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Catholic laity

May 02, 2023

Catholic laity are the ordinary members of the Catholic Church who are neither clergy nor recipients of Holy Orders or vowed to life in a religious order or congregation. Their mission, according to the Second Vatican Council, is to "sanctify the world".

The laity forms the majority of the estimated over one billion Catholics in the world.[1]

The Catholic Church is served by the universal jurisdiction of the Holy See, headed by the Pope, and administered by the Roman Curia, while locally served by diocesan bishops. The Pope and the bishops in full communion with him are known collectively as the Catholic hierarchy, and are responsible for the supervision, management, and pastoral care of all members the Catholic Church, including clergy, religious, and laity.[2] But since the Second Vatican Council of Bishops (1962–1965) the laity have emerged as a greater source of leadership in various aspects of the church's life; and its teaching on their equal call to holiness has led to greater recognition of their role in the church.[3]

The Roman Curia and the laity

The responsibilities of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, a dicastery of the Roman Curia based in Vatican City, were transferred to the newly established Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life as of 1 September 2016.[4]

The council "...assists the Pope in all matters concerning the contribution the lay faithful make to the life and mission of the Church, whether as individuals or through the various forms of association that have arisen and constantly arise within the Church."[5]

This dicastery emerged from the Decree on the Lay Apostolate of the Second Vatican Council, Apostolicam Actuositatem.[6] It was officially created by Pope Paul VI on 6 January 1967, with the motu proprio Catholicam Christi Ecclesiam.[7]

Canonical rights of the laity

Within the Catholic Church, the rights of the Catholic laity in regards to the Church are found in the Code of Canon Law. A new Code of Canon Law was promulgated in 1983, to incorporate teachings from the Second Vatican Council. In particular, Canons 224-231 of the 1983 Code outline the general and specific canonical rights of lay persons in the Catholic Church.[8]

Lay ministries

See also: Laity § Roman Catholicism

Prior to 1972, no lay liturgical ministries existed, only the minor orders and major orders. The minor orders were, in effect, the lower orders of the clerical state and were reserved for those preparing for the priesthood: Acolyte, Exorcist, Lector or reader, and Ostiarius or porter.

As a result of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, on 15 August 1972 Pope Paul VI issued the motu proprio Ministeria quaedam[9] which suppressed the minor orders and replaced them with two ministries, those of lector and acolyte. A major difference was: "Ministries may be assigned to lay Christians; hence they are no longer to be considered as reserved to candidates for the sacrament of orders."[9]

The following are requirements for admission to the ministries:

  • the presentation of a petition that has been freely made out and signed by the aspirant to the Ordinary (the bishop and, in clerical institutes, the major superior) who has the right to accept the petition;
  • a suitable age and special qualities to be determined by the conference of bishops;
  • a firm will to give faithful service to God and to the Christian people.

The ministries are conferred by the Ordinary through the liturgical rites De institutione lectoris and De institutione acolythi as revised by the Apostolic See.

An interval, determined by the Holy See or the conferences of bishops, shall be observed between the conferring of the ministries of reader and acolyte whenever more than one ministry is conferred on the same person."[9]

It was originally the case that the instituted ministries of lector and acolyte were reserved to men.[9] In 2021 Pope Francis issued the motu proprio “Spiritus Domini”, which changed canon 230 § 1 of the Code of Canon Law to allow both men and women to be instituted in these ministries.[10][11]

In place of instituted ministries, there is widespread use of commissioned or temporarily designated readers, altar servers and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, which can be undertaken by both men and women.

Conditions for the extension of these roles can be found in The General Instruction of the Roman Missal. In relation to readers, Instruction #101 says: "In the absence of an instituted lector, other laypersons may be commissioned to proclaim the readings from Sacred Scripture. They should be truly suited to perform this function and should receive careful preparation, so that the faithful by listening to the readings from the sacred texts may develop in their hearts a warm and living love for Sacred Scripture."[12] As regards altar servers and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, Instruction #100 says: "In the absence of an instituted acolyte, lay ministers may be deputed to serve at the altar and assist the priest and the deacon; they may carry the cross, the candles, the thurible, the bread, the wine, and the water, and they may also be deputed to distribute Holy Communion as extraordinary ministers."[12]

An option to institute the other minor orders was retained in this document, in that a Bishops Conference may request permission from the Apostolic See "if they judge the establishment of such offices in their region to be necessary or very useful because of special reasons. To these belong, for example, the ministries of porter, exorcist, catechist, as well as others to be conferred on those who are dedicated to works of charity, where this ministry had not been assigned to deacons."[9]

Lay councils

Powers and influence of the laity

The 1983 Code of Canon Law does not permit the laity to have any kind of executive or juridical powers in Ecclesiastical affairs.[13] This curtails the extent of influence the laity has over how the Church is governed on a day-to-day basis. However, lay experts and advisors were appointed to participate during the deliberations of the Second Vatican Council. After the Council members of the Laity were routinely appointed to sit on Commissions & Committees established at every level – Curial, Bishops Conference, Diocesan, Deanery, and Parish. Each parish is advised to have a parish council and a finance council of laypersons which are advisory to the pastor.

