- The preservation of sacred memories, be it mosaics, music, architecture or records, which form the cultural assets of the Church, is a testament to believers’ continuous efforts to make available those goods which are capable of creating a culture of Christian inspiration. This culture of Christian inspiration has endured for centuries, from the earliest times of Christianity to the present, and must be sustained. One way this culture of Christian inspiration is fostered is through the keeping of church records or ecclesiastical archives. Archives refer to the noncurrent records of an institution which have been preserved because of their continuing value. An archive can also refer to the building or location where these records are stored. Ecclesiastical archives refer to the collection of records, a repository of information that covers the church’s activities and details of its past. According to the Circular Letter, “The Pastoral Function of Church Archives” by the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Patrimony of the Church, “Church Archives are places of memory of the Christian Community and storehouses of culture for the new evangelisation” (February 2, 1997).
- Archives must be systematically preserved because of the pastoral good they hold. Church archives, also known as ecclesiastical archives, typically include correspondence, minutes, records, registers for sacraments, and other pastoral registers, such as death registers, as well as photographs, audiovisual materials, letters, homilies, reflections, speeches, and reports. It may also include publications such as program brochures, newsletters, and the like, which contain information and details pertaining to the events, pastoral plan, programs, history, and vision of a particular ecclesiastical institution. Some of the records that should be kept in a parish setting include minutes of the parish pastoral council, whether handwritten in a book or printed out; copies are meant to be preserved in the parish archive. Additionally, reports from different sodalities, an annual report on the pastoral growth of a parish, a record of pastoral visits, and a journal of pastoral engagements.
- Ecclesiastical archives can exist in various forms, including diocesan archives, parish archives, seminary archives, archives of religious confraternities, monasteries, and private archives of bishops, clergy, and/or religious congregations. Ecclesiastical archives are essential not just for records but also for evangelisation and even legal purposes. They help to shape the direction of the ecclesiastical institution and help maintain tradition, which is at the centre of the church’s self-perpetuation. Ecclesiastical archives help to vindicate leadership and demonstrate how the church and pastoral decisions have evolved over time. They are not records to show the weaknesses of past leaders; instead, the absence of archives reveals the failings of past leaders. Hence, each ecclesiastical institution must have as a solemn duty the preservation of archives. Not every record is kept in archives. It suffices to talk of short-term and long-term archives. While all records are essential in the short term, including check stubs, bills, and invoices, records that are transferred into the long term are generally those materials that illustrate the decisions, policies, programs, and statements of an ecclesiastical institution. The short-term records could remain in place for up to 10 years before being transferred to the long-term archives, and those to be destroyed must be disposed of according to prescribed existing policies.
- The keeping of ecclesiastical archives is both a moral and a legal duty. Pastoral agents and those in charge of ecclesiastical institutions have a moral duty, both for the sake of historical continuity and the preservation of spiritual patrimony, to diligently keep an archive and record of their pastoral stewardship. The 1983 Code of Canon Law, from Canons 485- 491, obliges the same. Canon 486 §1 notes specifically that: “All documents which regard the diocese or parishes must be protected with the greatest care”. Paragraph 3 adds: “An inventory, or catalogue, of the documents which are contained in the archive is to be kept with a brief synopsis of each written document” (Canon 486§3). While the keeping of ecclesiastical archives is a pastoral and administrative necessity in a church, school or religious group within an ecclesiastical circumscription, it forms part of what would make up the historical archives to be kept by a Diocesan Bishop. Canon 491§1 states: “A diocesan bishop is to take care that the acts and documents of the archives of cathedral, collegiate, parochial, and other churches in his territory are also diligently preserved and that inventories or catalogs are made in duplicate, one of which is to be preserved in the archive of the church and the other in the diocesan archive”. Hence, failure to keep an archive would only weaken the availability of a Diocesan historical archive.
- The necessity to keep an ecclesiastical archive spans from the need to “hand on” what we have received, and also shows how what we have received was kept. St. Paul says of this as a duty, saying: “You have heard me teach things that many reliable witnesses have confirmed. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others” (2 Tim. 2:2). Thus, keeping archives is a mark of trustworthiness and a demonstration of responsibility for the duty one has been entrusted with. It can be considered an act of de-evangelisation, to destroy records that have been kept in a church, or an act of pastoral sabotage, not to keep records within an ecclesiastical institution. It is equally damaging when records are intentionally destroyed to avoid being held accountable. Ecclesiastical archives allow for growth in the pastoral life of the community. One can also help determine charisms, pastoral problems, and the situation of the institution or community, as well as the methods or means that have been adopted or explored in dealing with such a crisis. Furthermore, archives are valuable for future research.
- There is another pastoral relevance for keeping ecclesiastical archives, and that is that “they constitute places of memory of Christian communities and cultural factors for new evangelisation” (Enchiridion of the Cultural Heritage of the Church, 2002, 312). The pastoral records are not just a collection of memories, but also a record of the path taken by the Church in the particular realities that comprise it. Not to keep these records is to deliberately stifle the wisdom and progress made from such a journey or passage in various contexts. Even though a particular course of action may not be deemed acceptable, the documentation must be retained to demonstrate how the church addressed such a situation or its history. It helps to situate the context in which some of these events happened. The idea to obscure the humanity or weakness of the Church’s past covertly obscures how God has prevailed through this past situation. While the past is not just about what was done and how it was done, whether good or bad, it is more about how God has guided the Church through a journey and path. Thus, manipulating the records can be seen as an attempt to depreciate God’s work throughout this past. Therefore, the Church is interested in records and archives because it is interested in their pastoral value and how they have contributed to the implementation of its mission. It suffices to end that archives can further be preserved digitally, but confidentiality is vital in preservation.
