DECREE ON THE APOSTOLATE OF LAY PEOPLE - APOSTOLICAM ACTUOSITATEM
VATICAN II
18 November 1965
INTRODUCTION
1. In its desire to intensify the apostolic activity of
the People of God[1] the Council now earnestly turns its thoughts
to the Christian laity. Mention has already been made in
other documents of the laity's special and indispensable role in
the mission of the Church.[2] Indeed, the Church can never be
without the lay apostolate; it is something that derives from
the layman's very vocation as a Christian. Scripture clearly shows
how spontaneous and fruitful was this activity in the Church's
early days (cf. Acts 11:19-21; 18:26; Rom. 16:1-16; Phil. 4:3).
No less fervent a zeal on the part of lay people is
called for today; present circumstances, in fact demand from them an
apostolate infinitely broader and more intense. For the constant
increase in population, the progress in science and technology, the
shrinking of the gaps that have kept men apart, have immensely enlarged
the field of the lay apostolate, a field that is in great part open to
the laity alone; they have in addition given rise to new problems
which require from the laity and intelligent attention and examination.
All the more urgent has this apostolate become, now that autonomy ---
as is only right --- has been reached in numerous sectors of human
life, sometimes with a certain relinquishing of moral and religious
values, seriously jeopardizing the Christian life. Besides, in many
regions where priests are very scarce or (as is sometimes the case)
deprived of the freedom they need for their ministry, it is hard to see
how the Church could make her presence and action felt without the help
of the laity.
The need for this urgent and many-sided apostolate is
shown by the manifest action of the Holy Spirit moving laymen today
to a deeper and deeper awareness of their responsibility and urging them
on everywhere to the service of Christ and the Church.[3]
The Council will explain in this Decree the nature of
the lay apostolate, its character and the variety of its forms; it
will state fundamental principles and give pastoral directives for its
more effective exercise. These are all to serve as norms in the
revision of Canon Law concerned with the lay apostolate.
CHAPTER I
THE VOCATION OF LAY PEOPLE TO THE APOSTOLATE
PARTICIPATION OF LAITY IN THE CHURCH'S MISSION
2. The Church was founded to spread the kingdom of
Christ over all the earth for the glory of God the Father, to make all
men partakers in redemption and salvation,[4] and through them
to establish the right relationship of the entire world to
Christ.
Every activity of the Mystical Body with this in view goes
by the mane of "apostolate"; the Church exercises it through all
its members, though in various ways. In fact, the Christian vocation
is, of its nature a vocation to the apostolate as well. In the
organism of a living body no member plays a purely passive part, sharing
in the life of the body it shares at the same time in its activity.
The same is true for the Body of Christ, the Church: "the whole
Body achieves full growth in dependence on the full functioning of
each part" (Eph. 4:16). Between the members of this body
there exists, further, such a unity and solidarity (cf. Eph. 4:16)
that a member who does not work at the growth of the body to the
extent of his possibilities must be con-sidered useless both to the
Church and himself.
In the Church there is diversity of ministry but unity
of mission. To the apostles and their successors Christ has
entrusted the office of teaching, sanctifying and governing in his
name and by his power. But the laity are made to share in the priestly,
prophetical and kingly office of Christ; they have therefore, in the
Church and in the world, their own assignment in the mission of the
whole People of God.[5] In the concrete, their apostolate is
exercised when they work at the evangelization and sanctification
of men; it is exercised too when they endeavour to have the Gospel
spirit permeate and improve the temporal order, going about it in
a way that bears clear witness to Christ and helps forward the
salvation of men.
The characteristic of the lay state being a life led in the midst of
the world and of secular affairs, laymen are called by God to make
of their apostolate, through the vigour of their Christian
spirit, a leaven in the world.
FOUNDATIONS OF THE LAY APOSTOLATE
3. From the fact of their union with Christ the head
flows the laymen's right and duty to be apostles. Inserted 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. If they are
consecrated a kingly priesthood and a holy nation (cf. 1 Pet. 2:4-10),
it is in order that they may in all their actions offer spiritual
sacrifices and bear witness to Christ all the world over. Charity,
which is, as it were, the soul of the whole apostolate, is given
to them and nourished in them by the sacraments, the Eucharist above all.
[6]
The apostolate is lived in faith, hope and charity
poured out by the Holy Spirit into the hearts of all the members
of the Church. And the precept of charity, which is the Lord's
greatest commandment, urges all Christians to work for the glory of God
through the coming of his kingdom and for the communication of eternal
life to all men, that they may know the only true God and Jesus Christ
whom he has sent (cf. Jn. 17:3).
On all Christians, accordingly, rests the noble
obligation of working to bring all men throughout the whole world
to hear and accept the divine message of salvation.
The Holy Spirit sanctifies the People of God through
the ministry and the sacraments. However, for the exercise of the
apostolate he gives the faithful special gifts besides (cf. 1 Cor.
12:7), "allotting them to each one as he wills" (1 Cor. 12:11), so that
each and all, putting at the service of others the grace received may
be "as good stewards of God's varied gifts," (1 Pet. 4:10), for
the building up of the whole body in charity (cf. Eph. 4:16). From
the reception of these charisms, even the most ordinary ones, there
arises for each of the faithful the right and duty of exercising them in
the Church and in the world for the good of men and the development of
the Church, of exercising them in the freedom of the Holy Spirit
who "breathes where he wills" (Jn. 3:8), and at the same time in
communion with his brothers in Christ, and with his pastors especially. It
is for the pastors to pass judgment on the authenticity and good use
of these gifts, not certainly with a view to quenching the Spirit but
to testing everything and keeping what is good (cf. 1 Th. 5:12, 19,
21).[7]
THE SPIRITUALITY OF LAY PEOPLE
4. Christ, sent by the Father, is the source of
the Church's whole apostolate. Clearly then, the fruitfulness of
the apostolate of lay people depends on their living union with Christ;
as the Lord said himself: "Whoever dwells in me and I in him bears
much fruit, for separated from me you can do nothing" (Jn. 15:5).
This life of intimate union with Christ in the Church is maintained by
the spiritual helps common to all the faithful, chiefly by active
participation in the liturgy.[8] Laymen should make such a use
of these helps that, while meeting their human obligations in
the ordinary conditions of life, they do not separate their union
with Christ from their ordinary life; but through the very performance
of their tasks, which are God's will for them, actually promote
the growth of their union with him. This is the path along
which laymen must advance, fervently, joyfully, overcoming
difficulties with prudent patient efforts.[9] Family cares
should not be foreign to their spirituality, nor any other temporal
interest; in the words of the apostle: "Whatever you are doing,
whether speaking or acting, do everything in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Col. 3:17).
A life like this calls for a continuous exercise of
faith, hope and charity.