National Council for Lay Associations (England and Wales)

The National Council for Lay Associations (NCLA) was the idea of the late Monsignor Derek Worlock, who later became Archbishop of Liverpool, England. It became one of the Consultative Bodies of the Bishops' Conference in England and Wales and was formed from all the large Catholic lay organizations. The NCLA was initially called the National Lay Apostolic Group and was formed after the First World Congress for the Apostolate of the Laity held in Rome in October 1951. In 2003 the NCLA celebrated its 50th birthday with a Golden Jubilee Mass in Salford Cathedral.[14] The NCLA today is a consultative body to the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales. The following members form the association. NCLA Member Associations include Catholic Menʼs Society (CMS), Catholic Association Teachers, Schools and Colleges St Vincent de Paul (SVP) Union of Catholic Mothers (UCM) Catholic Womenʼs League (CWC) Knights of St Columba (KSC) National Board of Catholic Women (NBCW) Ascent Movement National Justice and Peace Newman Association CAFOD Legion of Mary Catholic Peopleʼs Weeks Catholic Medical Association Secular Franciscans The NCLA is an active member of ELF (European Lay Forum)

The National Council of the Laity (Venezuela)

One country where a Council of the Laity appears to be thriving is Venezuela. The National Council of the Laity (Consejo Nacional de Laicos) in Venezuela routinely issues statements and press releases often criticising the policies of the current President Hugo Chávez.[15][16]

Uganda National Catholic Council of Lay Apostolate (UNCCLA)

This is a body that brings together the Laity in the Catholic Church in Uganda who are estimated at 34.1 million in the country making it around 39.3% of the total population in 2014.

Under patronage of St. Charles Lwanga, Uganda National Catholic Council of Lay Apostolate (UNCCLA) is a body that brings together in a representative manner Lay Apostolate Associations and Movements, and Councils to foster a better organised and dynamic apostolate in Uganda while serving as a link, avenue and channel for information and communication between Lay Apostolate Associations and Movements, and Councils and between these and other official organs within the Church in Uganda and the Universal Church.[17]

The Council of the Catholic Lay Apostolate Organizations of Korea

The Council of the Catholic Lay Apostolate Organizations of Korea, formerly The Catholic Lay Apostolate Council of Korea, was renamed during the 2010 Autumn General Assembly of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea. This was ratified at the 44th Ordinary General Meeting of the Council which was held at the Catholic Center in Myeongdong, Seoul, on 19 February 2011.[18]

Lay Congresses

The National Pastoral Congress (England and Wales)

Archbishop Derek Worlock, supported by the late Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Basil Hume, convened the National Pastoral Congress in Liverpool, England in 1980. The Congress consisted of some two-thousand lay people. The Congress deliberated on issues that the gathering agreed were of particular concern to lay Catholics in England and Wales at that time. The results of these deliberations were drawn together in a document entitled "The Easter People". This document was very publicly rejected by Pope John Paul II when it was presented to him by Cardinal Hume and Archbishop Worlock in Rome, Italy, in 1980.[19] There has not been another National Pastoral Congress since this time in England and Wales.

Lay organizations

Further information: Catholic lay organisations

There are many thousands of Catholic lay organisations existing at a local, diocesan, national / bishops conference or international level. They cover the whole spectrum of Catholic lay life, from their faith and social action to the professions in which they work.

The majority have sought and been given backing by the appropriate ecclesiastical authority. However, others have invoked the right contained in Canon 215 to form a Catholic Association without ecclesiastical approval. In these circumstances the only prescription on them is that they cannot use the term "Catholic" in their name (Can. 216).

The Pontifical Council for the Laity is the body responsible for approving those Catholic Associations that exist at an international level.[20]

The structure of some Religious Orders allows for lay branches to be associated with them. These are sometimes referred to as Third Orders.

Some of the best known Catholic lay organizations are Knights of Columbus, Knights of Columba, Catenians, and Knights of Malta. There are also many lay Catholic guilds and associations representing a whole range of professions. These include the Catholic Police Guild, Holy Name Society (NYPD), the Association of Catholic Nurses, the Guild of Catholic Doctors, the Catholic Physicians Guild, the Catholic Association of Performing Arts (UK), and the Catholic Actors Guild of America.

