"Secular character" of the Laity or of the Church? The Postconciliar Significance and Development of Vatican II’s Teaching on the "Indoles saecularis" of the Laity (Dublin 2002) (original) (raw)

In order to develop a solid basis for responding to various popular “understandings” of the role of the laity in context of “spirituality for collaborative ministry” I decided to focus this essay on the question of the significance and the postconciliar development of the conciliar teaching on the “secular character” of the laity. In order to connect this question with its preconciliar context and conciliar basis, some important theological and pastoral backgrounds of Vatican II and the problematic of conciliar teaching on the “secular character” of the laity will be, at first, summarised (part 1). Secondly, relevant parts of some of the official Church documents will be reviewed (part 2). Thirdly, a rather schematic overview of the complex and often closely interconnected developments in theology and pastoral practice affected by the question of the “secular character” of the laity will be outlined (part 3). Finally, some common important points of all these lines will be summarised.