Co-Workers or Laborers?: Hermeneutical Considerations of the 2005 USCCB Statement on Lay Ministry with Some Implications for Pastoral Practice
The USCCB statement resourcing lay ecclesial ministry relies on two biblical images; a mixed metaphor pairing an historical reality of the Pauline ecclesial co-worker and a Matthean parabolic narrative of day laborers. Examining this combined metaphor discloses how their tensions mirror the statemen...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
|
| In: |
Horizons
Year: 2025, Volume: 52, Issue: 1, Pages: 78-105 |
| IxTheo Classification: | KBQ North America KDB Roman Catholic Church NBN Ecclesiology RB Church office; congregation |
| Further subjects: | B
Pastoral Practice
B lay ecclesial ministry B theology of ministry B Ministry B Vineyard B Laity B Pastoral Theology B co-workers B Metaphor B Lay Ministry |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The USCCB statement resourcing lay ecclesial ministry relies on two biblical images; a mixed metaphor pairing an historical reality of the Pauline ecclesial co-worker and a Matthean parabolic narrative of day laborers. Examining this combined metaphor discloses how their tensions mirror the statement’s theological and pastoral divergences on the scope and authority of lay ministry leadership. The metaphor’s meaning and the statement’s text reinforce one another’s ambiguities enough that they can both highlight the vital ecclesial importance of lay ministry, or allow it to be interpreted in a clericalized way which undermines lay ministers’ value. This analysis is contextualized by pandemic-era stresses on lay ministers, even as there are new recognitions of their importance and value by Pope Francis and the synodal process. The status of these important ministers as true co-workers in the Pauline sense remains largely unrealized, highlighting the need for renewed theological and pastoral efforts to encourage their proper agency in the life of the Church. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2050-8557 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Horizons
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/hor.2025.4 |