Only the light of faith and meditation on the word of
God can enable us to find everywhere and always the God "in whom we
live and exist" (Acts 17:28); only thus can we seek his will in
everything, see Christ in all men, acquaintance or stranger, make sound
judgments on the true meaning and value of temporal realities both in
themselves and in relation to man's end.
Those with such a faith live in the hope of the
revelation of the sons of God, keeping in mind the cross and resurrection of the Lord.
On life's pilgrimage they are hidden with Christ in God,
are free from the slavery of riches, are in search of the goods that
last for ever. Generously they exert all their energies in extending
God's kingdom, in making the Christian spirit a vital energizing force
in the temporal sphere. In life's trials they draw courage from
hope, "convinced that present sufferings are no measure of the future
glory to be revealed in us" (Rom. 8:18).
With the love that comes from God prompting them, they
do good to all, especially to their brothers in the faith (cf.
Gal. 6:10), putting aside "all ill will and deceit, all hypocrisy, envy
and slander" (1 Pet. 2:1), in this way attracting men to Christ.
Divine love, "poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given
to us" (Rom. 5:5), enables lay people to express concretely in
their lives the spirit of the Beatitudes. Following in his poverty,
Jesus, they feel no depression in want, no pride in plenty; imitating
the humble Christ, they are not greedy for vain show (cf. Gal.
5:26). They strive instead to please God rather than men, always ready
to abandon everything for Christ (cf. Lk. 14:26) and to endure
persecution in the cause of right (cf. Mt. 5:10), having in mind the
Lord's saying: "If any man wants to come my way let him renounce self
and take up his cross and follow me" (Mt. 16:24). Preserving a
Christian friendship with one another, they afford mutual support in all
needs.
This lay spirituality will take its particular
character from the circumstances of one's state in life (married and
family life, celibacy, widowhood), from one's state of health and from
one's professional and social activity. Whatever the circumstances,
each one has received suitable talents and these should be cultivated,
as should also the personal gifts he has from the Holy Spirit.
Similarly laymen who have followed their particular
vocation and become members of any of the associations or institutions
approved by the Church, aim sincerely at making their own the
forms of spirituality proper to these bodies.
They should also hole in high esteem professional
competence, family and civic sense, and the virtues related to
social behaviour such as honesty, sense of justice, sincerity, courtesy,
moral courage; without them there is now true Christian life.
Perfect model of this apostolic spiritual life is
the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Apostles. While on earth her life
was like that of any other, filled with labours and the cares of the
home; always, however, she remained intimately united to her Son
and cooperated in an entirely unique way in the Saviour's work. And
now, assumed into heaven, "her motherly love keeps her attentive to
her son's brothers, still on pilgrimage amid the dangers and
difficulties of life, until they arrive at the happiness of
the fatherland."[10] Everyone should have a genuine devotion to her
and entrust his life to her motherly care.
CHAPTER II
OBJECTIVES
5. The work of Christ's redemption concerns essentially
the salvation of men; it takes in also, however, the renewal of the
whole temporal order. The mission of the Church, consequently, is not
only to bring men the message and grace of Christ but also too permeate
and improve the whole range of the temporal. The laity, carrying out
this mission of the Church, exercise their apostolate therefore in
the world as well as in the Church, in the temporal order as well as
in the spiritual. These orders are distinct; they are nevertheless
so closely linked that God's plan is, in Christ, to take the whole
world up again and make of it a new creation, in an initial way here
on earth, in full realization at the end of time. The layman, at one
and the same time a believer and a citizen of the world, has only a
single conscience, a Christian conscience; it is by this that he must
be guided continually in both domains.
THE APOSTOLATE OF EVANGELIZATION AND SANCTIFICATION
6. The Church's mission is concerned with the salvation
of men; and men win salvation through the grace of Christ and faith
in him. The apostolate of the Church therefore, and of each of
its members, aims primarily at announcing to the world by word and
action the message of Christ and communicating to it the grace of
Christ. The principal means of bringing this about is the ministry of the
word and of the sacraments. Committed in a special way to the clergy,
it leaves room however for a highly important part for the laity,
the part namely of "helping on the cause of truth" (3 Jn. 8). It is
in this sphere most of all that the lay apostolate and the
pastoral ministry complete each other.
Laymen have countless opportunities for exercising
the apostolate of evangelization and sanctification. The very witness
of a Christian life, and good works done in a supernatural spirit,
are effective in drawing men to the faith and to God; and that is what
the Lord has said: "Your light must shine so brightly before men
that they can see your good works and glorify your Father who is in
heaven" (Mat. 5:16).
This witness of life, however, is not the sole element
in the apostolate; the true apostle is on the look-out for occasions
of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers to draw them
towards the faith, or to the faithful to instruct them, strengthen
them, incite them to a more fervent life; "for Christ's love urges us on"
(2 Cor. 5:14), and in the hearts of all should the apostle's words
find echo: "Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel" (1 Cor. 9:16).[1]
At a time when new questions are being put and when
grave errors aiming at undermining religion, the moral order and
human society at undermining religion, the moral order and human
society itself are rampant, the Council earnestly exhorts the laity to
take a more active part, each according to his talents and knowledge
and in fidelity to the mind of the Church, in the explanation
explanation and defense of Christian principles and in the correct
application of them to the problems of our times.
THE RENEWAL OF THE TEMPORAL ORDER
7. That men, working in harmony, should renew the
temporal order and make it increasingly more perfect: such is God's
design for the world.
All that goes to make up the temporal order: personal
and family values, culture, economic interests, the trades and
professions, institutions of the political community, international
relations, and so on, as well as their gradual development --- all
these are not merely helps to man's last end; they possess a value of
their own, placed in them by God, whether considered individually or
as parts of the integral temporal structure: "And God saw all that
he had made and found it very good" (Gen. 1:31). This natural
goodness of theirs receives an added dignity from their relation with the
human person, for whose use they have been created. And then, too, God
has willed to gather together all that was natural, all that was
supernatural, into a single whole in Christ, "so that in everything
he would have the primacy" (Col. 1:18). Far from depriving the
temporal order of its autonomy, of its specific ends, of its own
laws and resources, or its importance for human well-being, this design,
on the contrary, increases its energy and excellence, raising it at the
same time to the level of man's integral vocation here below.
In the course of history the use of temporal things has
been tarnished by serious defects. Under the influence of original sin
men have often fallen into very many errors about the true God,
human nature and the principles of morality. As a consequence human
conduct and institutions became corrupted, the human person itself
held in contempt. Again in our own days not a few, putting an
immoderate trust in the conquests of science and technology, turn off
into a kind of idolatry of the temporal; they become the slaves of it
rather than the masters.