In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the Queen of Angels Foundation was established in 2011 by Mark Anchor Albert. The Foundation, an association of lay faithful dedicated to fostering devotion to Mary, Mother of Jesus, is a volunteer group of lay men and women who "...strive together in a common endeavor to foster a more perfect life for themselves and their community by promoting reverence for the Blessed Virgin Mary, in whose name, as Our Lady of the Angels, the City and Archdiocese of Los Angeles were founded..." and whom Catholics revere as Queen of Heaven and Empress of the Americas.[21] The Queen of Angels Foundation is the official sponsor of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles' annual celebration of the City of Los Angeles' founding. This Votive Mass & Grand Marian Procession take place in Downtown Los Angeles on the last Saturday of August.

Personal prelatures

Organisations such as Opus Dei and Miles Jesu are ostensibly Catholic lay organisations which are overseen by clergy associated and / or affiliated with them. The structure of these organisations is termed a "personal prelature".

Lay advocacy groups

In recent years many lay advocacy groups have formed, some in response to the clerical sex abuse crisis.

Reforms advocated by these groups would include:

  • the binding of the Catholic Hierarchy to a universal and comprehensive system of transparency and accountability relating to their governance of the Church;
  • the mandatory empowerment of the laity to a degree of oversight and scrutiny at every level of the Church – local, diocesan, provincial, national / bishops conference, international, dicastery;
  • automatic consultative and collaborative rights for the laity at every level of the Church;
  • increased lay access to and involvement with ministry within the Church;
  • freedom of speech and an end of censorship.[22][23][24][25]

Lay media

Web content

Lay Catholics have contributed to Catholic media online in such avenues as blogs, online columns, and newspapers. The Vatican hosted a conference of bloggers on 2 May 2011. This was sponsored jointly by the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. One hundred and fifty bloggers were invited from across the world.[26] Richard Rouse, an English layman who works for the Pontifical Council for Culture, has stated that this meeting was not held in any attempt by the Vatican to control Catholic blogs. He has also stated that there will not be another Vatican Blogmeet, but individual Diocese may hold similar conferences.[27]

Lay newspapers

There are many Catholic newspapers and periodicals produced around the world by lay Catholics, which are independent of the Church hierarchy. Examples in the United Kingdom are The Catholic Herald and The Tablet. In the United States the Catholic Reporter is entirely a work of the laity and the National Catholic Register, a subsidiary of EWTN, is run by laypersons. Secular newspapers such as The Boston Globe[28] and The Daily Telegraph are also heavy in Catholic content.[29]

Lay spokespeople

 
Mathew Ahmann, Catholic layman and speaker during the March on Washington, behind Martin Luther King Jr.

Recently, laypeople have started to act as public spokespersons for the Church in both official and unofficial capacities. One such example was the foundation of Catholic Voices in preparation for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom in 2010.[30] The group has since been made a permanent part of their work and expanded to other countries. Primarily focusing on young Catholic professionals, it provides them with training to talk to the media about events happening within the Catholic Church.[30] It has been replicated in Spain and in Germany where it is known as Catholic Faces. Other countries where interest in such an effort has emerged are Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Costa Rica, and the United States.[31]

Clericalism

See also: Theology of Pope Francis § Clericalism

Clericalism might be described as any attempt to exaggerate the importance of the priesthood as a focus of power and privilege.[32] It was described by a bishop at Vatican II as one of the three main evils that had typified the Church in the previous centuries.[33] Some would say that it accompanies a new wave of traditionalism that grew during the pontificate of John-Paul II.[34] In April 2011, during a conference in Milwaukee, United States, on the clergy child sex abuse scandal, the Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said: "There are signs of a new clericalism, which may even at times be ably veiled behind appeals for deeper spirituality or for more orthodox theological positions." Martin added that he planned to require all seminarians to "carry out some part of their formation with lay people so that they can establish mature relationships with men and women and not develop any sense of their priesthood giving them a special social position."[35]

Pope Francis has endeavored in many ways to lift up the laity in the Church, with "continual blasting of clericalism and his references to the “one, holy People of God'."[36] He declared that the "hour of the laity" has arrived and decried clericalism as rife in the Church, saying that it "leads to the functionalization of the laity,[37] From the start of his papacy Francis referred to the laity as "missionary disciples"[38] with an apostolate of their own, submissive to but not requiring the direction of the hierarchy.[39]

Clericalism has been viewed as a barrier to improving lay rights and greater access to positions of supervision, oversight, and administration in the Church, as well as to increased involvement in Church ministry.[40] A classic example of clericalism comes from Monsignor George Talbot in 1867, in his critique of the position of John Henry Newman in his article "On Consulting the Faithful in Matters of Doctrine",[41] which was published in the Rambler in July 1859. Talbot is quoted as saying to Henry Edward Manning, Archbishop of Westminster:

Dr. Newman is the most dangerous man in England, and you will see that he will make use of the laity against Your Grace. You must not be afraid of him. ...What is the province of the laity? To hunt, to shoot, to entertain. These matters they understand, but to meddle with ecclesiastical matters they have no right at all, and this affair of Newman is a matter purely ecclesiastical.[42]

