The Essential and Irreplaceable Role of the Laity
By the Reverend Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Ph.D., S.T.D.
The great convert and thinker of the nineteenth century, St. John Henry Cardinal Newman, once was asked by his bishop what he considered the vocation of the laity to be. In an uncharacteristically laconic response, he quipped, “The Church would look foolish without them!”
He did, however, give a more detailed assessment on another occasion:
I want a laity, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but men who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold, and what they do not, who know their creed so well, that they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it. I want an intelligent, well-instructed laity; . . . I wish you to enlarge your knowledge, to cultivate your reason, to get an insight into the relation of truth to truth, to learn to view things as they are, to understand how faith and reason stand to each other. . . You ought to be able to bring out what you feel and what you mean, as well as to feel and mean it; to expose to the comprehension of others the fictions and fallacies of your opponents; and to explain the charges brought against the Church, to the satisfaction, not, indeed, of bigots, but of men of sense, of whatever cast of opinion.
What’s the upshot of a laity so formed?
One immediate effect of your being able to do all this will be your gaining that proper confidence in self which is so necessary for you. You will then not even have the temptation to rely on others, to court political parties or particular men; they will rather have to court you. You will no longer be dispirited or irritated (if such is at present the case), at finding difficulties in your way, in being called names, in not being believed, in being treated with injustice. You will fall back upon yourselves; you will be calm, you will be patient. Ignorance is the root of all littleness; he who can realise the law of moral conflicts, and the incoherence of falsehood, and the issue of perplexities, and the end of all things, and the Presence of the Judge, becomes, from the very necessity of the case, philosophical, long-suffering, and magnanimous.
Beyond the general “job description” for a lay person, what is the specific responsibility entrusted to the laity? Their apostolate is marked by its “secularity;” as Lumen Gentium of the Second Vatican Council puts it: “The secular character is properly and particularly that of the lay faithful” (n. 31). The Council Fathers’ document on the laity explains: “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, promoted by Christian love, they should act in this domain in a direct way and in their own specific manner. . . . Among the tasks of this apostolate [of the laity] Christian social action is preeminent” (Apostolicam Actuositatem, n. 7). And then, Vatican II’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, declares: “. . . it is of great importance, especially in a pluralistic society, to work out a proper vision of the relationship between the political community and the Church, and to distinguish clearly between the activities of Christians, acting individually or collectively, in their own name as citizens guided by the dictates of a Christian conscience, and their activity in communion with their pastors in the name of the Church” (n. 76).
In Pope John Paul II’s landmark apostolic exhortation on the laity, Christifideles Laici (hereafter CL), he begins by praising the wonderful work done by lay people in the Church, especially in response to the call of the Second Vatican Council. That having been said in all earnestness, he then goes on to note the Synod on the Laity’s concern “that the post-conciliar path of the lay faithful has not been without its difficulties and dangers” (n. 2). He continues: “In particular, two temptations can be cited which they have not always known how to avoid: The temptation of being so strongly interested in Church services and tasks that some fail to become actively engaged in their responsibilities in the professional, social, cultural and political world; and the temptation of legitimizing the unwarranted separation of faith from life, that is, a separation of the Gospel’s acceptance from the actual living of the Gospel in various situations in the world.”
Further on, he notes that the “specific lay vocation. . . is different from that of the sacred ministry” (n. 23). And so, what might that be? Relying on the conciliar documents and Pope Paul VI’s Evangelii Nuntiandi, St. John Paul highlights several fields appropriate for the lay apostolate: politics, society, economics, the sciences and arts, international life, mass media. For the average lay person, he says, “realities which are open to evangelization” include: “human love, the family, the education of children and adolescents, professional work, and suffering” (CL, n. 23).