It is the work of the entire Church to fashion men able
to establish the proper scale of values on the temporal order and
direct it towards God through Christ. Pastors have the duty to set
forth clearly the principles concerning the purpose of creation and the
use to be made of the world, and to provide moral and spiritual helps
for the renewal of the temporal order in Christ.
Laymen ought to take on themselves as their distinctive
task this renewal of the temporal order. Guided by the light of the
Gospel and the mind of the Church, prompted by Christian love, they
should act in this domain in a direct way and in their own specific
manner. As citizens among citizens they must bring to their cooperation
with others their own special competence, and act on their own
responsibility; everywhere and always they have to seek the justice of
the kingdom of God. The temporal order is to be renewed in such a
way that, while its own principles are fully respected, it is
harmonized with the principles of the Christian life and adapted to the
various conditions of times, places and peoples. Among the tasks of
this apostolate Christian social action is preeminent. The Council
desires to see it extended today to every sector of life, not forgetting
the cultural sphere.[2]
CHARITABLE WORKS AND SOCIAL AID
8. While every activity of the apostolate should find
in charity its origin and driving force, certain works are of
their nature a most eloquent expression of this charity; and Christ
has willed that these should be signs of his messianic mission (cf.
Mt. 11:4-5).
The greatest commandment of the law is to love God
with one's whole heart and one's neighbour as oneself (cf. Mt. 22:37-
40). Christ has made this love of the neighbour his personal commandment
and has enriched it with a new meaning when he willed himself, along
with his brothers, to be the object of this charity saying: "When
you showed it to one of the least of my brothers here, you showed it
to me" (Mt. 25:40). In assuming human nature he has united to
himself all humanity in a supernatural solidarity which makes of it one
single family. He has made charity the distinguishing mark of his
disciples, in the words: "By this will all men know you for my
disciples, by the love you bear one another" (Jn. 13:35).
In the early days the Church linked the "agape" to
the eucharistic supper, and by so doing showed itself as one body
around Christ united by the bond of charity. So too, in all ages,
love is its characteristic mark. While rejoicing at initiatives taken
else where, it claims charitable works as its own mission and right.
That is why mercy to the poor and the sick, and charitable works and
works of mutual aid for the alleviation of all kinds of human needs,
are held in special honour in the Church.[3]
Today these activities and works of charity have become
much more urgent and world-wide, now that means of communication are
more rapid, distance between men has been more or less conquered, people
in every part of the globe have become as members of a single
family. Charitable action today can and should reach all men and all
needs. Wherever men are to be found who are in want of food and
drink, of clothing, housing, medicine, work, education, the means
necessary for leading a truly human life, wherever there are men
racked by misfortune or illness, men suffering exile or
imprisonment, Christian charity should go in search of them and find
them out, comfort them with devoted care and give them the helps
that will relieve their needs. This obligation binds first and
foremost the more affluent individuals and nations [4]
If this exercise of charity is to be above all
criticism, and seen to be so, one should see in one's neighbour the
image of God to which he has been created, and Christ the Lord to
whom is really offered all that is given to the needy. The liberty
and dignity of the person helped must be respected with the greatest
sensitivity.
Purity of intention should not be stained by any self-seeking
or desire to dominate.[5] The demands of justice must first of
all be satisfied; that which is already due in justice is not to
be offered as a gift of charity. The cause of evils, and
not merely their effects, ought to disappear. The aid contributed
should be organized in such a way that beneficiaries are
gradually freed from their dependence on others and become self-
supporting.
The laity should therefore highly esteem, and support as
far as they can, private or public works of charity and social
assistance movements, including international schemes. By these
channels effective help is brought to individuals and nations in need.
They should collaborate in this with all men of good will.[6]
CHAPTER III
THE VARIOUS FIELDS OF THE APOSTOLATE
9. The lay apostolate, in all its many aspects, is
exercised both in the Church and in the world. In either case
different fields of apostolic action are open to the laity. We
propose to mention here the chief among them: Church communities,
the family, the young, the social environment, national and international
spheres. Since in our days women are taking an increasingly active share
in the whole life of society, it is very important that their
participation in the various sectors of the Church's apostolate
should likewise develop.
CHURCH COMMUNITIES
10. Participators in the function of Christ,
priest, prophet and king, the laity have an active part of their own
in the life and action of the Church. Their action within the Church
communities is so necessary that without it the apostolate of the
pastors will frequently be unable to obtain its full effect. Following
in the footsteps of the men and women who assisted Paul in the
proclamation of the Gospel (cf. Acts 18:18-26; Rom. 16:3), lay
persons of a genuinely apostolic spirit supply the needs of their
brothers and are a source of consolation no less to the pastors than
to the rest of the faithful (cf. 1 Cor. 16:17-18). Nourished by their
active participation in the liturgical life of their community, they
engage zealously in its apostolic works; they draw men towards the
Church who had been perhaps very far away from it; they ardently
cooperate in the spread of the Word of God, particularly by catechetical
instruction; by their expert assistance they increase the efficacy of
the care of souls as well as of the administration of the goods of the
Church.
The parish offers an outstanding example of
community apostolate, for it gathers into a unity all the human
diversities that are found there and inserts them into the
universality of the Church.[1] The laity should develop the habit
of working in the parish in close union with their priests,[2] of
bringing before the ecclesial community their own problems, world
problems, and questions regarding man's salvation, to examine them
together and solve them by general discussion. According to their
abilities the laity ought to cooperate in all the apostolic and
missionary enterprises of their ecclesial family.
The laity will continuously cultivate the "feeling for
the diocese," of which the parish is a kind of cell; they will be
always ready on the invitation of their bishop to make their own
contribution to diocesan undertakings. Indeed, they will not
confine their cooperation within the limits of the parish or
diocese, but will endeavour in response to the needs of the towns and
rural districts,[3] to extend it to interparochial,
interdiocesan, national and interna-tional spheres. This widening of
horizons is all the more necessary in the present situation, in which
the increasing frequency of popula-tion shifts, the development
of active solidarity and the ease of communications no longer
allow any one part of society to live in isolation. The laity
will therefore have concern for the needs of the People of God
scattered throughout the world. Especially will they make missionary
works their own by providing them with material means and even
with personal service. It is for Christians a duty and an honour to
give God back a portion of the goods they have received from him.
THE FAMILY
11. The Creator of all made the married state the beginning
and foundation of human society; by his grace he has made of it
too a great mystery in Christ and in the Church (cf. Eph. 5:32),
and so the apostolate of married persons and of families has a special
importance for both Church and civil society.
Christian couples are, for each other, for their children
and for their relatives, cooperators of grace and witnesses of
the faith. They are the first to pass on the faith to their children
and to educate them in it. By word and example they form them
to a Christian and apostolic life; they offer them wise guidance in
the choice of vocation, and if they discover in them a sacred
vocation they encourage it with all care.
