1. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 48.
2. St. Gregory the Great, Hom. in Evang. 1,XIX, 2: PL 76, 1155.
3. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People Apostolicam Actuositatem, 33.
4. John Paul II, Homily at the Solemn Eucharistic Concelebration for the Close of the Seventh Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (October 30, 1987): AAS 80 (1988), 598.
5. Cf. Propositio 1.
6. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 11.
7. The Fathers of the Extraordinary Synod of 1985, after affirming "the great importance and timeliness of the Pastoral Constitution, Gaudium et Spes," continue: "Nevertheless, at the same time, they perceive that the signs of our times are in part different from those at the time of the Council with its problems and major trials. In fact, hunger, oppression, injustice and war, suffering, terrorism and forms of various kinds of violence are growing everywhere in the world today" (Ecclesia sub Verbo Dei Mysteria Christi Celebrans pro salute Mundi. Relatio Finalis, II, D, 1).
8. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, 7.
9. St. Augustine, Confessiones, I, 1: CCL 27, 1.
10. Cf. Instrumentum Laboris, "The Vocation and Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World Twenty Years after the Second Vatican Council," 5-10.
11. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 1.
12. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 6.
13. Cf. Propositio 3.
14. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 31.
15. Ibid.
16. Pius XII, Discourse to the New Cardinals, February 20, 1946: AAS 38 (1946), 149.
17. Ecumenical Council of Florence, Decr. pro Armeniis, DS 1314.
18. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 10.
19. St. Augustine, Ennar. in Ps.XXVI, II, 2: CCL 38, 154ff.
20. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 10.
21. John Paul II, Homily at the Beginning of his Pastoral Ministry as Supreme Shepherd of the Church (October 22, 1978): AAS 70 (1978), 946.
22. Cf. The renewed proposal of this teaching in the 1987 Synod's Instrumentum Laboris, "The Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World Twenty Years after the Second Vatican Council," 25.
23. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 34.
24. lbid., 35.
25. Ibid., 12.
26. Ibid., 35.
27. St. Augustine, De Civitate Dei, XX, 10: CCL 48, 720.
28. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 32.
29. Ibid., 31.
30. Paul VI, Talk to the Members of the Secular Institutes (February 2, 1972): AAS 64 (1972), 208.
31. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People Apostolicam Actuositatem, 5.
32. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 31.
33. Ibid.
34. Ibid.
35. Cf. ibid., 48.
36. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, 32.
37. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 31.
38. Ibid.
39. Propositio 4.
40. "Full members of the People of God and the Mystical Body, they participate, through Baptism, in the threefold priestly, prophetic and kingly mission of Christ; the lay faithful express and exercise the riches of their dignity through their living in the world. What can be an additional or exceptional task for those who belong to the ordained ministry is the typical mission of the lay faithful. Their proper vocation consists 'in seeking the Kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God' (Lumen Gentium, 31)" (John Paul II, Angelus Talk, [March 15, 1987]: Insegnamenti, X, 1 [1987], 561).
41. See, in particular, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 5, 39-42, which treats the subject of "the universal call to holiness in the Church."
42. The Second Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (1985), Ecclesia sub Verbo Dei Mysteria Christi Celebrans pro Salute Mundi. Relatio Finalis, II, A, 4.
43. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 40.
44. Ibid., 42. These solemn and unequivocal affirrnations of the Council repropose a fundamental truth of the Christian faith. Thus, for example, Pius XI in the Encyclical Casti Connubii addressed Christian spouses in the following words: "In whatever state they might be and whatever upright way of life they might have chosen, all must imitate the most perfect example of holiness, proposed by God to humanity, namely, our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the help of God to even reach the highest stage of Christian perfection, shown in the example of many saints": AAS 22 (1930), 548.
45. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People Apostolicam Actuositatem, 4.
46. Propositio 5.
47. Propositio 8.
48 St. Leo the Great. Sermo XXI, 3: S. Ch. 22a, 72.
49. S. Maximus, Tract., III de Baptismo: PL 57, 779.
50. St. Augustine, In Ioann. Evang. Tract., 21, 8: CCL 36, 216.
51. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 33.
52. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 4.
53. The Second Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (1985), Ecclesia sub Verbo Dei Mysteria Christi Celebrans pro Salute Mundi. Relatio Finalis, II, C. 1.
