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
Local Churches
Starting today a year will be dedicated to events and reflection to stimulate and encourage lay people in the mission of the “outgoing Church”
The Year of the Laity opens today, 26 November, Solemnity of Christ the King. The Church in Brazil will be actively engaged in this initiative until 25 November 2018. The theme chosen to promote the ...
Capo Verde
The head of the Youth Office met in this African country with young people and youth pastoral workers in ‘view of next year’s event
In the context of the preparations for the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on “Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment,” the Diocesan Secretariat for Youth Ministry in Santiago, ...
Women’s Office
Among the activities of the Women's Office of the Dicastery, there were two meetings this week. In Rome, the office head, Marta Rodriguez, attended a formation session of the World Union for Catholic ...
Magisterium of Pope Francis on the Lay Faithful