The role of lay Catholics in the Church according to the teaching of Assignment

The role of lay Catholics in the Church according to the teaching of the Second Vatican Council - Assignment Example Recent measures and initiatives within the Catholic church, particularly those designed in reenergizing Catholicism as a religion amidst modernity and secularization, were those concerning the increase in engagement and involvement of its lay members. This has been the fundamental issue addressed by the Second Vatican Council that took place from 1959 to 1965. The Council was able to draft and issue several documents, which would supposedly turn the tide for Catholicism during this contemporary age. These documents introduced and emphasized the concept of the â€Å"people of God† when its predecessor stressed on the role of the Pope. This move by Church authorities is increasingly seen as an attempt for the organization to be continuously significant amidst several developments that undermine Catholicism across the globe. This paper will specifically examine the role of the laity or the Lumen Gentium as outlined by the Second Vatican Council and how it is expected to develop l ater on. Background It is important to underscore that in the early days of Christianity, the laity has played an important role in the affairs of the church. According to Walsh (2005), the laity was not only consulted on important matters, because they also take part in electing bishops and in choosing priests. (p66) This role was eventually scrapped as the laity came to be merely defined as those that are subjected under the Catholic organization’s authority and representatives of the religion in secular affairs such as in business, politics and so forth. As the Catholic organization became more structured and the system more sophisticated governance and policymaking, and most of the organizational activities, policies and measures were administered by the clergy. By the time the First Vatican Council issued its codes and rules, the â€Å"Catholic action† referred to as the role to be played by the lay people were strictly confined to participation in Church-led init iatives. For instance, Pope Pius X declared that â€Å"the one duty of the multitude is to allow themselves to be led, and like a docile flock, to follow the Pastors.† (Pope 2004, p6) What this means is that while the laity is expected to be proactive, their actions must only be in support of the ordained and that they do not have clear and specific missions of their own, say, in evangelization. With the onset of the modern age, however, the clergy again began to turn to the laity as the Church is forced to deal with dwindling membership and enthusiasm from among its ranks. It addition, it has been struggling with finding its own identity and significance in a period of drastic changes across the world. The premise of the current Catholic attitude is that the Church must be viewed as â€Å"a community of faith where all the baptized bear responsibility for placing their individual gifts at the service of all.† (Gubish, Jenny and McGannon 2001, pii) The pattern of the n ew strategy reflects an attempt at a deeper and more potent evangelization by having the laity live out their lives according to the values and teachings of the Catholic Church. In recent years lay people have taken on great many administrative roles, and although Church law forbids them to have ‘jurisdiction’, such as a role in administration, they are involved in decision-making from parish level upwards which is often pretty indistinguishable from governance. (Walsh, p66) Laity in the Second Vatican Council According to the Second Vatican Council, the role of the laity is extremely important, explaining that: Inserted as they are in the Mystical Body of Christ by baptism and strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit in confirmation, it is by the Lord himself that they are assigned to the apostolate†¦ The apostolate is lived in faith, hope and charity poured out by the Holy Spirit into the hearts of all members of the Church. (Dajczer 2000, p65) The