The Holy Father identifies three special areas of concern for the Church in the world today: 1) a secularism born of atheism and the de-Christianization of society; 2) violations of human dignity, grounded in the creative work of Almighty God; 3) wars and conflicts which endanger or shatter peace. “This, then, is the vast field of labor that stands before the laborers sent forth by the ‘householder’ to work in his vineyard” (CL, n. 7). The entire People of God (clergy, religious, and laity alike) need to be represented here, but “the lay faithful have an essential and irreplaceable role in this announcement and in this testimony: through them the Church of Christ is made present in the various sectors of the world, as a sign and source of hope and of love” (CL, n. 7, emphasis added).
The apostolic exhortation then explicates this role: “The ‘world’ thus becomes the place and the means for the lay faithful to fulfill their Christian vocation, because the world itself is destined to glorify God the Father in Christ. . . . They are not called to abandon the position that they have in the world.” On the contrary, they are to function “like leaven” in the world; therefore, for them, “to be present and active in the world is not only an anthropological and sociological reality, but in a specific way, a theological and ecclesiological reality as well” (CL, n. 15).
Even more pointed is this teaching of the sainted Pope: “. . . the lay faithful are never to relinquish their participation in ‘public life’, that is, in the many different economic, social, legislative, administrative and cultural areas, which are intended to promote organically and institutionally the common good” (CL, n. 42).
Now, what are some concrete “take-aways” from these philosophical and theological principles?
First and foremost, Catholics do not support parties; we support policies. Though unfortunately this principle hasn’t always been followed. The late Archbishop John Whealon of Hartford once cheekily observed that if a child was baptized in this country between World War II and the Vietnam War, his parents received three documents on that day: the child’s baptismal certificate, a union card, and membership in the Democratic Party. To be Catholic in America meant to be a Democrat then.
Today we must be more discerning. The first time I was to vote in a presidential election was in 1972 as a 21-year-old seminarian. My mother asked for whom I intended to cast my ballot. I replied, “Richard Nixon.” “But he’s a Republican, and we’re Catholic,” came her swift reply. “But I can’t vote for a man like McGovern, with all his problematic policies.” No matter how hard I tried, her mantra was the same: “Nixon is a Republican, and we are Catholic.” As I entered the voting booth and reached for the lever, pulling it down for Nixon, I had something close to spasms, realizing that I would be the first member of my family to vote for a Republican. That night, I called home. My mother asked if I had voted. I responded in the affirmative. “Who got your vote?” “Nixon, as I told you.” I pressed on, “And who got your vote and Daddy’s?” “Nixon,” she answered sheepishly.
Now, to be clear: Although I have cast my ballot in every presidential election since 1972 for the Republican candidate, I care nothing for party loyalty. I have voted for that ticket solely because I could not (and still cannot) countenance the policies of the opposing party. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York was confronted by a reporter who asked why he appeared to be a Republican rather than a Democrat. Riffing on Ronald Reagan, he offered this terse response: “The Democratic Party left me; I didn’t leave the Democratic Party.” Policies, not party.
Next, what positions should you be representing? The absolute best and surest guide, all in one place, is the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. It highlights some foundational principles, like: the common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity, as well as certain non-negotiable issues, like: the right to life, marriage, the family, and parental freedom of choice in education.
Catholics must act in accord with an informed Catholic conscience; “conscience,” however, is not a synonym for “opinion.” A Catholic informs his conscience by nurturing his mind and heart on the infallible Word of God and the constant and consistent teaching of the Church down the ages. Cardinal Newman reminds us: “Conscience has rights because it has duties.” And our first duty is always to the truth as revealed by Almighty God and handed on by His Church.
While the Church proposes certain issues as admitting of no compromise, on other issues she allows for prudential judgments. For instance, care of the poor is essential, but what is the best way to bring about that effect? Welcome for migrants and refugees, to be sure, but under what circumstances? As the fundamental principle is clear, the Church leaves the “how” up to the wisdom and prudence of legislators. Why? Because people of good will can disagree on the means, even as they agree on the principle.