Go give clear proof in their own lives of the indissolubility and holiness of the marriage bond; to assert with vigour
the right and duty of parents and guardians to give their
children a Christian upbringing; to defend the dignity and legitimate
autonomy of the family: this has always been the duty of married
persons; today, however, it has become the most important aspect of
their apostolate.
They and all the faithful, therefore, should collaborate with men
of good will in seeing that these rights are perfectly safeguarded
in civil legislation; that in social administration consideration
is given to the requirements of families in the matter of
housing, education of children, working conditions, social security and
taxes; and that in emigration regulations family life is
perfectly safeguarded.[4]
The mission of being the primary vital cell of society has
been given to the family by God himself. This mission will be
accomplished if the family, by the mutual affection of its members
and by family prayer, presents itself as a domestic sanctuary of
the Church; if the whole family takes its part in the Church's
liturgical worship; if, finally, it offers active hospitality, and
practices justice and other good works for the benefit of all its
brothers suffering from want. Among the various works of the family
apostolate the following may be listed: adopting abandoned children,
showing a loving welcome to strangers, helping with the running of
schools, supporting adolescents with advice and help, assisting engaged
couples to make a better preparation for marriage, taking a share
in catechism-teaching, supporting married people and families in
a material or moral crisis, and in the case of the aged not only
providing them with what is indispensable but also procuring for
them a fair share of the fruits of economic progress.
Everywhere and always, but especially in regions where the
first seeds of the Gospel are just being sown, or where the Church
is still in its infancy or finds itself in a critical
situation, Christian families bear a very valuable witness to Christ
before the world when all their life they remain attached to the
Gospel and hold up the example of Christian marriage[5]
To attain the ends of their apostolate more easily it can be
of advantage for families to organize themselves into groups.[6]
YOUNG PEOPLE
12. Young people exert a very important influence in modern
society.[7] The circumstances of their life, their habits
of thought, their relations with their families, have been
completely transformed. Often they enter too rapidly a new social and
economic environment. While their social and even political importance
is on the increase day by day, they seem unequal to the weight
of these new respon-sibilities.
The growth of their social importance demands from them a
corresponding apostolic activity; and indeed their natural character
inclines them in this direction. Carried along by their natural ardour
and exuberant energy, when awareness of their own personality ripens
in them they shoulder responsibilities that are theirs and are eager
to take their place in social and cultural life. If this enthusiasm
is penetrated with the spirit of Christ, animated by a sense of
obedience and love towards the pastors of the Church, a very rich
harvest can be expected from it. The young should become the first
apostles of the young, in direct contact with them, exercising the
apostolate by themselves among themselves, taking account of their
social environment.[8]
Adults should be anxious to enter into friendly dialogue
with the young, where, despite the difference in age, they could get
to know one another and share with one another their own personal
riches. It is by example first of all and, on occasion, by sound
advice and practical help that adults should persuade the young to
undertake the apostolate. The young, on their side, will treat their
elders with respect and confidence; and though by nature inclined to
favour what is new, they will have due esteem for praiseworthy traditions.
Children too have an apostolate of their own. In their own
measure they are true living witnesses of Christ among their
companions.
APOSTOLATE OF LIKE TOWARDS LIKE
13. The apostolate in one's social environment endeavour to
infuse the Christian spirit into the mentality and behaviour, laws and
structures of the community in which one lives. To such a degree is
it the special work and responsibility of lay people, that no one else
can every properly supply for them. In this area laymen can conduct
the apostolate of like towards like. there the witness of their life
is completed by the witness of their word.[9] It is amid the
surroundings of their work that they are best qualified to be of help
to their brothers, in the surroundings of their profession, of
their study, residence, leisure or local group.
The laity accomplish the Church's mission in the world
principally by that blending of conduct and faith which makes them the
light of the world; by that uprightness in all their dealings which is
for every man such an incentive to love the true and the good and
which is capable of inducing him at last to go to Christ and the
Church; by that fraternal charity that makes them share the living
conditions and labours, the sufferings and yearnings of their brothers,
and thereby prepare all hearts, gently, imperceptibly, for the action
of saving grace; by that full awareness of their personal responsibility in the development of society, which drives them on to
perform their family, social and professional duties with Christian
generosity. In this way their conduct makes itself gradually felt in
the surroundings where they live and work.
This apostolate should reach out to every single person in
that environment; and it must not exclude any good, spiritual or
temporal, that can be done for them. Genuine apostles are not content, however, with just this; they are earnest also about revealing
Christ by word to those around them. It is a fact that many men
cannot hear the Gospel and come to acknowledge Christ except through
the laymen they associate with.
THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVELS
14. On the national and international planes the field of
the apostolate is vast; and it is there that the laity more than
others are the channels of Christian wisdom. In their patriotism and
in their fidelity to their civic duties Catholics will feel themselves
bound to promote the true common good; they will make the weight of
their convictions so influential that as a result civil authority will
be justly exercised and laws will accord with the moral precepts and
the common good. Catholics versed in politics and, as should be the
case, firm in the faith and Christian teaching, should not decline to
enter public life; for by a worthy discharge of their functions, they
can work for the common good and at the same time prepare the way for
the Gospel.
Catholics are to be keen on collaborating with all men of
good will in the promotion of all that is true, just, holy, all that
is worthy of love (cf. Phil. 4:8). They are to enter into dialogue
with them, approaching them with understanding and courtesy; and are
to search for means of improving social and public institutions along
the lines of the Gospel.
---
9. Cf. Pius XI, Encyclical Letter "Quadragesimo Anno". 15
May
1931: AAS 23 (1931) pp. 225-226.
---
Among the signs of our times, particularly worthy of note is
the very growing and inescapable sense of the solidarity of all
peoples. It is the task of the lay apostolate to take pains in
developing this sense and transforming it into a really sincere desire
for brotherly union. The laity should have an awareness also of the
international sector, of the doctrinal and practical problems and
solutions that are brought forward there, in particular those concerned with newly developing nations.[10]
Everyone who works in foreign nations or brings them aid
must remember that relations among peoples should be a real fraternal
interchange in which both parties give and at the same time receive.
Those who travel abroad, for international activities, on business or
on holiday, should keep in mind that no matter where they may be they
are the travelling messengers of Christ, and should bear themselves
really as such.
----
10. Cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Letter "Mater et Magistra", 15 May
1961: AAS 53 (1961) pp. 448- 450.
----
CHAPTER IV
THE DIFFERENT FORMS OF THE APOSTOLATE
15. The laity can exercise their apostolic activity
either singly or grouped in various communities or associations.
INDIVIDUAL APOSTOLATE
16. The apostolate to be exercised by the individual ---
which flows abundantly from a truly Christian life (cf. Jn. 4:11) ---
is the starting point and condition of all types of lay apostolate,
including the organized apostolate; nothing can replace it.