John Henry Newman was a proponent of increased Catholic lay involvement in the life of the Church.[43] After publishing "On Consulting..." Newman was looked upon with grave suspicion and distrust by many of the Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales, and in Rome where Talbot had worked in the Papal Curia.[43] Newman was made a Cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in 1879; Talbot, whose "notorious want of judgment" was noted by the biographer C. Butler, died in an asylum at Passy near Paris in 1886.[44] Talbot had asked Newman "Who are the laity?" to which Newman responded that "the Church would look foolish without them."[43]

See also

References

  1. ^ . Zenit News Agency. 27 April 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2010. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  2. ^ "The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church", catholic-hierarchy.org, June 2012.
  3. ^ Cahoy, William John (2012). In the Name of the Church: Vocation and Authorization of Lay Ecclesial Ministry. Liturgical Press. pp. 40–42. ISBN 9780814634233.
  4. ^ "Statutes of the new Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life (4 June 2016) | Francis". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  5. ^ "The Pontifical Council for the Laity" April 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Vatican.va, June 2012.
  6. ^ "Apostolicam Actuositatem" June 25, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Vatican.va, June 2012.
  7. ^ "Catholicam Christi Ecclesiam", Vatican.va, June 2012.
  8. ^ "The Code of Canon Law" February 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Vatican.va, June 2012.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Pope Paul VI - Ministeria Quaedam".
  10. ^ "Pope Francis admits women to ministries of lector and acolyte in new motu proprio". www.catholicnewsagency.com.
  11. ^ "Explainer: The history of women lectors and altar servers—and what Pope Francis has changed". America Magazine. January 11, 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Divine Worship".
  13. ^ "1983 Code of Canon Law". www.jgray.org. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
  14. ^ . Archived from the original on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2011-07-17.
  15. ^ "Google Translate".
  16. ^ . Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2011-07-17.
  17. ^ "About Us". UNCCLA. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
  18. ^ "CBCK News - 'The Catholic Lay Apostolate Council of Korea' Was Renamed 'the Council of the Catholic Lay Apostolate Organizations of Korea'".
  19. ^ www.digitalvirtue.com, Digital Virtue - w. "Weekly News".
  20. ^ .International Lay Associations
  21. ^ "Our Mission". Queen of Angels Foundation. Retrieved 2017-07-15.
  22. ^ "VOICE OF THE FAITHFUL".
  23. ^ Computing, Moonlight. "FOSIL Faithful of Southern Illinois-Lay Catholics Keeping the Voice of Prophecy Alive".
  24. ^ "Home".
  25. ^ "Catholics for Equality & Justice - Call To Action".
  26. ^ . Archived from the original on 2012-01-12. Retrieved 2016-09-22.
  27. ^ The Catholic Herald, London, August 5th 2011, "The Vatican doesn't want to control blogs", p. 7
  28. ^ Green, Emma. "The Boston Globe Bails on Crux and Religion Journalism". The Atlantic.
  29. ^ . Archived from the original on 2009-06-27.
  30. ^ a b "Catholic Voices to become permanent academy – CatholicHerald.co.uk".
  31. ^ The Catholic Herald, London, August 5th 2011, "Catholic Voices inspires groups across Europe ahead of papal visits", p. 1
  32. ^ "This is a crisis of clericalism". 5 April 2010 – via The Guardian.
  33. ^ . America Magazine. 2002-10-07. Archived from the original on 2017-04-19. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  34. ^ "The Counter-Reformation of Pope John Paul II by Ranald Macaulay - Jubilee Centre". Jubilee Centre. 2000-09-12. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  35. ^ "News - USCatholic.org".
  36. ^ Harris, Elise (July 10, 2019). "Pope's visit to Jesuits highlights society friends old and new". cruxnow.com. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  37. ^ NULL (2016-04-26). "Text of Pope's Letter to Pontifical Commission for Latin America". ZENIT - English. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  38. ^ "Evangelii Gaudium : Apostolic Exhortation on the Proclamation of the Gospel in Today's World (24 November 2013) | Francis". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  39. ^ "For Pope Francis, the laity must be formed for their mission in the world". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  40. ^ www.digitalvirtue.com, Digital Virtue - w. "Weekly News".
  41. ^ On Consulting the Faithful in Matters of Doctrine, July 1859
  42. ^ Talbot to Manning, April 25, 1867. Cf. W. WARD, The life of John Henry Cardinal Newman, London, 1913, II, p. 147
  43. ^ a b c Sharkey, Rev. Michael. . EWTN. Archived from the original on November 1, 2002. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  44. ^ "Newman Friends International The Cardinalate of John Henry Newman - Newman Friends International".

