Role of the Laity
The laity have a dominant role in the Church's mission to evangelize because they make up over 99% of the Church and they live out their lives in the mission field. The laity have a role to play inside the Church, but their primary job is to transform the world through the Gospel.
Key Insights
Apostolate
The laity participate in the apostolate -- acting as apostles -- by their Christian vocation. Their role is referred to as the "lay apostolate." |
Role in the World
The laity have a special and primary role in the world, where they have distinct competence and presence: they are called to witness in the way they live their daily lives and to explicitly share their faith with others. |
Role in the Church
The laity also have an important role in the Church, particularly in bringing back the concerns of the world and determining with others how to address them. |
Quotations
To intensify the apostolic activity of the people of God,(1) the most holy synod earnestly addresses itself to the laity, whose proper and indispensable role in the mission of the Church has already been dealt with in other documents.(2) The apostolate of the laity derives from their Christian vocation and the Church can never be without it. Sacred Scripture clearly shows how spontaneous and fruitful such activity was at the very beginning of the Church (cf. Acts 11:19-21; 18:26; Rom. 16:1-16; Phil. 4:3). Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, 1
(Apostolicam Actuositatem) Second Vatican Council Emphasis added |