Pope Francis is warning against the self-referential attitude of some lay ministers who become ‘puffed up’ by their ministry. Francis stressed the significance of lay ministers serving others rather than inflating their egos. “I get angry when I see lay ministers who — pardon the expression — are ‘puffed up’ by this ministry. This is Read more
Ahead of a Vatican conference, several church officials have emphasised the importance of empowering laypeople without “clericalising” them. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life, spoke of “co-responsibility” between clergy and laity, saying, “It does not mean that the laity in the church have to become clerics, and clerics Read more
Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix of Quebec has stated that pastors should help their people grow in a relationship with Jesus as shepherds, not be their bosses. Lacroix was speaking at a press conference previewing a three-day Vatican meeting on how to improve collaboration among laypeople, priests and bishops. Lacroix wants priests to recognise that laypeople Read more
Priests are not the best people to train others for marriage, according to the head of the Vatican’s office for the family. “They have no credibility; they have never lived the experience; they may know moral theology, dogmatic theology in theory, but to go from there to putting it into practice every day … they Read more
Women’s role in church life will be given greater focus thanks to an amendment Pope Francis has made to the statutes of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life. He has added a reference to the dicastery’s responsibility for promoting deeper reflection on the role of women in the church and society. “The dicastery Read more