The Layperson’s Distinctive Role by Francis Cardinal Arinze

Abstract

218 Antiphon 18.2 (2014) beyond the ancient Church, rather preferring to concentrate on Clement, Ignatius, Tertullian, Hippolytus and Origen. Again, he keeps a synthetic grasp upon the three offices of prophet, priest and king and so considers the service of the word, service at the Eucharist, and the service of authority. Chapter four is a detailed commentary on Lumen Gentium 10 and 11, borrowing also from Presbyterorum Ordinis, in order to review the Church’s teaching today. He centers upon phrases the Council deemed important (“differ not only in degree,” in persona Ecclesiae, choosing the word “common” for the laity, and the unity of the sacrament of Holy Orders). And chapter five, as I said, wants to look not backwards but forward, prospectively, asking what a priestly spirituality and a ministerial spirituality would mean. Aidan Kavanagh remarked in 1979 that “the Church baptizes to priesthood: it ordains only to executive exercise of that priesthood in the major orders of ministry.” Keeping this straight and in balance, without denigrating either laity or priest, without defending one at the expense of the other, without forgetting the need for both one and the other, requires clear thinking and a humble disposition. We can be grateful to Torrell for aiding us in this. David W. Fagerberg University of Notre Dame South Bend, Indiana Francis Cardinal Arinze The Layperson’s Distinctive Role San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2013 118 pages. Paperback. $9.95. Concisely and clearly, Francis Cardinal Arinze lays out the mission of the laity of the Church in his book, The Layperson’s Distinctive Role. In putting forward his thesis, the Cardinal relies heavily on the documents of the Second Vatican Council, namely, Lumen Gentium and Apostolicam Actuositatem. He first notes the importance of understanding the apostolate which is specific to the laity, an apostolate which is rooted in the call of every Christian by virtue of Baptism to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to all men and women. However, specific to the layperson is the call to carry out this mission in the temporal order. In fact, naming 219 Book review as insufficient the negative definition of the laity which would construe them merely as those who are not clerics or religious, the Cardinal defines the layperson positively as “one who by Baptism is incorporated into Christ and the Church and is called to evangelize the secular order” (14). He will go on to say that “The Christianization of the temporal order, or the bringing of the spirit of the Gospel into secular affairs, is the apostolate specific to the laity” (35) Further, by “temporal order” is meant “family, culture, economic affairs, the arts and professions, political institutions and international relations, as well as their development and progress” (41) With this in mind, the Cardinal then proceeds to make some interesting and most helpful distinctions. He first makes the distinction between individual and organized lay apostolates. The individual is called to witness to Christ with their life in the everyday – at home, at work, in the marketplace. At the same time, organization of the laity is necessary so that the Gospel of Christ can be spread in ways which go beyond the capacity of any one individual. Regarding this, the Cardinal points to the many Associations of the Christian Faithful which seek to witness to the Gospel in many and varied ways, associations which have sprung up with abundance especially since the Second Vatican Council. The Cardinal makes another helpful distinction between the witness of the laity in the temporal sphere, mentioned above, and their collaboration with the clergy in inner-Church affairs. The Cardinal points out that the collaboration of the laity in innerChurch affairs is absolutely necessary. On this point, he quotes Apostolicam Actuositatem 10: “[The activity of the laity] is so necessary within church communities that without it the apostolate of the pastors is generally unable to achieve its full effectiveness” (24). Of itself, the Cardinal’s systematic and concise laying out of the definition and role of the laity in the church is of great benefit, but the Cardinal then makes a further point, which is most helpful for the life of the Church today. He...