The Council of the Baptized is a deliberative body whose purpose is to discern the sense of the faithful in the Archdiocese and to be its voice. People of the Archdiocese, our local church, are responsible by their baptism for the mission of the church which is to proclaim the good news that Jesus brought to the world. Some institutional policies and practices serve that purpose and some do not. The people will bring their concerns of conscience regarding policies and practices that do not serve the mission to the Council in written form and the Council will deliberate on the questions and decide which concerns to address.  The Council will then issue position statements (1-2 pages) or position papers (6-12 pages). They may also endorse programs that people are willing to implement and they may recommend programs to the Archdiocese to implement with staff and funding.