in private, and inform the Chair of all votes recorded. The Chair should inform the members directly of the result.
7.4. VOTING ON THE CONSTITUTION
When voting on constitutional amendments, there must be a quorum and a 75% or more majority in favour of change. The proposed amendment must appear on the agenda, with a proposer and seconder, unless accepted by the Steering Group.
8. OFFICERS OF PACYO
The Officers of PACYO are: The Chair, the Vice-Chair and the Treasurer. They form the Steering Group of PACYO along with a member from the Northern, Midland and Southern Regional groups. The Steering Group takes on responsibility for the administrative business of PACYO and the preparation of conferences.
8.1. ELECTION OF OFFICERS (see also 7 above)
Elections of Officers should normally take place at the Spring conference and should be for a term of two years. Where possible the Chair and Vice-chair should not be elected the same year. Officers may be re-elected for successive terms of office, up to three terms.
8.2. TERMS OF OFFICE
A newly elected Chair, Vice Chair or Treasurer should take up office at the end of the conference at which elected and should serve for two years as from that time.
Should the Chair become vacant for any reasons, the Vice-Chair should take over until the next conference when an election should take place. The new Chair completes the term of office remaining and is then eligible for re-election.
8.3. ROLES OF OFFICERS
For the job description of the Officers of PACYO and various others please see below, section 9.
8.4. OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PACYO MEMBERS
PACYO is a constituent body of the CYS and has particular responsibilities from this. Members may be elected or delegated to represent PACYO in a variety of ways. These include:
8.4.1: CYS EXECUTIVE - Two members to four meetings a year
8.4.2: NATIONAL CATHOLIC YOUTH ASSEMBLY - Under review
8.4.3: NATIONAL CATHOLIC YOUTH CONFERENCE - Under review
In these situations, members elected or delegated need not be officers of PACYO.
9. JOB-DESCRIPTIONS
THE CHAIR
THE VICE-CHAIR
THE TREASURER
STEERING GROUP: REGIONAL MEMBERS
10. GLOSSARY
AGENCY: CYS is an agency of the Bishops’ Conference (see below). It is the official body through which the Bishops can put their policy on youth work into action. The Right Reverend John Rawsthorne, Bishop of Hallam, is responsible for overseeing the Church’s youth work nationally. CYS is a part of the Education Department of the Bishops’ Conference.
BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE: The Roman Catholic Bishops of England and Wales Conference. It is made up of all the Bishops from the 22 Dioceses and the Armed Forces, overseeing the work of the Church on a national and international basis.
STEERING GROUP: A group that oversees the administrative business of PACYO and prepares Conferences on its behalf. It is made up of six members; the Chair, the Vice-Chair, the Treasurer, and representatives of the Northern, Southern and Midland regional meetings.
11. PACYO VALUE BASE
Introduction
We, Catholic Youth Workers, believe that, as Church, we have a contribution to make to the building of a more just society which is part of God’s intention for the world. As Church we are called to be prophetic, to challenge society and ourselves. This call causes us to place value on the following:
The Creation
In love God created the whole universe in all its diversity and multiplicity.
We value the unity in diversity of all creation and the role of all people in
this created order.
Love
We value God’s love which moves the whole of creation. In Jesus God’s
love becomes visible. We value God’s love for all. We also value our share
in loving and being loved and the strength and support this love gives us.
Justice
We have a vision of society based on the values of freedom, justice and
equality. We accept the challenge of the Gospel to root ourselves more deeply
in these values and play our part in creating a more just society.
This leads us to challenge oppression in all its forms and promote equality of
opportunity especially in the lives of young people.
We also challenge the prejudices and powers which lead us and others to be
oppressors.
Faith
We value the Christian faith as the means by which we have come to know and
understand something of God’s purpose for people. Although at varying
stages of our faith journey, we value the interaction between different people
in the Christian community and the vision of God’s kingdom we share.
Service to Others
We look to Christ’s example of service to those he met on his journey and
we aim to follow this by offering the service we can to those we meet on our
journey. We value service as a tangible expression of our love and our faith.
We see our involvement in youth work as part of this service.
Young People Themselves
We value young people in their own right as part of God’s creativity.
Themselves We reaffirm the essential value of being young (as opposed to
simply understanding youth as being a transitional state.)
Young People as Members of the Church and Society
Recognising that young people are often undervalued and marginalised, we value
their right to share equally and fully in the life of society and the Church.
We reject any value or structure in society which serves to undermine this
right for any young person.
The Uniqueness of Each Young Person
We rejoice that each young person is unique: that he or she has never existed
before and never will again. We value the actual and potential contribution of
each young person to human life. We seek to assist in the realisation of this
potential through our work.
The Growth and Development of Young People
As in other stages of life, young people are constantly growing and developing.
We place great value on their growth and the wonder of human development. we
seek to enable this process to happen in a secure and holistic environment.
We reject all that hinders this process, or which encourages young people to
develop in ways which are harmful to themselves or others.
The Empowerment of Young PeopleArising from our belief in the potential, creativity and essential worth of young people, we place high value on the need to encourage them to take on responsibility for their own lives, and to participate in both Church and Society. We, therefore, actively encourage power-sharing between young people and adults as an essential feature of our work.
Partnership with Those Working with Young PeopleBy partnership we mean that interdependence which exists among those working those working with young people. This relationship makes possible asharing of experience, resources and types of provision which enrich greatly the opportunities open to young people.
Youth Work as Part of the Educational Process We value youth work as part of the whole educational process. We attach particular value to what makes it distinctive, namely that it is informal, voluntary, participatory and is holistic in its approach.
PACYO is a constituent body of Catholic Youth Services
Catholic Youth Services is a Registered Charity: 305981