On the occasion of the World Synod of Bishops, I had the privilege of attending the 1st World Meeting of Professional Lay Ministers on the theme of ‘Beyond clericalism, for the people’s sake on the empowerment of non-ordinary ministers’. This meeting was organized from the 1st of October to the 5th of October 2023 in Rome by the Association of Professional Pastoral Ministers in Germany, which at this moment might be the largest organization of full-time lay theologians in the world.
The meeting aimed at bringing together theologically educated laity and pastoral lay ministers from all continents to reflect on their status, role, and mission in a synodal church. The meeting also aimed at empowering lay ministers (non-ordained but theologically educated professional pastoral ministers) working in various countries all over the world given the fact that though their work is a long-given reality in the Roman Catholic Church, it still seems to be overshadowed many times by subversive ecclesial perspectives. Also though this ministry reveals an ecclesiological alternative to the “classical” dualism between clergy and laity, it is neither well-known nor largely accepted.
THE PEOPLE & THE PROCESS
The meeting was attended by 22 professional lay ministers and theologians from 12 countries – Bolivia, Austria, Switzerland, Peru, Philippines, Ghana, India, USA, Germany, Korea, and Slovenia. In our five days together we prayed, discussed, shared amazing meals, and also had the chance to visit some important historical sites of Rome. We got to know each other, shared our experiences, and listened to each other as we engaged in the various processes designed to help us connect and reflect. Some members of our group attended the opening Mass of the Synod on the 4th of October to show our solidarity with the Synod process. In addition to our exchange and as a fitting conclusion to our process, there was also a meeting with the participants of the Synod at an official evening get-together. The outcomes of the reflections of the meeting (which had been synthesized and compiled in a paper) were then shared with the Synod delegates. Through our interactions with the delegates and the paper, we hope that their voices would influence the processes of the World Synod of Bishops so that lay ministries could become a sign of hope for the emerging Church.
Ms Grace David
To read the entire article, click Subscribe
