383 - Preparing Clergy for the New Laity

Preparing Clergy for the New Laity
By Robert Kinast

"The purpose of this article is to examine a little more closely how the clergy are expected to relate to the laity and then to describe some of the efforts at Catholic University to meet these expectations. "

CLERGY-LAITY RELATIONS in the Roman Catholic Church are equalizing. Or at least they are supposed to. A relationship in which clergy are dominant and laity are dependent, in which clergy are superior and laity are subordinate, is not an acceptable pattern since the Second Vatican Council. A new type of relationship has been called for based on three crucial insights endorsed by Vatican II.

The first concerns ecclesiology. In its description of the church, the Council preferred the image of the People of God.¹ This people, as a whole, is entrusted with continuing the mission of Jesus. Such a holistic approach stands in sharp contrast to a more hierarchical or juridical concept of church which too easily in the past led to the dominance-dependence, superior-subordinate type of relationship.

The second insight of Vatican II is that the ordained ministry is a special commitment to service. In the Council's view, priests "must work together with the lay faithful and conduct themselves in their midst after the example of their Master, who among men 'has not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'"(Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, #9).

This means that the ordained person often functions as a catalyst, an enabler, a coordinator, and thereby as a leader. Such a view also presupposes that those who are to be served have their own gifts and abilities which should be nurtured and supported.

The third insight of Vatican II is that the laity have a full and active

Fr. Robert Kinast was ordained a Catholic priest in 1968 for the Archdiocese of Atlanta. In nine years there he served as parish priest, director of the Religious Education office, and in ecumenical offices for the Archdiocese. He completed his Ph.D. in systematic theology at Emory University. In September I 977, he joined the faculty at Catholic University to teach pastoral theology. He is currently chairman of the D.Min. Program and has written articles for The Priest, Review for Religious, Pastoral Life, Chicago Studies, and the Journal of Pastoral Care.

¹ Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, chapter 3, "The People of God," in The Documents of Vatican II, Walter M. Abbott, S.J., ed. (New York: Guild Press), 1966. A second English translation including post-conciliar documents is available in Vatican Council II, Austin Flannery, O.P., ed. (Northport, NY: Costello Publishing Co.), 1975. I cite the Abbott translation in this article.

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role to play both in the church and in the world. (Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, #9). This role is given by the Lord Jesus and is exercised through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The combination of these insights has created a climate for a new kind of clergy-laity relationship ² The purpose of this article is to examine a little more closely how the clergy are expected to relate to the laity and then to describe some of the efforts at Catholic University to meet these expectations.

I

In general, Vatican II expects the clergy to cooperate with, support, and give pastoral leadership to the laity. Perhaps the clearest example of this view is given in the Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity:

Bishops, pastors of parishes, and other priests of both branches of the clergy should keep in mind that the right and duty to exercise the apostolate is common to all the faithful, both clergy and laity, and that the laity have also their own proper roles in building up the Church. For this reason, they should work fraternally with the laity in and for the Church and take special care of the lay persons engaged in apostolic works (#25).

Such a view derives from an understanding of the rights and dignity of the laity. The laity are united with Christ and gifted by the Holy Spirit. "From the reception of these charisms or gifts, including those which are less dramatic, there arise for each believer the right and duty to use them in the Church and in the world for the good of [hu]mankind and for the up building of the Church." (Lay Apostolate, #3). Moreover, by baptism every lay person shares in the threefold office of Christ as priest, prophet, and pastor. (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, #34-36).

Clergy are expected to dialogue with the laity, and the special insights and competence of lay persons are to be welcomed.

Priests must sincerely acknowledge and promote the dignity of the laity and the role which is proper to them in the mission of the Church. They should scrupulously honor that just freedom which is due to everyone in this earthly city. They should listen to the laity willingly, consider their wishes in a fraternal spirit, and recognize their experience and competence in the different areas of human activity, so that together with them they will be able to read the signs of the times. (Decree on Ministry and Life of Priests, #9).

