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
Testimony
The story of Evelyn and Rolando and of their little Lourdes, born thanks to the intercession of St. John Paul II
The fruits that many young pilgrims of the WYD say they have received at the meetings throughout the world are countless, but when we read this story, we said: Why not ask Evelyn to write her ...
Latin America
A three-day meeting with lay people who have public responsibilities to encourage the Bishops to listen and the inclusion of politics in the mission of the ecclesial community
Exchanging experiences, listening to different testimonies, and sharing reflections on Catholic laity who assume political responsibilities in the various Latin American countries are the primary ...
Hungary
The Ad Limina Visit of the Hungarian Bishops to the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life
The challenges are those of all European countries, especially of those that, in recent decades, have come out from behind the iron curtain and are faced with the transition from communism to ...
Magisterium of Pope Francis on the Lay Faithful