The Role of the Laity in the Roman Catholic Church and in the World Today

Anthony Kofi AnomahORCID iD  & Peter Addai-MensahORCID iD

Issue: Vol.6  No.1 January 2020 Article 1 pp.1-15
DOI : https://doi.org/10.32051/01202001 
© 2020 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Fifty-four years after Vatican II, it seems to the researcher that the role of the laity in the Roman Catholic Church is still problematic to some clergy and the laity. Some clergy and the laity still see the laity’s role in the Roman Catholic Church as passive and overstretching their bounds when they wish to participate fully in the mission of the Church as priests, prophets and kings. There is an underlying tension between some clergy and the laity as to the proper role of the laity in the Church and in the world, whereas Vatican II clearly defined the role of the laity in the Church and in the world. In this article, the researcher seeks to lay bare the role of the laity in the Roman Catholic Church and in the world as prophetic, priestly and kingly; and to point out that there are some places in the world, such as the family, socio-cultural, politics, economics and so on, where only the laity is more qualified and competent and can more effectively preach the gospel by their words and deeds. Therefore, the article recommends that the clergy and the laity are both called by their baptism and confirmation to take active roles in the Church and collaborate in the mission of Christ for the spreading of the kingdom of God on earth.

Keywords: Role, Laity, Clergy, Church, World

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ANTHONY KOFI ANOMAH, PhD, Rector, Spiritan University College, Ejisu Ashanti, Ghana.Email: anomah13@gmail.com,

PETER ADDAI-MENSAH, PhD, Senior Lecturer, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. Email: peeaddamens@gmail.com

Anomah, Anthony K. and Addai-Mensah, Peter. “The Role of the Laity in the Roman Catholic Church and in the World Today.” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies 6, no. 1 (2020):1-15. https://doi.org/10.32051/01202001

© 2020 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Publishers. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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