The laity have a real part to play in the work of the clergy, including the bishops (Constitution on the Church, #32; Lay Apostolate, #10, 24) and in the administration of the church (Constitution on the Church, #33; Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church, #41; Decree on the Bishops' Pastoral Office in the Church, #10).

But the most important service of the laity is their role in the world

² Not everyone is in agreement with how the new clergy-laity relationship has developed. One of the more provocative critiques was published by forty-seven persons from the Chicago Catholic Community as "The Chicago Declaration of Christian Concern," National Catholic Reporter, Jan. 29, 1978.

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which is to be encouraged and supported by the clergy. (Church in the Modern World, #43; Lay Apostolate, #20).

It is almost inevitable that a discussion of the laity from the clergy's point of view will evidence some traces of a paternalistic attitude. This is especially likely given the long history of male, clerical dominance in the Roman Catholic Church. For example, after affirming the right and duty of a)) baptized believers to exercise the gifts of the Spirit, the bishops add that pastors "must make a judgment about the true nature and proper use of these gifts not in order to extinguish the Spirit but to test all things and hold fast to what is good" (Lay Apostolate, #3).

The pastoral prudence of such a statement is clear, but no criteria are given for judging the true nature and proper use of the gifts. Hence, a pastoral person may in fact stifle the Spirit's gifts if the test is to avoid innovation or challenge or freedom.

Similarly, a pastoral person may implement what Vatican II says about the laity cooperating in the mission of the church by enlisting Jay persons to do only busy work tasks or to obtain favors for the church/clergy through their professional associations. Despite these gaps and possible aberrations, it is clear that the bishops at Vatican II intended to establish the groundwork for a new attitude and relationship between clergy and laity. And on the whole they succeeded.

II

There are two American documents issued since Vatican II which move the intentions of the Council closer toward implementation. First, the American Catholic Bishops' Program of Priestly Formation "provides the normative guidelines for the operation of seminaries today in the light of the Second Vatican Council." ³ According to the Program, "the priest is ordained to serve a priestly people, to assist this people to grow in their own gifts of the Spirit, not to dominate but to inspire and guide" (p. 38).

More specifically regarding relations with the laity this document says, "the priest, perhaps more today than at any time in the church's history, must develop a fine sensitivity to people, their needs and aspirations, their circumstances of life, their attitudes toward God and man" (p. 45). The field education program and summer apostolic training are cited as means to this goal.

The second document worth noting is a nineteen month project sponsored by the Bishops' Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry entitled As One Who Serves. ⁴ The very title of this study indicates the governing image of the priest: one who serves others. This image is drawn out in more detail in chapter three, "Priest as Servant Leader."

³ National Conference of Catholic Bishops, The Program of Priestly Formation, 2nd. (Washington: USCC Publications Office, 1976), ix.
⁴ Bishops' Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry, As One Who Serves: Reflections on the Pastoral Ministry of Priests in the U.S. (Washington: USCC Publications Office), 1977.

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Specifically regarding the laity, the priest's task is presented as twofold: to assume the role which calls the community to accountability for what the community truly represents; to call forth leadership within that community (p. 33). The former involves knowledge of the people and identification with them; the latter stresses the inter-relatedness of priest and laity which reinforces, rather than threatens, the ministry of the other (pp. 33-34).

III

At Catholic University these attitudes and principles are being exemplified. Although it is not a seminary, the Department of Theology does provide the theological and pastoral training of seminarians, and through its Doctor of Ministry (D. Min.) program offers an integrated, professional degree to students (priests and sisters mostly) who generally have several years of ministerial experience.

One of the course offerings in the D. Min. program is the "Theology and Ministry of the Laity," which I teach. ⁵ This is a recent course and is still being shaped. The objective is for each student to design a mode) for fostering lay ministry. Such a model should have a clear theological basis, evidence respect for the gifts of lay persons, and include some means of evaluating the success of the model.

Since most of the students are clergy, each is asked to interview one or more lay persons at the beginning of the course. Questions for the interview are determined by class interest, but usually include: Do you see yourself as a minister? What do you expect from the clergy? What has been your best/worst experience with the clergy? What do you think will happen in the next five years with clergy-laity relations?

