We Can Think of Our Parishes in the Perspective of the Laity

During the Ad Limina visit of Ecuador’s Bishops at the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, one of the main topics discussed was the participation of lay people in parish life. Some of the prelates present pointed out that “this meeting helps us to think about our parishes in the perspective of the laity. The Dicastery can help us with that.” Special attention as given to the faithful who do not live in an associative network, but for whom the parish is the primary reference: “We are indebted to them; we must invest in formation.”

This commitment seems even more necessary as, just like in many other countries, lay people and families find themselves working in an increasingly problematic reality. In particular, “the family crisis is becoming ever more accentuated, also because of ideologies foreign to Ecuadorian culture and pressure coming from abroad.”

H.E. Msgr. Marcos Aurelio Pérez Caicedo, Archbishop of Cuenca, spoke—in the interview that we are publishing here—of the action of the laity in many of the Church’s activities and the need for the accompaniment and guidance of the pastors.

In this regard, many bishops recalled the institution of the Consejo Ecuatoriano de Laicos Católicos (CELCA), already seventeen years ago. This is an organization that represents the laity, created to highlight their presence in the Ecuadorian church more strongly.

Cardinal Farrell insisted on the importance of forming young people and families, recalling that, as Pope Francis says, “we are not experiencing a cultural change, but a real epochal change,” and we must be prepared to face it.