External links

    May 02, 2023
    catholic, laity, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, april, 201. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Catholic laity news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2011 Learn how and when to remove this template message Catholic laity are the ordinary members of the Catholic Church who are neither clergy nor recipients of Holy Orders or vowed to life in a religious order or congregation Their mission according to the Second Vatican Council is to sanctify the world Laity in the St Peter s Square Vatican City Rome Italy The laity forms the majority of the estimated over one billion Catholics in the world 1 The Catholic Church is served by the universal jurisdiction of the Holy See headed by the Pope and administered by the Roman Curia while locally served by diocesan bishops The Pope and the bishops in full communion with him are known collectively as the Catholic hierarchy and are responsible for the supervision management and pastoral care of all members the Catholic Church including clergy religious and laity 2 But since the Second Vatican Council of Bishops 1962 1965 the laity have emerged as a greater source of leadership in various aspects of the church s life and its teaching on their equal call to holiness has led to greater recognition of their role in the church 3 Contents 1 The Roman Curia and the laity 2 Canonical rights of the laity 3 Lay ministries 4 Lay councils 4 1 Powers and influence of the laity 4 2 National Council for Lay Associations England and Wales 4 3 The National Council of the Laity Venezuela 4 4 Uganda National Catholic Council of Lay Apostolate UNCCLA 4 5 The Council of the Catholic Lay Apostolate Organizations of Korea 5 Lay Congresses 5 1 The National Pastoral Congress England and Wales 6 Lay organizations 7 Personal prelatures 8 Lay advocacy groups 9 Lay media 9 1 Web content 9 2 Lay newspapers 9 3 Lay spokespeople 10 Clericalism 11 See also 12 References 13 External linksThe Roman Curia and the laity EditThe responsibilities of the Pontifical Council for the Laity a dicastery of the Roman Curia based in Vatican City were transferred to the newly established Dicastery for the Laity Family and Life as of 1 September 2016 4 The council assists the Pope in all matters concerning the contribution the lay faithful make to the life and mission of the Church whether as individuals or through the various forms of association that have arisen and constantly arise within the Church 5 This dicastery emerged from the Decree on the Lay Apostolate of the Second Vatican Council Apostolicam Actuositatem 6 It was officially created by Pope Paul VI on 6 January 1967 with the motu proprio Catholicam Christi Ecclesiam 7 Canonical rights of the laity EditWithin the Catholic Church the rights of the Catholic laity in regards to the Church are found in the Code of Canon Law A new Code of Canon Law was promulgated in 1983 to incorporate teachings from the Second Vatican Council In particular Canons 224 231 of the 1983 Code outline the general and specific canonical rights of lay persons in the Catholic Church 8 Lay ministries EditSee also Laity Roman Catholicism Prior to 1972 no lay liturgical ministries existed only the minor orders and major orders The minor orders were in effect the lower orders of the clerical state and were reserved for those preparing for the priesthood Acolyte Exorcist Lector or reader and Ostiarius or porter As a result of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council on 15 August 1972 Pope Paul VI issued the motu proprio Ministeria quaedam 9 which suppressed the minor orders and replaced them with two ministries those of lector and acolyte A major difference was Ministries may be assigned to lay Christians hence they are no longer to be considered as reserved to candidates for the sacrament of orders 9 The following are requirements for admission to the ministries the presentation of a petition that has been freely made out and signed by the aspirant to the Ordinary the bishop and in clerical institutes the major superior who has the right to accept the petition a suitable age and special qualities to be determined by the conference of bishops a firm will to give faithful service to God and to the Christian people The ministries are conferred by the Ordinary through the liturgical rites De institutione lectoris and De institutione acolythi as revised by the Apostolic See An interval determined by the Holy See or the conferences of bishops shall be observed between the conferring of the ministries of reader and acolyte whenever more than one ministry is conferred on the same person 9 It was originally the case that the instituted ministries of lector and acolyte were reserved to men 9 In 2021 Pope Francis issued the motu proprio Spiritus Domini which changed canon 230 1 of the Code of Canon Law to allow both men and women to be instituted in these ministries 10 11 In place of instituted ministries there is widespread use of commissioned or temporarily designated readers altar servers and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion which can be undertaken by both men and women Conditions for the extension of these roles can be found in The General Instruction of the Roman Missal In relation to readers Instruction 101 says In the absence of an instituted lector other laypersons may be commissioned to proclaim the readings from Sacred Scripture They should be truly suited to perform this function and should receive careful preparation so that the faithful by listening to the readings from the sacred texts may develop in their hearts a warm and living love for Sacred Scripture 12 As regards altar servers and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion Instruction 100 says In the absence of an instituted acolyte lay ministers may be deputed to serve