The recent establishment of the Association of Catholics in Ireland
has raised many questions regarding the role of the laity in the Church. Are they expected to simply toe the party line when it comes to orders from the hierarchy or can they play a more significant role in ‘their’ Church?
The group, which is seeking liberal reform in the Catholic Church is “committed to the renewal of the Catholic Faith in the changed and changing circumstances of the 21st Century and to the reform of the institutional Church which, at this time, is experiencing conflict, crisis, and lack of credibility”.
A number of people at their AGM condemned the organisation, labelling members of ACI as “outside the Church” and stating their aims have “nothing to do with Vatican II”.
However, should this have been the case? Do the laity have a right to establish an organisation such as the ACI? And are they sincerely committed “to the pursuit of a reform and renewal agenda in the Irish Catholic Church based on the letter and the spirit of Vatican II”?
To answer some of these questions we can look to the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, Apostolicam Actuositatem.
The document begins with the assertion that “the apostolate of the laity derives from their Christian vocation and the Church can never be without it”.
Technology
Moreover, “modern conditions demand that their apostolate be broadened and intensified” because of increasing population, progress in science and technology, and the “serious danger to Christian life” caused by an increasing autonomy in many areas of life which has involved “a degree of departure from ethical and religious order”.
The first chapter of the document which deals with the vocation of the laity to the apostolate, defines apostolate as all activity of the Mystical Body directed to the goal for which the Church was founded; “spreading the kingdom of Christ throughout the Earth for the glory of God the Father, to enable all men to share in His saving redemption, and that through them the whole world might enter into a relationship with Christ.”
Therefore the “Christian vocation by its very nature is also a vocation to the apostolate”, to the extent that “the member who fails to make his proper contribution to the development of the Church must be said to be useful neither to the Church nor to himself”.
Evangelisation
The Council teaches that for the laity, this mission grows from their share in the priestly, prophetic, and royal office of Christ, while their activity must be “directed to the evangelisation and sanctification of men and to the penetrating and perfecting of the temporal order through the spirit of the Gospel”.
Those who engage in the apostolate do so through “the faith, hope, and charity which the Holy Spirit diffuses in the hearts of all members of the Church”.
Above all, “the success of the lay apostolate depends upon the laity’s living union with Christ”.
In the second chapter, entitled “Objectives”, the council fathers note that Christ’s redemptive work, while essentially concerned with salvation, “includes also the renewal of the whole temporal order”, which God intends to raise up and make into a new creation.
Opportunities
Hence, lay persons are both to offer the witness of their way of life and to look for specific opportunities to announce the message of Christ.
The document then provides an important passage calling on the laity to right some of the wrongs that have developed in modern society.
“Since, in our own times, new problems are arising and very serious errors are circulating which tend to undermine the foundations of religion, the moral order, and human society itself, this sacred synod earnestly exhorts laymen-each according to his own gifts of intelligence and learning-to be more diligent in doing what they can to explain, defend, and properly apply Christian principles to the problems of our era in accordance with the mind of the Church.”
Renew
The document asserts that the laity should work together to renew and perfect the things that make up the temporal order. These include the family, culture, economic matters, the arts and professions, the laws of the political community, international relations, human good and all human development.
According to the council fathers, these “not only aid in the attainment of man’s ultimate goal but also possess their own intrinsic value”.
Thus the whole Church must work vigorously so that people become “capable of rectifying the distortion of the temporal order and directing it to God through Christ.”
Then comes the distinction between ordained clergy and members of the laity which is hinted at earlier in the document with the sentence; “In the Church there is diversity of ministry but unity of mission.”
The document states that pastors must teach the principles concerning the purpose of creation and offer the moral and spiritual aids by which the temporal order may be renewed.
However, the laity “must take up the renewal of the temporal order as their own special obligation”. They are to be led by the light of the Gospel and the mind of the Church and motivated by Christian charity. The document also encouraged dialogue, stating the laity should “cooperate with other citizens with their own particular skill and on their own responsibility”.
In the third chapter of Apostolicam Actuositatem, the various fields of the apostolate are discussed. The council identifies the spheres of potential action for the lay apostolate, such as church communities, the family, youth, the social milieu, and national and international levels.
Married couples
The fathers take special notice of the importance of apostolic activity undertaken by married couples to manifest and prove by their own way of life, “the indissolubility and sacredness of the marriage bond strenuously to affirm the right and duty of parents and guardians to educate children in a Christian manner, and to defend the dignity and lawful autonomy of the family”.
