LAITY
“Enlivening and encouraging the promotion of the vocation and mission of the lay faithful in the Church and in the world” (Praedicate Evangelium, Art. 129) is an important part of the everyday work carried out by the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. The lay faithful, as individuals, married or not, and as members belonging to associations, ecclesial movements, new communities, are the largest component of God's holy faithful people. The Holy Father's attention is directed to them through the work and pastoral care of this Dicastery, to encourage their participation and co-responsibility in the life and mission of the Church.
To this end, the Dicastery collaborates with the various lay ecclesial realities so that the lay faithful may share their faith experiences in social realities as well as their own secular expertise in the pastoral care and governance of the Church. Furthermore, it is the Dicastery's responsibility, in agreement with the other Dicasteries of the Roman Curia involved, to evaluate and approve the proposals of the Bishops' Conferences concerning the establishment of new ministries and ecclesiastical offices to be entrusted to the laity, according to the needs of the particular Churches. Through its work, the Dicastery expresses the Church's special solicitude for the youth; it accompanies the life and development of aggregations of the faithful and ecclesial movements; it deals with any hierarchical appeals relating to the associative life and the apostolate of the laity; and it strives to deepen reflection on the relationship between men and women in their respective specificity, reciprocity, complementarity and equal dignity.
News
Ecclesial Movements
The contribution of ecclesial movements to the Synod on the Young
On June 19th, the Annual meeting of the Dicastery with the general moderators of the lay associations, the ecclesial movements and of the new communities was held in the Palazzo San Calisto. During ...
Dicastery
An intense day of listening and exchanging experiences of the formation of Christifideles throughout the world
Yesterday was an intense day of work at the international meeting on the promotion and formation of lay faithful organized by the Dicastery: the “best practices” of countries in North America and ...
Dicastery
The international meeting on the promotion and formation of the laity has entered into the heart of the matter
The international meeting on the promotion and formation of the lay faithful began yesterday with the participation at Pope Francis’ General Audience in St. Peter’s Square. This meeting, organized by ...
Magisterium of Pope Francis on the Lay Faithful