54. Paul VI, Wednesday General Audience Talk (June 8, 1966): Insegnamenti, IV (1966), 794.
55. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 6.
56. Cf. ibid., 7 et passim.
57. Ibid., 9.
58. Ibid., 1.
59. Ibid., 9.
60. Ibid., 7.
61 . Ibid.
62. Ibid., 4.
63. John Paul II, Homily at the Solemn Eucharistic Concelebration for the Close of the Seventh Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (October 30, 1987): AAS 80 (1988), 600.
64. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 4.
65. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church Ad Gentes, 5.
66. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Sacred Priesthood Presbyterorum Ordinis, 2; cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 10.
67. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constituion on the Church Lumen Gentium, 10.
68. Cf. John Paul II, Letter on Holy Thursday to all the Priests of the Church (April 9, 1979), 34: Insegnamenti, II, 1 (1979), 844-847.
69. Code of Canon Law, Can. 230 3.
70. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests Presbyterorum Ordinis, 2 and 5.
71. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People Apostolicam Actuositatem, 24.
72. The Code of Canon Law lists a series of roles and tasks proper to the sacred ministers, that nevertheless for special and grave circumstances, and concretely in areas which lack priests or deacons, can temporarily be exercised by the lay faithful, with previous juridic faculty and mandated by competent ecclesiastical authority: cf. Can. 230 3; 517 2; 776; 861 2; 910 2; 943; 1112, etc.
73. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, 28; Code of Canon Law, Can. 230 2 that states: "lay persons can fulfill the function of lector during the liturgical actions by temporary deputation; likewise all lay persons can fulfill the functions of commentator or cantor or other functions, in accord with the norm of law."
74. The Code of Canon Law presents diverse roles and tasks that the lay faithful can fulfill in the organized structure of the Church: cf. Can. 228; 229 3; 317 3; 463 1; 5 and 2; 483; 494; 537; 759; 776; 784; 785; 1282; 1421.
75. Cf. Propositio 18.
76. Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, 70: AAS 68 (1976), 60.
77. Cf. Code of Canon Law, Can 230 1.
78. Propositio 18.
79. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People Apostolicam Actuositatem, 3.
80. "From the reception of these charisms or gifts, even the most ordinary ones, there arises for each believer the right and duty to use them in the Church and in the world for the good of people and the building up of the Church. In doing so believers need to enjoy the freedom of the Holy Spirit who 'breathes where he wills' (Jn 3:8). At the same time they much act in communion with their brothers and sisters in Christ, especially with their Pastor" (ibid.).
81. Propositio 9.
82. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 12.
83. Cf. ibid., 30.
84. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops in the Church Christus Dominus, 11.
85. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 23.
86. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People Apostolicam Actuositatem, 10.
87. Cf. Propositio 10.
88. Cf. Code of Canon Law, Can. 443 4; 463 1 and & 2.
89. Cf. Propositio 10.
90. The Council documents read: "It is impossible for the bishop always and everywhere to preside over the whole flock in his Church, he must of necessity establish groupings of the faithful. Among these, parishes set up locally under a pastor who takes the place of the bishop are the most important: for in a certain way they represent the visible Church as it is established throughout the world" (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, 42).
91. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, 28.
92. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Catechesi Tradendae, 67: AAS 71 (1979), 1333.
93. Code of Canon Law, Can. 515 1.
94. Cf. Propositio 10.
95. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, 42).
96. Cf. Code of Canon Law, Can 555 1, 1.
97. Cf. Code of Canon Law, Can. 383 1.
98. Paul VI, Discourse to the Roman Clergy (June 24, 1963): AAS 55 (1963), 674.
99. Propositio 11.
100. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People Apostolicam Actuositatem, 10.
101. Ibid.
102. Cf. Propositio 10.
103. St. Gregory the Great, Hom. in Ez., II, I, 5: CCL 142, 211.
104. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People Apostolicam Actuositatem, 16.
105. John Paul II, Angelus Talk (August 23, 1987): Insegnamenti, X, 3 (1987), 240.
106. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People Apostolicam Actuositatem, 18.
107. Ibid., 19; cf. also ibid., 15; Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 37.
108. Code of Canon Law, Can. 215.
109. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 39.
110. Cf. ibid., 40.
111. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People Apostolicam Actuositatem, 19.
112. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 23.
113. Ibid.
114. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People Apostolicam Actuositatem, 23.
115. Ibid., 20.
116. Ibid., 24.
117. Propositio 13.
118. Cf. Propositio 15.
119. John Paul II, Discourse at a Meeting of the Church in Loreto, Italy, (April 10, 1985): AAS 77 (1985), 964.
120. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 1.
121. Ibid., 30.
122. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People Apostolicam Actuositatem, 10.
123. Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14:AAS 68 (1976), 13.
124. John Paul II, Homily of His Holiness at the Beginning of His Ministry as Supreme Shepherd of the Church (October 22, 1978):AAS 70 (1978), 947.
125. Propositio 10.
126. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church Ad Gentes, 20; cf. also ibid., 37.
127. Propositio 29.
128. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church Ad Gentes, 21.
129. Propositio 30 bis.
130. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 5.
131. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 22.
132. Ibid., 22.
133. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptor Hominis, 14: AAS 71 (1979), 284-285.
134. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 40.
135. Cf. ibid., 12.
136. "If we celebrate so solemnly the birth of Jesus, we do it so as to bear witness to the fact that each person is someone, unique and irrepeatable. If humanity's statistics and arrangement, its political, economic and social systems as well as its simple possibilities, do not come about to assure man that he can be born, exist and work as a unique and irrepeatable individual, then bid farewell' to all assurances. For Christ and because of him, the individual is always unique and irrepeatable; someone eternally conceived and eternally chosen; someone called and given a special name" (John Paul II, First Christmas Radio Message to the World: AAS 71 [1979], 66).
137. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 27.
138. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, 30: AAS 74 (1982), 116.
139. Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction on Respect for Human Life in its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation: Replies to Certain Questions of the Day Donum Vitae (March 11, 1987): AAS 80 (1988), 70-102.
140. Propositio 36.
141. John Paul II, Message for the Twenty-first World Day of Peace, "Religious Freedom: Condition for Peace" (December 8, 1987): AAS 80 (1988), 278, 280.
142. St. Augustine, De Catech. Rud., XXIV, 44: CCL 46, 168.
143. Propositio 32.
144. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 24.
145. Ibid., 12.
146. Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation, Familiaris Consortio, 4248: AAS 74 (1982), 134- 140.
147. Ibid., 85: AAS 74 (1982), 188.
148. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People Apostolicam Actuositatem, 8.
149. For the relationship between justice and mercy, see John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Dives in Misericordia, 12: AAS 72 (1980), 1215-1217.
150. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 75.
151. Ibid., 74.
152. Ibid., 76.
153. Cf. Propositio 28.
154. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 38: AAS 80 (1988), 565-566.
155. Cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris: AAS 55 (1963), 265-266.
156. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 39: AAS 80 ( 1988), 568 .
157. Cf. Propositio 26.
158. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 63.
159. Cf. Propositio 24.
160. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 67.
161. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 34: AAS 80 ( 1988), 560.
162. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 53.
163. Cf. Propositio 35.
164. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 58.
165. Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 18-20: AAS 68 (1976), 18-19.
166. Cf. Propositio 37.
167. St. Gregory the Great, Hom. in Evang. I, XIX, 2: PL 76, 1155.
168. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Declaration on Christian Education Gravissimum Educationis, 2.
169. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter for the "International Year of Youth," 15: AAS 77 (1985), 620-621.
170. Propositio 52.
171. Propositio 51.
172. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Message to Youth (December 8, 1965): AAS 58 (1966), 18.
173. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 48.
174. John Gerson, De Parlulis ad Christum Trahendis. Oeuvres Complètes, Desclee, Paris 1973, IX, 669.
175. John Paul II, Discourse to a Gathering of Older People from the Dioceses of Italy (March 23, 1984): Insegnamenti, VII, 1 (1984), 744.
176. Cf. John XXIII Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris: AAS 55 (1963), 267-268.
177. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, 24: AAS 74 ( 1982), 109-110 .
178. Propositio 46.
179. Propositio 47.
180. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People Apostolicam Actuositatem, 9.
181. Paul VI, Discourse to the Committee for the International Year of the Woman (April 18, 1975): AAS 67 (1975), 266.
182. Propositio 46.
183. Propositio 47.
184. Ibid.
185. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 10.