The responses to these questions give some reality base for discussion if lay persons cannot be present for the class sessions (either as students, auditors, or invited guests). The responses also provide one way to examine the theological material which is covered. This includes a historical survey of the role of the laity, modern developments like Catholic Action, Secular Institutes, Lay Theologians, and a few systematic discussions of the laity (Yves Congar, Karl Rahner, Hendrick Kraemer, Jean Guitton). Major attention is given to Vatican II, of course, and post-conciliar developments. The Executive Director of the Bishops Secretariat for the Laity, Mrs. Dolores Leckey, guest lectures on the current status of laity.

The second half of the course is devoted to a discussion of models and methods of implementation. Students present models for fostering lay ministry and benefit from the critical feedback of other students, as well as invited lay persons and one of the pastoral supervisors in the

⁵ In a June 10, 1979, article surveying lay ministries for Our Sunday Visitor, "The Explosion of Lay Ministries: The Church Within the World Without," this course was referred to as "one of the few courses in the country on the laity." I don't know if that is accurate or not, but it is the only course of its kind offered in the Washington Theological Consortium, a network of seven theological schools in the metropolitan area.

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department, the Rev. Mires Stine, who has experience training lay ministers in the Lutheran Church. The models are not implemented as part of the course, but it is hoped they will be implemented as part of the students' ministry, or possibly as a D.Min. project.

In fact a number of D.Min. projects have focused on some aspect of lay ministry. One which was completed in the spring of 1 979 involved training of lay persons in a suburban Maryland parish for ministry to disabled elderly. The group met for several weeks to cover the theological bases of lay ministry, acquire basic skills needed for this particular ministry, establish group support, and evaluate their work. The full Project Report is currently in Catholic University's Mullen Library and is available through University Microfilms. Another project is currently in progress which also prepares lay persons in a Missouri parish for ministry to the elderly who live in the community.

One project has an ecumenical bent. A small group of lay persons from a Roman Catholic and an Episcopal parish in Roanoke, Virginia, have been meeting for prayer, discussion of bilateral theological statements, and ecumenical solidarity among themselves. Presumably, the model, if successful, could be replicated by laity on their own.

Another project focuses on adult religious education. The D.Min. candidate instructs lay teachers of religion in the principles of androgyny so they will use the same principles in their teaching of adults. Although this project stresses the teaching method, it is utilized in a lay-to-lay ministerial experience.

Two projects are in the area of liturgy. One is aimed at the members of a parish liturgy committee to enable them to exercise more effectively their responsibilities according to current liturgical guidelines. The other project attempts to improve the quality of Sunday worship according to the goals of Vatican II by fostering a spirit of hospitality and building a more genuine community.

Finally, two projects are being implemented in Africa. One studies the eucharistic communities in the Diocese of Mbarara, Uganda, and the other studies the neighborhood communities in the Diocese of Kroonstad, South Africa. In both instances, laity are already very active in various ministries; the project is to examine the activity from an ecclesiological perspective.

All of these projects, when completed, will be on file at the University library and available through University Microfilms.

IV

These small efforts are being multiplied in other schools of theology around the country as well as in the school of parochial experience where clergy and laity are trying to discover each other anew. There is every reason to hope that the progress made so far will continue, and the vision expressed at Vatican II will be more fully realized, namely that

the distinction which the Lord made between sacred ministers and the rest of

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the People of God entails a unifying purpose, since pastors and the other faithful are bound to each other by a mutual need. Pastors of the Church, following the example of the Lord, should minister to one another and to the other faithful. The faithful in their turn should enthusiastically lend their cooperative assistance to their pastors and teachers. Thus in their diversity all bear witness to the admirable unity of the Body of Christ. This very diversity of graces, ministries, and works gathers the children of God into one, because ,all these things are the work of one and the same Spirit' (I Cor 12:11) (Constitution on the Church, #32).