Theologian finds it difficult to distinguish between priesthood and laity

 "Togetherness of priests and laity is the future of the Church".

The future of the Church lies in the cooperation of priests and laity. This was the consensus of a participating theologian from Austria at the conference on "Pastors and faithful are called to walk together", which ended this Saturday in the Vatican. We spoke to Gabriele Eder-Cakl, the designated director of the Austrian Pastoral Institute.

"There was a very, very great agreement among the delegates from the more than 70 countries that this togetherness of laity and clergy is the future of the Church," said Eder-Cakl. "This was evident in all the statements from lay people, women and men to the bishops."

Eder-Cakl was one of the four delegates of the Austrian Church at the meeting. She was impressed by the diversity of different Catholic realities that entered into an exchange at the Vatican. According to her observation, reservations from other parts of the universal Church against a stronger co-responsibility of the laity did not come to light: "I did not have the impression at all that the Catholic profile would change or be diluted by the cooperation of laity and clergy. And I don't think the others did either, rather the opposite: an enormous spirit of cooperation, of togetherness was noticeable."  

"There was an enormous spirit of co-operation, of togetherness."

Pope Francis joined the Congress on Saturday morning. He suggested a new look at the question of laity and priests: He said that togetherness in the Church should not be about power, about differentiation of hierarchical levels and about separation; rather, the focus should be on unity. If the Church today promotes lay people in their co-responsibility, it is not because it lacks priests and not as "reparation" for past exclusion of the laity. It is simply the right vision of the Church, Francis emphasised: "the Church as the People of God, to which the laity belong fully together with the ordained ministers". The decisive factor, he said, is baptism, not ordination.

In the meeting itself, this Pope's statement became much more concrete, Eder-Cakl reported. "The co-existence of laity and clergy is evident in the participation of the laity in diocesan councils, for example in pastoral councils, in parish councils. And even in Austria, there are not pastoral councils in every diocese. I think that's something we also have to take with us here as delegates from Austria, and we will also tell our bishops' conference."

Recognition of the reality and diversity of ways of life also took up a lot of space in the conference. "This is also evident in different family forms," the theologian said. "Christian life is different in the world and it will be a great challenge for us in Austria, in Europe, to really see that. That also means that the proclamation has to adjust to the fact that Christian life looks different today and that we don't play it off against each other and say that some are better and others are worse." Eder-Cakl referred to "different family forms" that are a reality today. "It is no longer the case that only father, mother, child is lived as a family. So much is lived beyond that. The domestic church, which was often mentioned, does not always look the same. It can be a simple cross on the forehead, a prayer, but also just the experience of security, which is also already very important for faith."

"It needs, in my opinion, the participation of women at all levels of the church"

At this point, Eder-Cakl sees the pastoral care of the church in its present form challenged. The participation of women is also a central issue in the view of the prospective director of the Austrian Pastoral Institute. "In my opinion, there is a need for women's participation at all levels of the Church. This has also been shown very clearly in the preparatory document for the continental synods from all continents of the world. It also needs the consideration of involving these women in sacramental ministry." Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, which hosted the congress, had stressed several times "that there is not one solution for everyone", Eder-Cakl said. "He said very personally at the end: meet with the people at home and start their initiatives. We all have to talk and start shaping, but there will not be one solution."

Source

Cathcon: This is an unseemly bid for power by the pseudo-clerical lay elite in the church who have a vested interest in not promoting the spirituality that leads to priestly vocations.  Ms Eder-Cakl has been director of the Pastoral Office in the Diocese of Linz, now on her way to national office....