The following statutes constitute the official, formally promulgated policies of the
Diocese of Trenton . They are derived largely from the Diocesan Synod of 1990,
reviewed, revised and updated in 2014 . The Diocesan Synod required that these statutes
be reviewed every five (5) years by appropriate diocesan consultative bodies under the
direction of the Bishop (statute 7), who alone possesses sole authority to interpret and
change them (statute 10) .
A Diocesan Synod is a group of selected priests and other members of the Christian
faithful of a particular church who offer assistance to the Bishop for the good of the
whole diocesan community according to the norm of canon law (canon 460) . The only
legislator in a Diocesan Synod is the Bishop of the Diocese; the other members of the
synod possess only a consultative vote . Only he signs the synodal declarations and
decrees, which can be published by his authority alone (cano