The individual apostolate is everywhere and always in place;
in certain circumstances it is the only one appropriate, the only one
possible. Every lay person, whatever his condition is called to, is
obliged to it, even if he has not the opportunity or possibility of
collaborating in associations.
The apostolate, through which the laity build up the Church,
sanctify the world and get it to live in Christ, can take on many
forms.
A special form of the individual apostolate is the witness
of a whole lay life issuing from faith, hope and charity; it is a sign
very much in keeping with our times, and a manifestation of Christ
living in his faithful. Then, by the apostolate of the word, which in
certain circumstances is absolutely necessary, the laity proclaim
Christ, explain and spread his teachings, each one according to his
condition and competence, and profess those teachings with fidelity.
Moreover, cooperating as citizens of this world in all that
has to do with constructing and conducting of the temporal order, the
laity should, by the light of faith, try to find the higher motives
that should govern their behaviour in the home and in professional,
cultural and social life; they should too, given the opportunity, let
these motives be seen by others, conscious that by so doing they
become cooperators with God the creator, redeemer and sanctifier, and
give him glory.
Finally, the laity should vitalize their lives with charity
and, to the extent of the capability of each give concrete expression
to it in works.
All should remember that by public worship and by prayer, by
penance and the willing acceptance of the toil and hardships of life
by which they resemble the suffering Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 4:10; Col.
1:24), they can reach all men and contribute to the salvation of the
entire world.
INDIVIDUAL APOSTOLATE IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES
17. There is an imperative need for the individual apostolate in those areas where the Church's freedom is seriously hampered.
In such difficult circumstances the laity take over as far as possible
the work of priests, jeopardizing their own freedom and sometimes
their lives; they teach Christian doctrine to those around them, train
them in a religious way of life and in Catholic attitudes, encourage
them to receive the sacraments frequently and to cultivate piety,
especially eucharistic piety.[1] The Council renders God most
heartfelt thanks that even in our own times he is still raising up
laymen with heroic courage in the midst of persecutions; the Council
embraces them with gratitude and fatherly affection.
The individual apostolate has a special field in regions
where Catholics are few and scattered. In such circumstances the
laity who exercise only the personal apostolate --- whether from the
reasons mentioned above or from particular motives arising, among
other things, from their professional activity --- can gather for
discussion into small groups with no rigid form of rules or organization.
This is particularly appropriate in the present instance, for
it ensures the continual presence before the eyes of others of a sign
of the Church's community, a sign that will be seen as a genuine
witness of love. Thus, by affording mutual spiritual aid by
friendship and the exchange of personal experiences, they get the
courage to surmount the difficulties of too isolated a life and
activity and can increase the yield f their apostolate.
GROUP APOSTOLATE
18. The faithful are called as individuals to exercise an
apostolate in the various conditions of their life. They must,
however, remember that man is social by nature and that it has been
God's pleasure to assemble those who believe in Christ and make of
them the People of God (cf. 1 Pet. 2:5-10), a single body (cf. 1 Cor.
12:12). The group apostolate is in happy harmony therefore with a
fundamental need in the faithful, a need that is both human and
Christian. At the same time it offers a sign of the communion and
unity of the Church in Christ, who said: "Where two or three are
gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them" (Mt.
18:20).
---
1. Cf. Pius XII, "Alloc. ad I Conventum ex Omnibus Gentibus
Laicorum Apostolatui provehendo", 15 Oct 1951: AAS 43 (1951)
p. 788.
---
For that reason Christians will exercise their apostolate in
a spirit of concord.[2] They will be apostles both in their
families and in the parishes and dioceses, which already are
themselves expressions of the community character of the apostolate;
apostles too in the free associations they will have decided to
form among themselves.
The group apostolate is very important also for another
reason: often, either in ecclesial communities or in various other
environments, the apostolate calls for concerted action.
Organizations created for group apostolate afford support to their members,
train them for the apostolate, carefully assign and direct their
apostolic activities; and as a result a much richer harvest can be
hoped for from them than if each one were to act on his own.
In present circumstances it is supremely necessary that
wherever the laity are at work the apostolate under its collective and
organized form should be strengthened. In actual fact only a well-
knit combination of efforts can completely attain all the aims of the
modern apostolate and give its fruits good protection.[3] From
this point of view it is particularly important for the
apostolate to establish contact with the group attitudes and social
conditions of the persons who are its object; otherwise these
will often be in-capable of withstanding the pressure of public
opinion or of social institutions.
VARIOUS TYPES OF GROUP APOSTOLATE
119. Great variety is to be found in apostolic
associations.[4] Some look to the general apostolic end of the
Church; others aim specifically at evangelization and sanctification;
others work for the permeation of the temporal order by the
Christian spirit; and other engage in works of mercy and of charity
as their special way of bearing witness to Christ.
First among these associations to be given consideration
should be those which favour and promote a more intimate unity between
the faith of the members and their everyday life. Associations are
not ends in themselves; they are meant to be of service to the
Church's mission to the world. Their apostolic value depends on their
conformity with the Church's aims, as well as on the Christian witness
---
2. Cf. Pius XII, "Alloco. ad I conventum ex Omnibus Gentiubs
laicorum Apostolatui provehendo", 15 Oct. 1951: AAS 43 (1951)
pp. 787-788.
3. Cf. Pius XII, Encyclical Letter "Le pelerinage de Lourdes", 2
July 1957: AAS 49 (1957) p. 615
4. Cf. Pius XII, "Alloc. ad Consilium Foederationis
internationalis virorum catholicorum", 8 Dec. 1956: AAS 49
(1957) pp. 26-27.
---
and evangelical spirit of each of their members and of the association
as a whole.
As a consequence of the progress of institutions and the
rapid evolution of modern society, the universal nature of the
Church's mission requires that the apostolic initiations of Catholics
should more and more perfect the various types of international
organizations. Catholic international organizations will the more
surely gain their object, the more intimately the groups that compost
them, as well as their members are united to them.
While preserving intact the necessary link with ecclesiastical authority[5] the laity have the right to establish and
direct associations,[6] and to join existing ones. Dissipation of
forces must, however, be avoided; this would happen if new
associations and works were created without sufficient reason, if old
ones now grown useless were held on to, if out-of-date methods
continued to be employed. It will not always be a wise
procedure, either, to transfer indiscriminately into some
particular country forms that have arisen in another.[7]
CATHOLIC ACTION
20. Several decades ago lay people, dedicating themselves
increasingly to the apostolate, in many countries formed themselves
into various kinds of movements and societies which, in closer union
with the hierarchy, have pursued and continue to pursue ends properly
apostolic. Among these institutions, as indeed among other similar
older ones, special mention must be made of those which, though using
differing methods, have yielded abundant fruit for the kingdom of
Christ. Deservedly praised and promoted by the popes and numerous
bishops, they have received from them the name of Catholic Action, and
have most often been described by them as a collaboration of the laity
in the hierarchical apostolate.[8]
These types of apostolate, whether or not they go by the
name of Catholic Action, are today doing a work of much value. They
are constituted by the combination of all the following characteristics:
---
5. Cf. below, Chap. V, no. 24.
6. Cf. Decree of the Sacred Congregation of the Council,
"Corrienten.", 13 Nov. 1920: AAS 13 (1921) p. 139.
7. Cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Letter "Princeps Pastorum", 10 Dec.
1959. AAS 51 (1959) p. 836.
8. Cf. Pius XI, Letter "Quae nobis", to Cardinal Bertram", 13
Nov. 1928: AAS 20 (1928) p. 385. Cf. also Pius XII, " Alloc.
ad A.C. Italicam", 4 Sept. 1940: AAS 32 (1940) p. 362.
---
(a) The immediate end of organizations of this class is the
apostolic end of the Church; in other words: the evangelization and
sanctification of men and the Christian formation of their conscience,
so as to enable them to imbue with the Gospel spirit the various
social groups and environments.
(b) The laity, cooperating in their own particular way with
the hierarchy, contribute their experience and assume responsibility
in the direction of these organizations, in the investigation of the
conditions in which the Church's pastoral work is to be carried on, in
the elaboration and execution of their plan of action.
(c) The laity act in unison after the manner of an organic
body, to display more strikingly the community aspect of the Church
and to render the apostolate more productive.
(d) The laity, whether coming of their own accord or in
response to an invitation to action and direct cooperation with the
hierarchical apostolate, act under the superior direction of the
hierarchy, which can authorize this cooperation, besides, with an
explicit mandate.
Organization which, in the judgment of the hierarchy,
combine all these elements should be regarded as Catholic Action, even
if they have forms and names that vary according too the requirements
of localities and peoples.
The council most earnestly commends those institutions which
certainly meet the requirements of the Church's apostolate in many
countries; it invites the priests and laity working in them to develop
more and more the characteristics mentioned above, and always to give
brotherly cooperation in the Church to all other forms of the apostolate.
SPECIAL COMMENDATION
21. Proper esteem is to be shown to all associations of the
apostolate; those, however, which the hierarchy has praised, com-
mended, or decided to found as more urgent to meet the needs of times
and places, should be valued most by priests, religious and lay
people, and developed each in its own way. And among these organizations today especially must be numbered the international associations
or societies of Catholics.
22. Worthy of special respect and praise in the Church are
the laity, single or married, who, in a definitive way or for a
period, put their person and their professional competence at the
service of institutions and their activities. It is a great joy to
the Church to see growing day by day the number of lay people who are
offering their personal service to associations and works of the
apostolate, whether within the confines of their own country, or in
the international field, or, above all, in the Catholic communities of
the missions and of the young Churches.
Pastors are to welcome these lay persons with joy and
gratitude. They will see to it that their conditions of life satisfies as perfectly as possible the requirements of justice, equity and
charity, chiefly in the matter of resources necessary for the maintenance of themselves and their families. They should too be provided
with the necessary training and with spiritual comfort and encouragement.
CHAPTER V
THE ORDER TO BE OBSERVED
23. The lay apostolate, individual or collective, must be
set in its true place within the apostolate of the whole Church.
Union with those whom the Holy Spirit has appointed to rule the Church
of God (cf. Acts 20:28) is an essential element of the Christian
apostolate. Not less necessary is collaboration among the different
undertakings of the apostolate; it is the hierarchy's place to put
proper system into this collaboration.
Mutual esteem for all forms of the church's apostolate, and
good coordination, preserving nevertheless the character special to
each, are in fact absolutely necessary for promoting that spirit of
unity which will cause fraternal charity to shine out in the Church's
whole apostolate, common aims to be reached and ruinous rivalries
avoided.[1]
This is appropriate most of all when some particular action
in the Church calls for the agreement and apostolic cooperation of
both classes of the clergy, of religious and of the laity.
RELATIONS WITH THE HIERARCHY
234. The hierarchy's duty is to favour the lay apostolate,
furnish it with principles and spiritual assistance, direct the
exercise of the apostolate to the common good of the Church, and see
to it that doctrine and order are safeguarded.
Yet the lay apostolate allows of different kinds of relations with the hierarchy, depending on the various forms and objects
of this apostolate.
In the Church are to be found, in fact, very many apostolic
enterprises owing their origin to the free choice of the laity and run
at their own discretion. Such enterprises enable the Church, in
certain circumstances, to fulfil her mission more effectively; not
seldom, therefore, are they praised and commended by the
hierarchy.[2] But no enterprise must lay claim to the name "Catholic"
if it has not the approval of legitimate ecclesiastical authority.
Certain types of the lay apostolate are explicitly recognized by the hierarchy though in different ways.
---
1. Cf. Pius XI, Encyclical Letter "Quamvis Nostra", 30 April
1936: AAS 28 (1936) pp. 160-161.
2. Cf. Sacred Congregation of the Council, Resolution
"Corrienten.", 13 Nov. 1920: AAS 13 (1921) pp. 137-140.
---
Ecclesiastical authority, looking to the needs of the common
good of the Church, may also, from among apostolic associations and
undertakings aiming immediately at a spiritual goal, pick out some
which it will foster in a particular way; in these it assumes a
special responsibility. And so, organizing the apostolate differently
according to circumstances, the hierarchy brings into closer conjunction with its own apostolic functions such-and-such a form of apostolate, without, however, changing the specific nature of either or the
distinction between the two, and consequently without depriving the
laity of their rightful freedom to act on their own initiative. This
act of the hierarchy has received the name of "mandate" in various
ecclesiastical documents.
Finally, the hierarchy entrusts the laity with certain
charges more closely connected with the duties of pastors: in the
teaching of Christian doctrine, for example, in certain liturgical
actions, in the care of souls. In virtue of this mission the laity
are fully subject to superior ecclesiastical control in regard to the
exercise of these charges.
As for works and institutions of the temporal order, the
duty of the ecclesiastical hierarchy is the teaching and authentic
interpretation of the moral principles to be followed in this domain.
It is also in its province to judge, after mature reflection and with
the help of qualified persons, of the conformity of such works or
institutions with moral principles, and to pronounce in their regard
concerning what is required for the safeguard and promotion of the
values of the supernatural order.