at the altar and assist the priest and the deacon they may carry the cross the candles the thurible the bread the wine and the water and they may also be deputed to distribute Holy Communion as extraordinary ministers 12 An option to institute the other minor orders was retained in this document in that a Bishops Conference may request permission from the Apostolic See if they judge the establishment of such offices in their region to be necessary or very useful because of special reasons To these belong for example the ministries of porter exorcist catechist as well as others to be conferred on those who are dedicated to works of charity where this ministry had not been assigned to deacons 9 Lay councils EditPowers and influence of the laity Edit The 1983 Code of Canon Law does not permit the laity to have any kind of executive or juridical powers in Ecclesiastical affairs 13 This curtails the extent of influence the laity has over how the Church is governed on a day to day basis However lay experts and advisors were appointed to participate during the deliberations of the Second Vatican Council After the Council members of the Laity were routinely appointed to sit on Commissions amp Committees established at every level Curial Bishops Conference Diocesan Deanery and Parish Each parish is advised to have a parish council and a finance council of laypersons which are advisory to the pastor National Council for Lay Associations England and Wales Edit The National Council for Lay Associations NCLA was the idea of the late Monsignor Derek Worlock who later became Archbishop of Liverpool England It became one of the Consultative Bodies of the Bishops Conference in England and Wales and was formed from all the large Catholic lay organizations The NCLA was initially called the National Lay Apostolic Group and was formed after the First World Congress for the Apostolate of the Laity held in Rome in October 1951 In 2003 the NCLA celebrated its 50th birthday with a Golden Jubilee Mass in Salford Cathedral 14 The NCLA today is a consultative body to the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales The following members form the association NCLA Member Associations include Catholic Menʼs Society CMS Catholic Association Teachers Schools and Colleges St Vincent de Paul SVP Union of Catholic Mothers UCM Catholic Womenʼs League CWC Knights of St Columba KSC National Board of Catholic Women NBCW Ascent Movement National Justice and Peace Newman Association CAFOD Legion of Mary Catholic Peopleʼs Weeks Catholic Medical Association Secular Franciscans The NCLA is an active member of ELF European Lay Forum The National Council of the Laity Venezuela Edit One country where a Council of the Laity appears to be thriving is Venezuela The National Council of the Laity Consejo Nacional de Laicos in Venezuela routinely issues statements and press releases often criticising the policies of the current President Hugo Chavez 15 16 Uganda National Catholic Council of Lay Apostolate UNCCLA Edit This is a body that brings together the Laity in the Catholic Church in Uganda who are estimated at 34 1 million in the country making it around 39 3 of the total population in 2014 Under patronage of St Charles Lwanga Uganda National Catholic Council of Lay Apostolate UNCCLA is a body that brings together in a representative manner Lay Apostolate Associations and Movements and Councils to foster a better organised and dynamic apostolate in Uganda while serving as a link avenue and channel for information and communication between Lay Apostolate Associations and Movements and Councils and between these and other official organs within the Church in Uganda and the Universal Church 17 The Council of the Catholic Lay Apostolate Organizations of Korea Edit The Council of the Catholic Lay Apostolate Organizations of Korea formerly The Catholic Lay Apostolate Council of Korea was renamed during the 2010 Autumn General Assembly of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Korea This was ratified at the 44th Ordinary General Meeting of the Council which was held at the Catholic Center in Myeongdong Seoul on 19 February 2011 18 Lay Congresses EditThe National Pastoral Congress England and Wales Edit Archbishop Derek Worlock supported by the late Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Basil Hume convened the National Pastoral Congress in Liverpool England in 1980 The Congress consisted of some two thousand lay people The Congress deliberated on issues that the gathering agreed were of particular concern to lay Catholics in England and Wales at that time The results of these deliberations were drawn together in a document entitled The Easter People This document was very publicly rejected by Pope John Paul II when it was presented to him by Cardinal Hume and Archbishop Worlock in Rome Italy in 1980 19 There has not been another National Pastoral Congress since this time in England and Wales Lay organizations EditFurther information Catholic lay organisations There are many thousands of Catholic lay organisations existing at a local diocesan national bishops conference or international level They cover the whole spectrum of Catholic lay life from their faith and social action to the professions in which they work The majority have sought and been given backing by the appropriate ecclesiastical authority However others have invoked the right contained in Canon 215 to form a Catholic Association without ecclesiastical approval In these circumstances the only prescription on them is that they cannot use the term Catholic in their name Can 216 The Pontifical Council for the Laity is the body responsible for approving those Catholic Associations that exist at an international level 20 The structure of some Religious Orders allows for lay branches to be associated with them These are sometimes referred to as Third