YOUNG PEOPLE

12. Young people exert a very important influence in modern society; The circumstances of their life, their habits of thought, their relations with their families, have been completely transformed. Often they enter too rapidly a new social and economic environment. While their social and even political importance is on the increase day by day, they seem unequal to the weight of these new responsibilities.

The growth of their social importance demands from them a corresponding apostolic activity; and indeed their natural character inclines them in this direction. Carried along by their natural ardor and exuberant energy, when awareness of their own personality ripens in them they shoulder responsibilities that are theirs and are eager to take their place in social and cultural life. If this enthusiasm is penetrated with the spirit of Christ, animated by a sense of obedience and love towards the pastors of the Church, a very rich harvest can be expected from it. The young should become the first apostles of the young, in direct contact with them, exercising the apostolate by themselves among themselves, taking account of their social environment.

Adults should be anxious to enter into friendly dialogue with the young, where, despite the difference in age, they could get to know one another and share with one another their own personal riches. It is by example first of all and, on occasion, by sound advice and practical help that adults should persuade the young to undertake the apostolate. The young, on their side, will treat their elders with respect and confidence; and though by nature inclined to favor what is new, they will have due esteem for praiseworthy traditions.

Children, too, have an apostolate of their own. In their own measure they are true living witnesses of Christ among their companions.

APOSTOLATE OF LIKE TOWARDS LIKE

13. The apostolate in one’s social environment endeavors to infuse the Christian spirit into the mentality and behavior, laws and structures of the community in which one lives. To such a degree is it a special work and responsibility of lay people that no one else can ever properly supply for them. In this area lay people can conduct the apostolate of like towards like. There the witness of their life is completed by the witness of their word. It is amid the surroundings of their work that they are best qualified to be of help to their brothers, in the surroundings of their profession, of their study, residence, leisure or local group.

The laity accomplish the Church’s mission in the world principally by that blending of conduct and faith which makes them the light of the world; by that uprightness in all their dealings which is for everyone such as incentive to love the true and the good and which is capable of inducing him at last to go to Christ and the Church; by that fraternal charity that makes them share the living conditions and labors, the sufferings and yearnings of their brothers, and thereby prepare all hearts, gently, imperceptibly, for the action of saving grace; by that full awareness of their personal responsibility in the development of society, which drives them on to perform their family, social and professional duties with Christian generosity. In this way their conduct makes itself gradually felt in the surroundings where they live and work.

This apostolate should reach out to every single person in that environment; and it must not exclude any good, spiritual or temporal, that can be done for them. Genuine apostles are not content, however, with just this; they are earnest also about revealing Christ by word to those around them. It is a fact that many cannot hear the Gospel and come to acknowledge of Christ except through the laity they associate with.

THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVELS

14. On the national and international planes the field of the apostolate is vast; and it is there that the laity more than others are the channels of Christian wisdom. In their patriotism and in their fidelity to their civic duties, Catholics will feel themselves bound to promote the true common good: they will make the weight of their convictions so influential that as a result civil authority will be justly exercised and laws will accord with the moral precepts and the common good. Catholics versed in politics and, as should be the case, firm in the faith and Christian teaching, should not decline to enter public life; for by a worthy discharge of their functions, they can work for the common good and at the same time prepare the way for the Gospel.

Catholics are to be keen on collaborating with all people of good will in the promotion of all that is true, just, holy, all that is worthy of love (cf. Phil. 4:8).

They are to enter into dialogue with them, approaching them with understanding and courtesy; and are to search for means of improving social and public institutions along the lines of the Gospel.

Among the signs of our times, particularly worthy of note is the ever growing and inescapable sense of the solidarity of all peoples. It is the task of the lay apostolate to take pains in developing this sense and transforming it into a really sincere desire for brotherly union. The laity should have an awareness also of the international sector, of the doctrinal and practical problems and solutions that are brought forward there, in particular those concerned with newly-developing nations.