All believers, but especially public officials, are called to be a leaven in society. As Pope Pius XI taught in his ground-breaking encyclical on Catholic education, Divini Illius Magistri, this is “not mixing in party politics.” On the contrary, it is involvement “in a religious enterprise demanded by conscience” (n. 85).
Finally, let me offer some guidance on how to bring the City of Man more closely in line with the City of God. Note, however, that this side of the Lord’s Second Coming, there will never be a perfect fit between the two Cities, but taking steps in that direction should always be our goal—and that requires a good understanding of leadership. So, here are a dozen thoughts from Cardinal Newman in that regard:
1. But men are not easily wrought upon to be faithful advocates of any cause. Not only is the multitude fickle: but the best men, unless urged, tutored, disciplined to their work, give way; untrained nature has no principles. [P.S. I 286(24.4.1831)]
2. Calculation never made a hero. [Development of Doctrine, chapter 7/2.3 (Supremacy of Faith)]
3. It is plain every great change is effected by the few, not by the many; by the resolute, undaunted, zealous few. [P.S. I 287 (24.4.1831)]
4. Doubtless, much may be undone by the many, but nothing is done except by those who are specially trained for action. [P.S. I 288 (24.4.1831)]
5. A few highly-endowed men will rescue the world for centuries to come. [U.S. 97 (22.1.1832)]
6. I answer, that it has been upheld in the world not as a system, not by books, not by argument, nor by temporal power, but by the personal influence of such men… who are at once the teachers and the patterns of it…. Here, first, is to be taken into account the natural beauty and majesty of virtue, which is more or less felt by all but the most abandoned. I do not say virtue in the abstract,—virtue in a book. Men persuade themselves, with little difficulty, to scoff at principles, to ridicule books, to make sport of the names of good men; but they cannot bear their presence: it is holiness embodied in personal form, which they cannot steadily confront and bear down… [U.S. 91-92 (22.1.1832)]
7. To expect great effects from our exertions for religious objects is natural indeed, and innocent, but it arises from inexperience of the kind of work we have to do,—to change the heart and will of man. It is a far nobler frame of mind, to labour, not with the hope of seeing the fruit of our labour, but for conscience' sake, as a matter of duty; and again, in faith, trusting good will be done, though we see it not. [P.S. VIII 129 – 130 (12.9.1830)]
8. And how must Christians, on the other hand, treat such heartless men?… Never must we solicitously press the truth upon those who do not profit by what they already possess. It dishonours Christ, while it does the scorner harm, not good. It is casting pearls before swine. We must wait for all opportunities of being useful to men, but beware of attempting too much at once. [P.S. I 307 (8.5.1831)]
9. Rather, shunning all intemperate words, let us show our light before men by our works. [P.S. I 308 (8.5.1831)]
10. [The Church] fights and she suffers, in proportion as she plays her part well; and if she is without suffering, it is because she is slumbering. Her doctrines and precepts never can be palatable to the world; and if the world does not persecute, it is because she does not preach. [P.S. V 237 (3.3.1839)]
11. … the whole tenor of the Inspired Volume leads us to believe that His Truth will not be heartily received by the many, that it is against the current of human feeling and opinion, and the course of the world… [P.S. I 61 (22.12.1833)]
12. It is the peculiarity of the warfare between the Church and the world, that the world seems ever gaining on the Church, yet the Church is really ever gaining on the world. Its enemies are ever triumphing over it as vanquished, and its members ever despairing; yet it abides. It abides, and it sees the ruin of its oppressors and enemies. [S.D. 71 (25.11.1838)]
That’s some wholesome food for thought as you go about your noble vocation. What we need now is to feed on it regularly. Make it the constant “stuff” of your diet.
Reverend Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Ph.D., S.T.D., is founder and superior of the Priestly Society of Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman, a clerical association dedicated to holiness through the renewal of priestly life, the sacred liturgy, and Catholic education. He has authored or edited more than 50 books and 600 articles. This is an adaptation of an address given in April 2024 to Catholics in public service in South Carolina.