Orders Some of the best known Catholic lay organizations are Knights of Columbus Knights of Columba Catenians and Knights of Malta There are also many lay Catholic guilds and associations representing a whole range of professions These include the Catholic Police Guild Holy Name Society NYPD the Association of Catholic Nurses the Guild of Catholic Doctors the Catholic Physicians Guild the Catholic Association of Performing Arts UK and the Catholic Actors Guild of America In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles the Queen of Angels Foundation was established in 2011 by Mark Anchor Albert The Foundation an association of lay faithful dedicated to fostering devotion to Mary Mother of Jesus is a volunteer group of lay men and women who strive together in a common endeavor to foster a more perfect life for themselves and their community by promoting reverence for the Blessed Virgin Mary in whose name as Our Lady of the Angels the City and Archdiocese of Los Angeles were founded and whom Catholics revere as Queen of Heaven and Empress of the Americas 21 The Queen of Angels Foundation is the official sponsor of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles annual celebration of the City of Los Angeles founding This Votive Mass amp Grand Marian Procession take place in Downtown Los Angeles on the last Saturday of August Personal prelatures EditOrganisations such as Opus Dei and Miles Jesu are ostensibly Catholic lay organisations which are overseen by clergy associated and or affiliated with them The structure of these organisations is termed a personal prelature Lay advocacy groups EditIn recent years many lay advocacy groups have formed some in response to the clerical sex abuse crisis Reforms advocated by these groups would include the binding of the Catholic Hierarchy to a universal and comprehensive system of transparency and accountability relating to their governance of the Church the mandatory empowerment of the laity to a degree of oversight and scrutiny at every level of the Church local diocesan provincial national bishops conference international dicastery automatic consultative and collaborative rights for the laity at every level of the Church increased lay access to and involvement with ministry within the Church freedom of speech and an end of censorship 22 23 24 25 Lay media EditWeb content Edit Lay Catholics have contributed to Catholic media online in such avenues as blogs online columns and newspapers The Vatican hosted a conference of bloggers on 2 May 2011 This was sponsored jointly by the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Pontifical Council for Social Communications One hundred and fifty bloggers were invited from across the world 26 Richard Rouse an English layman who works for the Pontifical Council for Culture has stated that this meeting was not held in any attempt by the Vatican to control Catholic blogs He has also stated that there will not be another Vatican Blogmeet but individual Diocese may hold similar conferences 27 Lay newspapers Edit There are many Catholic newspapers and periodicals produced around the world by lay Catholics which are independent of the Church hierarchy Examples in the United Kingdom are The Catholic Herald and The Tablet In the United States the Catholic Reporter is entirely a work of the laity and the National Catholic Register a subsidiary of EWTN is run by laypersons Secular newspapers such as The Boston Globe 28 and The Daily Telegraph are also heavy in Catholic content 29 Lay spokespeople Edit Mathew Ahmann Catholic layman and speaker during the March on Washington behind Martin Luther King Jr Recently laypeople have started to act as public spokespersons for the Church in both official and unofficial capacities One such example was the foundation of Catholic Voices in preparation for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom in 2010 30 The group has since been made a permanent part of their work and expanded to other countries Primarily focusing on young Catholic professionals it provides them with training to talk to the media about events happening within the Catholic Church 30 It has been replicated in Spain and in Germany where it is known as Catholic Faces Other countries where interest in such an effort has emerged are Chile Colombia Ecuador Mexico Costa Rica and the United States 31 Clericalism EditSee also Theology of Pope Francis Clericalism Clericalism might be described as any attempt to exaggerate the importance of the priesthood as a focus of power and privilege 32 It was described by a bishop at Vatican II as one of the three main evils that had typified the Church in the previous centuries 33 Some would say that it accompanies a new wave of traditionalism that grew during the pontificate of John Paul II 34 In April 2011 during a conference in Milwaukee United States on the clergy child sex abuse scandal the Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said There are signs of a new clericalism which may even at times be ably veiled behind appeals for deeper spirituality or for more orthodox theological positions Martin added that he planned to require all seminarians to carry out some part of their formation with lay people so that they can establish mature relationships with men and women and not develop any sense of their priesthood giving them a special social position 35 Pope Francis has endeavored in many ways to lift up the laity in the Church with continual blasting of clericalism and his references to the one holy People of God 36 He declared that the hour of the laity has arrived and decried clericalism as rife in the Church saying that it leads to the functionalization of the laity 37 From the start of his papacy Francis referred to the laity as missionary disciples 38 with an apostolate of their own submissive to but not requiring the direction of the