Everyone who works in foreign nations or brings them aid must remember that relations among peoples should be a real fraternal interchange in which both parties give and at the same time receive. Those who travel abroad, for international activities, on business or on holiday, should keep in mind that no matter where they may be are travelling messengers of Christ, and should bear themselves really as such.

CHAPTER IV
THE DIFFERENT FORMS OF THE APOSTOLATE

15. The laity can exercise their apostolic activity either singly or grouped in various communities or associations.

INDIVIDUAL APOSTOLATE

16. The apostolate to be exercised by the individual, which flows abundantly from a truly Christian life (cf. John 4:11),

is the starting point and condition of all types of lay apostolate, including the organized apostolate; nothing can replace it.

The individual apostolate is everywhere and always in place; in certain circumstances it is the only one appropriate, the only one possible. Every lay person, whatever his condition, is called to it, is obliged to it, even if he has not the opportunity or possibility of collaborating in associations.

The apostolate, through which the laity build up the Church, sanctify the world and get it to live in Christ, can take on many forms. A special form of the individual apostolate is the witness of a whole lay life issuing from faith, hope and charity; it is a sign very much in keeping with our times, and a manifestation of Christ living in His faithful. Then, by the apostolate of the word, which in certain circumstances is absolutely necessary, the laity proclaim Christ, explain and spread His teachings, each one according to his condition and competence, and profess those teachings with fidelity.

Moreover, cooperating as citizens of this world in all that has to do with the constructing and conducting of the temporal order, the laity should, by the light of faith, try to find the higher motives that should govern their behavior in the home and in professional, cultural and social life; they should too, given the opportunity, let these motives be seen by others, conscious that by so doing they become cooperators with God the creator, redeemer and sanctifier, and give Him glory.

Finally, the laity should vitalize their lives with charity and, to the extent of the capability of each, give concrete expression to it in works.

All should remember that by public worship and by prayer, by penance and the willing acceptance of the toil and hardships of life by which they resemble the suffering Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 4:10; Col. 1:24),

they can reach all people and contribute to the salvation of the entire world.

INDIVIDUAL APOSTOLATE
IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES

17. There is an imperative need for the individual apostolate in those areas where the Church’s freedom is seriously hampered. In such difficult circumstances the laity take over as far as possible the work of priests, jeopardizing their own freedom and sometimes their lives; they teach Christian doctrine to those around them, train them in a religious way of life and in Catholic attitudes, encourage them to receive the Sacraments frequently and cultivate piety, especially Eucharistic piety. The Council renders to God most heartfelt thanks that even in our own times He is still raising up lay people with heroic courage in the midst of persecutions; the Council embraces them with gratitude and fatherly affection.

The individual apostolate has a special field in regions where Catholics are few and scattered. In such circumstances the laity who exercise only the personal apostolate — whether from the reasons mentioned above or from particular motives arising, among other things, from their professional activity — can gather for discussion into small groups with no rigid form of rules or organization. This is particularly appropriate in the present instance, for it ensures the continual presence before the eyes of others of a sign of the Church’s community, a sign that will be seen as a genuine witness of love. Thus, by affording mutual spiritual aid by friendship and the exchange of personal experiences, they get the courage to surmount the difficulties of too isolated a life an activity and can increase the yield of their apostolate.

GROUP APOSTOLATE

18. The faithful are called as individuals to exercise an apostolate in the various conditions of their life. They must, however, remember that man is social by nature and that is has been God’s pleasure to assemble those who believe in Christ and make of them the People of God (cf. 1 Peter 2:5-10),

 a single body (cf. 1 Cor. 12:12).

The group apostolate is in happy harmony therefore with a fundamental need in the faithful, a need that is both human and Christian. At the same time it offers a sign of the communion and unity of the Church in Christ, who said, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20).

For that reason Christians will exercise their apostolate in a spirit of concord. They will be apostles both in their families and in the parishes and dioceses, which already are themselves expressions of the community character of the apostolate; apostles, too, in the free associations they will have decided to form among themselves.