186. The Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Mater, after having recalled that the "Marian dimension of the Christian life takes on a particular importance in relation to women and their status," states, "In fact, femininity has a unique relationship with the Mother of the Redeemer, a subject which can be studied in greater depth elsewhere. Here I simply wish to note that the example of Mary of Nazareth sheds light on womanhood as such by the very fact that God, in the sublime event of the Incarnation of his Son, entrusted himself to the ministry, the free and active ministry of a woman. It can thus be said that women, by looking to Mary, find in her the secret of living their femininity with dignity and of achieving their own true advancement. In the light of Mary, the Church sees in women the reflection of a beauty which mirrors the loftiest sentiments of which the human heart is capable: the totality of the gift of self in love; the strength that is capable of bearing the greatest sorrows; limitless fidelity and tireless devotion to work; the ability to combine penetrating intuition with words, support and encouragement" (John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Mater, 46: AAS 79 [1987], 424- 425).
187. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem,
188. Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration on the Question of Admission of Women to the Ministerial Priesthood Inter Insigniores (October 15, 1976): AAS 69 (1977), 98-116.
189. Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem, 26.
190. Ibid., 27; "The Church is a differentiated body in which each individual has a role; the tasks are distinct and must not be confused; they do not favor the superiority of one over the other, nor do they provide an excuse for jealousy; the only better gift, which can and must be desired is love (cf. 1 Cor 12-13). The greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven are not the ministers but the saints" (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration on the Question of Admission of Women to the Ministerial Priesthood Inter Insigniores [October 15, 1976], 6: AAS 69 [1977], 115).
191. Paul VI, Discourse to the Committee for the International Women's Year (April 18, 1975): AAS 67 (1975), 266.
192. Propositio 47.
193. Ibid.
194. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 36.
195. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, 50: AAS 74 (1982), 141-142.
196. Propositio 46.
197. Propositio 47.
198. The Seventh Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (1987), Per Concilii semitas ad Populum Dei Nuntius, 12.
199. Propositio 53.
200. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Salvifici Doloris, 3:AAS 76 (1984), 203.
201. St. Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Ephesios, VII, 2: S. Ch. 10, 64.
202. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Salvifici Doloris, 31: AAS 76 (1984), 249-250.
203. St. Ambrose, De Virginitate, VI, 34: PL 16, 288; cf. St. Augustine, Sermo CCCIV, III 2: PL 38, 1396.
204. Cf. Pius XII, Apostolic Constitution, Provida Mater (February 2, 1947): AAS 39 (1947), 114- 124; Code of Canon Law, Can. 573.
205. Propositio 6.
206. Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sabaudiae Gemma (January 29, 1967): AAS 59 (1967), 113- 123.
207. St. Francis de Sales, Introduction à la vie dévote, I, III. Oeuvres complètes, Monastère de la Visitation, Annecy 1983, III, 19-21.
208. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People Apostolicam Actuositatem, 4.
209. Propositio 40.
210. Dabit virtutem, qui contulit dignitatem! (St. Leo the Great, Serm.II, 1: S. Ch. 200, 248).
211. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People Apostolicam Actuositatem, 4.
212. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 43; cf. also. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church Ad Gentes, 21; Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, 20: AAS 68 (1976), 19.
213. John Paul II, Discourse to the Participants in the National Congress of Church Movements of Cultural Responsibility (M.E.I.C.) (January 16, 1982), 2: Insegnamenti, V, 1 (1982), 131; Also Letter to Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, Secretary of State, establishing the Pontifical Council for Culture (May 20, 1982): AAS 74 (1982), 685; Discourse to the Community of the University of Louvain (May 20, 1985), 2: lnsegnamenti, VII, 1 (1985), 1591.
214. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People Apostolicam Actuositatem, 4.
215. Propositio 22; cf. also John Paul II, Encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 41: AAS 80 (1988), 570-572.
216. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People Apostolicam Actuositatem, 4.
217. St. Methodius of Olympo, Symposion IlI, 8: S. Ch. 95, 110.
218. Cf. Propositio 11.
219. Propositio 40.
220. Cf. Propositio 44.
221. Cf. Propositio 45.
222. Propositio 44.
223. Propositio 41.
224. Propositio 42.
Last update: 4 December 1994