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
Bolivia
Ad Limina Visit of Bolivia’s Bishops
“We must highlight and value what makes our youth good. Bolivian young people are good and courageous. They engage in volunteer work and evangelization!” This is how the Bolivian Bishops, on their Ad ...
Movements - Communities
The Message of the Secretary, Father Awi Mello, to the Schoenstatt Ibero-American Family Work Congress
“With Joy, Families reaching out” was the theme of the Schoenstatt Ibero-American Family Work Congress held in Ecuador. Hundreds of married couples from fourteen countries, members of the three ...
Nicaragua
Ad Limina Visit of Nicaragua’s Bishops
On the morning of Monday, September 11th, during the visit “to the See” of the Apostles, Nicaragua’s Bishops were received at the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. The Bishops of the country’s ...
Magisterium of Pope Francis on the Lay Faithful