The document also states the need for the laity to work harmoniously with priests in the building up of their parishes.
It also makes clear the importance of cultivating a sense of apostolic mission in young people and the need to “infuse a Christian spirit into the mentality, customs, laws, and the structure of the community in which one lives”.
The fourth chapter of the document deals with the various forms of the apostolate. The council emphasises that the individual apostolate, “flowing generously from its source in a truly Christian life, is the origin and condition of the whole lay apostolate, even of the organised type, and it admits of no substitute”.
The laity must remember “that they can reach all men and contribute to the salvation of the whole world by public worship and prayer as well as by penance and voluntary acceptance of the labours and hardships of life whereby they become like the suffering Christ”.
Active laity
The document also emphasises the special need for a strong and active laity in “those regions where the freedom of the Church is seriously infringed”, and also in “areas where Catholics are few in number and widely dispersed”.
The council fathers stressed the need for the formation of “a great variety of associations”.
These associations are not ends unto themselves; rather “they should serve the mission of the Church to the world”.
Co-operation
Wherever possible, the formation of formal apostolic associations working in cooperation with the hierarchy, often called ‘Catholic Action’, are highly recommended.
There was considerable discussion of what constitutes authentic ‘Catholic Action.’:
The following characteristics were offered:
- The immediate aim of the organisations is the apostolic aim of the Church.
- The laity, cooperating in their own particular way with the hierarchy, contribute their experience and assume responsibility in the direction of these organisations.
- The laity act together in the manner of an organic body, to display more strikingly the community aspect of the Church and to render the apostolate more productive.
- The laity, whether coming of their own accord or in response to an invitation to action and direct cooperation with the hierarchical apostolate, act under the direction of the hierarchy, which can sanction this cooperation with an explicit mandate.
Apostolicam Actuositatem also deals with ‘External Relationships’, discussing the need for proper relations between laity and the hierarchy.
It declares “the hierarchy should promote the apostolate of the laity, provide it with spiritual principles and support, direct the conduct of this apostolate to the common good of the Church, and attend to the preservation of doctrine and order”.
The final chapter, ‘Formation for the Apostolate’, emphasises that the laity should engage themselves wholly and actively in the reality of the temporal order and effectively assume their role in conducting the affairs of this order.
“At the same time, as a living member and witness of the Church, he renders the Church present and active in the midst of temporal affairs.”
The concluding exhortation reaffirms that through the holy synod, “the Lord renews His invitation to all the laity to come closer to Him every day, recognising that what is His is also their own, to associate themselves with Him in His saving mission”.
Tribute
The call for the significant involvement of the laity in the Church prior to the Second Vatican Council would have been a revolutionary notion.
However, it is a tribute to the growth of the lay apostolate since the council convened that this document can now be read without shock or surprise.
Based on the decree, the ACI are well within their rights to establish their organisation. In fact, the council fathers of Vatican II would have encouraged them.
In a recent message, Pope Benedict XVI said the laity should be seen as truly “co-responsible” for the Church and not just “collaborators” with the clergy.
“Co-responsibility requires a change in mentality, particularly with regard to the role of the laity in the Church,” the Holy Father said.
Laity should be considered “persons truly ‘co-responsible’ for the being and activity of the Church,” he stated.
He called for a united and committed laity to each make their own “specific contribution to the Church’s mission, in accordance with the ministries and tasks each one has in the life of the Church, and always in cordial communion with the bishops”.
Why then has there been such an animated reaction to the ACI?
The problem lies not in the establishment of the group, rather with their objectives.
One aim of the ACI is to bring about the full participation of women in every aspect of the Church.
It is also the organisation’s intention to re-evaluate the Church’s teaching on human sexuality.
The Church simply cannot credibly change such doctrine and retain its Catholic nature.
Instead of focussing on unalterable Church teachings the ACI should reserve its energy for more possible forms of renewal.
If the group is sincerely concerned with bringing the message of Vatican II to life, they will, in the words of the council fathers, do their best “to explain, defend, and properly apply Christian principles to the problems of our era in accordance with the mind of the Church”.
Groups such as the ACI should be an ally, not an enemy.
And while they may not represent every Catholic’s position, they do provide a forum for members of the Church to be heard. It’s about time somebody listened.