RELATIONS WITH THE CLERGY AND WITH RELIGIOUS
25. Bishops, parish priests and other priests of the
secular and regular clergy will remember that the right and duty of
exercising the apostolate are common to all the faithful, whether
clerics or lay; and that in the building up of the church the laity
too have parts of their own to play.[3] for this reason they will
work as brothers with the laity in the Church and for the Church, and
will have a special concern for the laity in the apostolic
activities of the latter.[4]
A careful choice will be made of priests with the ability
and appropriate training for helping special forms of the lay apostolate.[5] Those who take part in this ministry in virtue of a
mission
---
3. Cf. Pius XII, "Ad Il Conventum ex Omnibus Gentibus
Laicorum
Apostolatui provehendo", 5 Oct. 1957: AAS 49 (1957) p. 927.
4. Cf. Dogmatic Constitution "De Ecclesia", chap. IV, no. 37:
AAS 57 (1965) pp. 42- 43.
5. Cf. Pius XII, Apostolic Exhortation "Menti Nostrae", 32 Sept.
1950: AAS 42 (1950) p. 660.
---
received from the hierarchy represent the hierarchy in this pastoral
action of theirs. Ever faithfully attached to the spirit and teaching
of the church they will promote good relations between laity and
hierarchy, they will devote their energies to fostering the spiritual
life and the apostolic sense of the Catholic associations confided to
them; their wise advice will be there to help these along in their
enterprises. In constant dialogue with the laity they will make
painstaking search for methods capable of making apostolic action more
fruitful; they will develop the spirit of unity within the association, and between it and others.
Lastly, religious Brothers and Sisters will hold lay apostolic works in high regard; and will gladly help in promoting them in
accordance with the spirit and rules of their institute;[6] they
will strive to support, assist and complete the ministrations
of the priest.
SPECIAL COUNCILS
26. In dioceses, as far as possible, councils should be set
up to assist the Church's apostolic work, whether in the field of
evangelization and sanctification or in the fields of charity, social
relations and the rest; the clergy and religious working with the
laity in whatever way proves satisfactory. These councils can take
care of the mutual coordinating of the various lay associations and
undertakings, the autonomy and particular nature of each remaining
untouched.[7]
Such councils should be found too, if possible, at parochial,
interparochial, interdiocesan level, and also on the
national and international plane.[8]
In addition, a special secretariat should be established at
the Holy See for the service and promotion of the lay apostolate.
This secretariat will act as a center which, with the proper equipment, will supply information about the different apostolic initiatives of the laity. It will undertake research on the problems
arising today in this domain; and with its advice will assist the
hierarchy and laity in the field of apostolic activities. The various
apostolic movements and institutes of the lay apostolate all over the
world over should be represented in this secretariat. Clerics and
religious should also be there to collaborate with the laity.
COOPERATION WITH OTHER CHRISTIANS AND NON-CHRISTIANS
---
6. Cf. Decree "De Accomodata renovatione vitae religiosae", no.
8.
7. Cf. Benedict XIV, "De Synodo Dioecesana", book III, chap. IX,
no. VII.
8. Cf. Pius XI, Encyclical Letter "Quamvis Nostra", 30 April
1936: AAS 28 (1936) pp. 160-161.
---
27. The common patrimony of the Gospel and the common duty
resulting from it of bearing a Christian witness make it desirable,
and often imperative, that Catholics cooperate with other Christians,
either in activities or in societies; this collaboration is carried on
by individuals and by ecclesial communities, and at national or
international level.[9]
Not seldom also do human values common to all mankind
require of Christians working for apostolic ends that they collaborate
with those who do not profess Christianity but acknowledge these
values.
Through this dynamic, yet prudent, cooperation,[10] which
is of great importance in temporal activities, the laity bears witness
to Christ the Saviour or the world, and to the unity of the human
family
---
9. Cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Letter "Mater et Magistra", 15 May
1961: AAS 53 (1961) pp. 456- 457; Cf. Decree " De
Oecumenismo", chap. II, no. 12: AAS 57 (1965) pp. 99-100.
10. Cf. Decree "De Oecumenismo", chap. II, no. 12: AAS 57 (1965)
p. 100; cf. also Dogmatic Constitution "De Ecclesia", chap.
II, no 15: AAS 57 (1965) pp. 19-20.
---
CHAPTER VI
TRAINING FOR THE APOSTOLATE
THE NEED FOR TRAINING
28. A training, at once many-sided and complete, is indispensable if the apostolate is to attain full efficacy. This is
required, not only by the continuous spiritual and doctrinal progress
of the layman himself, but also by the variety of circumstances,
persons and duties to which he should adapt his activity. This
education to the apostolate must rest on those foundations which the
council has in other places set down and expounded.[1] Not a few
types of apostolate require, besides the education common to all
Christians, a specific and individual training, by reason of the
diversity of persons and circumstances.
PRINCIPLES OF TRAINING
29. Since the laity participate in the Church's mission in
a way that is their own, their apostolic training acquires a special
character precisely from the secularity proper to the lay state and
from its particular type of spirituality.
Education for the apostolate presupposes an integral human
education suited to each one's abilities and conditions. for the
layman ought to be, through an intimate knowledge of the contemporary
world, a member well integrated into his own society and its culture.
But in the first place he should learn to accomplish the
mission of Christ and the Church, living by faith in the divine
mystery of creation and redemption, moved by the Holy Spirit who gives
life to the People of God and urges all men to love God the Father,
and in him to love the world of men. This education must be considered the foundation and condition of any fruitful apostolate.
Besides spiritual formation, solid grounding in doctrine is
required: in theology, ethics and philosophy, at least, proportioned
to the age, condition and abilities of each one. The importance too
of a general culture linked with a practical and technical training is
something which should by no means be overlooked.
If good human relations are to be cultivated, then it is
necessary for genuine human values to stand at a premium, especially
the art of living and working on friendly terms with others and
entering into dialogue with them.
---
1. Cf. Dogmatic Constitution "De Ecclesia", shaps. II, IV, V:
AAS 57 (1965) pp. 12-21, 37-49; cf also Decree " De
Oecumenismo", nos. 4, 6, 7, 12: AAS 57 (1965) pp. 94, 96, 97,
99, 100; cf. also above, no. 4.
----
Training for the apostolate cannot consist in theoretical
teaching alone; on that account there is need, right from the start of
training, to learn gradually and prudently to see all things in the
light of faith, to judge and act always in its light, to improve and
perfect oneself by working with others, and in this manner to enter
actively into the service of the Church.[2] Inasmuch as the
human person is continuously developing and new problems are forever
arising, this education should be steadily perfected; it requires an
ever more thorough knowledge and a continual adaptation of action.
While meeting all its demands, concern for the unity and integrity
of the human person must be kept always in the foreground, in
order to preserve and intensify its harmony and equilibrium.
In this way the layman actively inserts himself deep into
the very reality of the temporal order and takes his part competently
in the work of the world. At the same time, as a living member and
witness of the Church, he brings its presence and its action into the
heart of the temporal sphere.[3]
THOSE WHO TRAIN OTHERS FOR THE APOSTOLATE
30. Training for the apostolate should begin from the very
start of a child's education. But it is more particularly adolescents
and youth who should be initiated into the apostolate and imbued with
its spirit. This training should be continued all through life, to
fit them to meet the demands of fresh duties. It is clear, then, that
those with responsibility for Christian education have also the duty
of attending to this apostolic education.