hierarchy 39 Clericalism has been viewed as a barrier to improving lay rights and greater access to positions of supervision oversight and administration in the Church as well as to increased involvement in Church ministry 40 A classic example of clericalism comes from Monsignor George Talbot in 1867 in his critique of the position of John Henry Newman in his article On Consulting the Faithful in Matters of Doctrine 41 which was published in the Rambler in July 1859 Talbot is quoted as saying to Henry Edward Manning Archbishop of Westminster Dr Newman is the most dangerous man in England and you will see that he will make use of the laity against Your Grace You must not be afraid of him What is the province of the laity To hunt to shoot to entertain These matters they understand but to meddle with ecclesiastical matters they have no right at all and this affair of Newman is a matter purely ecclesiastical 42 John Henry Newman was a proponent of increased Catholic lay involvement in the life of the Church 43 After publishing On Consulting Newman was looked upon with grave suspicion and distrust by many of the Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales and in Rome where Talbot had worked in the Papal Curia 43 Newman was made a Cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in 1879 Talbot whose notorious want of judgment was noted by the biographer C Butler died in an asylum at Passy near Paris in 1886 44 Talbot had asked Newman Who are the laity to which Newman responded that the Church would look foolish without them 43 See also EditAssociations of the faithful Catechism of the Catholic Church Catholic Catechist Index of Vatican City related articles Popular piety Lay ecclesial ministry List of Ecclesial movements Universal call to holiness Vocational Discernment in the Catholic Church Queen of Angels FoundationReferences Edit Number of Catholics on the Rise Zenit News Agency 27 April 2010 Archived from the original on 27 July 2010 Retrieved 2 May 2010 The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church catholic hierarchy org June 2012 Cahoy William John 2012 In the Name of the Church Vocation and Authorization of Lay Ecclesial Ministry Liturgical Press pp 40 42 ISBN 9780814634233 Statutes of the new Dicastery for the Laity Family and Life 4 June 2016 Francis www vatican va Retrieved 2021 06 18 The Pontifical Council for the Laity Archived April 24 2011 at the Wayback Machine Vatican va June 2012 Apostolicam Actuositatem Archived June 25 2015 at the Wayback Machine Vatican va June 2012 Catholicam Christi Ecclesiam Vatican va June 2012 The Code of Canon Law Archived February 20 2008 at the Wayback Machine Vatican va June 2012 a b c d e Pope Paul VI Ministeria Quaedam Pope Francis admits women to ministries of lector and acolyte in new motu proprio www catholicnewsagency com Explainer The history of women lectors and altar servers and what Pope Francis has changed America Magazine January 11 2021 a b Divine Worship 1983 Code of Canon Law www jgray org Retrieved 2018 04 19 Living Faith in Local Communities What Happened to the Hopes of Vatican II Archived from the original on 2011 10 04 Retrieved 2011 07 17 Google Translate Council for the Laity decries violence in light of upcoming referendum and calls for a National Day of Prayer for Peace on February 11 Archived from the original on 2012 04 02 Retrieved 2011 07 17 About Us UNCCLA Retrieved 2022 09 22 CBCK News The Catholic Lay Apostolate Council of Korea Was Renamed the Council of the Catholic Lay Apostolate Organizations of Korea www digitalvirtue com Digital Virtue w Weekly News International Lay Associations Our Mission Queen of Angels Foundation Retrieved 2017 07 15 VOICE OF THE FAITHFUL Computing Moonlight FOSIL Faithful of Southern Illinois Lay Catholics Keeping the Voice of Prophecy Alive Home Catholics for Equality amp Justice Call To Action Pontificio Consiglio delle Comunicazioni Sociali Archived from the original on 2012 01 12 Retrieved 2016 09 22 The Catholic Herald London August 5th 2011 The Vatican doesn t want to control blogs p 7 Green Emma The Boston Globe Bails on Crux and Religion Journalism The Atlantic Opinion Archived from the original on 2009 06 27 a b Catholic Voices to become permanent academy CatholicHerald co uk The Catholic Herald London August 5th 2011 Catholic Voices inspires groups across Europe ahead of papal visits p 1 This is a crisis of clericalism 5 April 2010 via The Guardian Anniversary Thoughts America Magazine 2002 10 07 Archived from the original on 2017 04 19 Retrieved 2017 04 21 The Counter Reformation of Pope John Paul II by Ranald Macaulay Jubilee Centre Jubilee Centre 2000 09 12 Retrieved 2017 04 21 News USCatholic org Harris Elise July 10 2019 Pope s visit to Jesuits highlights society friends old and new cruxnow com Retrieved 2019 12 30 NULL 2016 04 26 Text of Pope s Letter to Pontifical Commission for Latin America ZENIT English Retrieved 2019 12 30 Evangelii Gaudium Apostolic Exhortation on the Proclamation of the Gospel in Today s World 24 November 2013 Francis www vatican va Retrieved 2019 12 29 For Pope Francis the laity must be formed for their mission in the world Catholic News Agency Retrieved 2019 12 29 www digitalvirtue com Digital Virtue w Weekly News On Consulting the Faithful in Matters of Doctrine July 1859 Talbot to Manning April 25 1867 Cf W WARD The life of John Henry Cardinal Newman London 1913 II p 147 a b c Sharkey Rev Michael NEWMAN ON THE LAITY EWTN Archived from the original on November 1 2002 Retrieved February 25 2020 Newman Friends International The Cardinalate of John Henry Newman Newman Friends International External links EditThe Code of Canon Law Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Catholic laity amp oldid 1146805942, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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