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
Sport
University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, hosted Symposium on the Church & Sport, discussing the document “Giving the best of yourself” and the right for all to have access to sports
On the 7th of March, the Symposium on the Church and Sport, co-sponsored by the Play Like a Champion Educational Series, brought together scholars, American bishops, and Catholic Youth Sport ...
Local Churches
The Commission for the Lay Apostolate of the Spanish Episcopal Conference is working to increase awareness of the lay faithful on their role as missionaries and witnesses of the Gospel in the Church and in Society.
From 14th to 16th February 2020, The Episcopal Commission for the Lay Apostolate of the Spanish Episcopal Conference will hold a conference called "The Church on mission at the service of our ...
Women
“To invite a women to talk about the wounds of the Church is inviting the Church to talk about herself”. These are the words of Pope Francis at the recent meeting on “The Protection of Minors in the Church”
On 8th March Gabriella Gambino, Undersecretary of our Dicastery, also spoke during the round table at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross on the “role of women in the Church”. During her talk, ...
Magisterium of Pope Francis on the Lay Faithful