It rests with parents to prepare their children from an
early age, within the family circle, to discern God's love for all
men; they will teach them little by little --- and above all by their
example --- to have concern for their neighbours needs, material and
spiritual. The whole family, accordingly, and its community life
should become a kind of apprenticeship to the apostolate.
Children must be trained, besides, to go beyond the confines
of the family and taken an interest in both ecclesial and temporal
communities. Their integration into the local parish community should
succeed in bring them the awareness of being living, active members of
the People of God. Priests, for their part, should not lose sight of
this question of training for the apostolate when catechizing, preaching and directing souls, and in other functions of the pastoral
ministry.
---
2. Cf. Pius XII, "Ad I Conferentiam internationalem
'boy-scouts'", 6 June 1952: AAS 44 (1952) pp. 579-580; John
XXIII Encyclical Letter "Mater et Magistra", 15 May 1961: AAS
53 (1961) p. 456.
3. Cf. Dogmatic constitution "De Ecclesia", chap. IV, no. 33:
AAS 57 (1965) p. 39.
---
Schools and colleges and other Catholic educational institutions should foster in the young a catholic outlook and apostolic
action. If the young do not get this type of education, either
because they do not attend these schools, or for some other reason,
all the greater is the responsibility for it that devolves upon
parents, pastoral and apostolic bodies. As for teachers and
educators, who by their calling and position practice an outstanding
form of lay apostolate, adequate learning and a thorough grasp of
pedagogy is a prerequisite to any success in this branch of education.
The various lay groups and associations dedicated to the
apostolate or to any other supernatural end should look after this
education to the apostolate with care and constancy, in ways consistent with their objectives and limits.[4] Frequently they are
the ordinary channel of adequate apostolic training; doctrinal,
spiritual and practical. The members, gathered in small groups
with their companions or friends, evaluate the methods and
results of their apostolic action, and measure their everyday behaviour
by the Gospel.
The training should ,be pursued in such a way as to take
account of the entire range of the lay apostolate, an apostolate that
is to be exercised in all circumstances and in every sector of life
--- in the professional and social sectors especially --- and not
confined within the precincts of the associations. In point of fact,
every single lay person should himself actively undertake his own
preparation for the apostolate. Especially for adults does this hold
true; for as the years pass, self-awareness expands and so allows each
one to get a clearer view of the talents with which God has enriched
his life and to bring in better results from the exercise of the
charisms given him by the Holy Spirit for the good of his brothers.
FIELDS CALLING FOR SPECIALIZED TRAINING
31. Different types of apostolate require their own appropriate method of training:
(a) the apostolate of evangelization and sanctification:
the laity are to be specially trained for engaging in dialogue with
others, believers or non-believers, their aim being to set the message
of Christ before the eyes of all.[5] but as materialism under
various guises is today spreading far and wide, even among
Catholics, the laity should not make only a careful study of
Catholic doctrine, especially points that are called into question,
but should confront materialism of every type with the witness of
evangelical life.
---
4. Cf. John XXIII, Encyclical letter "Mater et Magistra", 15 May
1961: AAS 53 (1961) p. 455.
5. Cf. Pius XII, Encyclical Letter "Sertum laetitiae", 1 Nov.
1939: AAS 31 (1939) pp. 635-644; cf. idem., "Ad 'Laureati'
Act. Cath. It.", 24 May 1953.
---
(b) The Christian renewal of the temporal order: the laity
are to be instructed in the true meaning and value of temporal goods,
both in themselves and in their relation to all the aims of the human
person. The laity should gain experience in the right use of goods
and in the organization of institutions, paying heed always to the
common good in the light of the principles of the Church's moral and
social teaching. They should acquire such a knowledge of social
teaching especially, its principles and conclusions, as will fit them
for contributing to the best of their ability to the progress of that
teaching, and for making correct application of these same principles
and conclusions in individual cases.[6]
(c) works of charity and mercy bear a most striking testimony to Christian life; therefore, an apostolic training which has
as its object the performance of these works should enable the faithful to learn from very childhood to sympathize with their brothers,
and help them generously when in need.[7]
AIDS TO TRAINING
32. Many aids are now at the disposal of the laity who
devote themselves to the apostolate: namely, sessions, congresses,
recollections, retreats, frequent meetings, conferences, books and
periodicals; all these enable them to deepen their knowledge of holy
scripture and Catholic doctrine, nourish the spiritual life, and
become acquainted also with world conditions and discover and adopt
suitable methods.[8]
These educational aids take into account the various types
of apostolate exercised in this or that particular area.
With this end in view higher centres or institutes have been
created; these have already given excellent results.
The Council rejoices at initiatives of this kind now
flourishing in certain regions; it desires to see them take root in
other places too, wherever the need for them makes itself felt.
Moreover, centres of documentation and research should be
established, not only in theology but also in anthropology, psychology, sociology, methodology, for the benefit of all fields of the
---
6. Cf. Pius XII "Ad congressum Universalem Foederationis
Juventutis Femininae Catholicae", 18 April 1952: AAS 44
(1952) pp. 414-419; cf. idem., "Ad Associationem Christianam
Operariorum Italiae" (A.C.L.I.), 1 May 1955: AAS 47 (1955)
pp. 403-404.
7. Cf. Pius XII, "Ad Delegatos Conventus Sodalitatum Caritas", 27
April 1952: AAS, pp. 470-471.
8. Cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Letter "Mater et Magistra", 15 May
1961: AAS 53 (1961) p. 454.
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apostolate. The purpose of such centres is to create a more favourable
atmosphere for developing the aptitudes of the laity, men and women,
young and old.
EXHORTATION
33. The Council, then, makes to all the laity an earnest
appeal in the Lord to give a willing, noble and enthusiastic response
to the voice of Christ, who at this hour is summoning them more
pressingly, and to the urging of the Holy Spirit. The younger generation should feel this call to be addressed in a special way to themselves; they should welcome it eagerly and generously.
It is the Lord
himself, by this Council, who is once more inviting all the laity to
unite themselves to him ever more intimately, to consider his interests as their own (cf. Phil. 2:5), and to join in his mission as
Saviour. It is the Lord who is again sending them into every town and
every place where he himself is to come (cf. Lk. 10:1). He sends them
on the Church's apostolate, an apostolate that is one yet has different forms and methods, and apostolate that must all the time be
adapting itself to the needs of the moment; he sends them on a apostolate where they are to show themselves his cooperators doing their
full share continually in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the
Lord their labour cannot be lost (cf. Cor. 15:58).