The group apostolate is very important also for another reason: often, either in ecclesial communities or in various other environments, the apostolate calls for concerted action. Organizations created for group apostolate afford support to their members, train them for the apostolate, carefully assign and direct their apostolic activities; and as a result a much richer harvest can be hoped for from them than if each one were to act on his own.

In present circumstances it is supremely necessary that wherever the laity are at work, the apostolate under its collective and organized form should be strengthened. In actual fact only a well-knit combination of efforts can completely attain all the aims of the modern apostolate and give its fruits good protection. From this point of view it is particularly important for the apostolate to establish contact with the group attitudes and social conditions of the persons who are its object; otherwise these will often be incapable of withstanding the pressure of public opinion or of social institutions.

VARIOUS TYPES OF GROUP APOSTOLATE

19. Great variety is to be found in apostolic associations. Some look to the general apostolic end of the Church; others aim specifically at evangelization and sanctification; others work for the permeation of the temporal order by the Christian spirit; and others engage in works of mercy and of charity as their special way of bearing witness to Christ.

First among these associations to given consideration should be those which favor and promote a more intimate unity between the faith of the members and their everyday life. Associations are not ends in themselves; they are meant to be of service to the church’s mission to the world. Their apostolic value depends on their conformity with the Church’s aims, as well as on the Christian witness and evangelical spirit of each of the members and of the association as a whole.

As a consequence of the progress of institutions and the rapid evolution of modern society, the universal nature of the Church’s mission requires that the apostolic initiations of Catholics should more and more perfect the various types of international organizations. Catholic international organizations will the more surely gain their object, the more intimately the groups that compose them, as well as their members, are united to them.

While preserving intact the necessary link with ecclesiastical authority, the laity have the right to establish and direct associations, and to join existing ones. Dissipation of forces must, however, be avoided; this would happen if new associations and works were created without sufficient reason, if old ones now grown useless were held on to, if out-of-date methods continued to be employed. It will not always be a wise procedure, either, to transfer indiscriminately into some particular country forms that have arisen in another.

CATHOLIC ACTION

20. Several decades ago, lay people, dedicating themselves increasingly to the apostolate, in many countries formed themselves into various kinds of movements and societies which, in closer union with the hierarchy, have pursued and continue to pursue ends properly apostolic. Among these institutions, as indeed among other similar older ones, special mention must be made of those which, though using differing methods, have yielded abundant fruit for the kingdom of Christ. Deservedly praised and promoted by the popes and numerous bishops, they have received from them the name of Catholic Action, and have most often been described by them as a collaboration of the laity in the hierarchical apostolate.

These types of apostolate, whether or not they go by the name of Catholic Action, are today doing a work of much value. They are constituted by the combination of all the following characteristics:

(a) The immediate end of organizations of this class is the apostolic end of the Church; in other words: the evangelization and sanctification of others and the Christian formation of their conscience, so as to enable them to imbue with the Gospel spirit the various social groups and environments.

(b) The laity, cooperating in their own particular way with the hierarchy, contribute their experiences and assume responsibility in the direction of these organizations, in the investigation of the conditions in which the Church’s pastoral work is to be carried on, in the elaboration and execution of their plan of action.

(c) The laity act in unison after the manner of an organic body, to display more strikingly the community aspect of the Church and to render the apostolate more productive.

(d) The laity, whether coming of their own accord or in response to an invitation to action and direct cooperation with the hierarchical apostolate, act under the superior direction of the hierarchy, which can authorize this cooperation, besides with an explicit mandate.

Organizations which, in the judgment of the hierarchy, combine all these elements should be regarded as Catholic Action, even if they have forms and names that vary according to the requirements of localities and peoples.

The Council most earnestly commends those institutions which certainly meet the requirements of the Church’s apostolate in many countries; it invites the priests and laity working in them to develop more and more the characteristics mentioned above, and always to give brotherly cooperation in the Church to all other forms of the apostolate.

SPECIAL COMMENDATION

21. Proper esteem is to be shown to all associations of the apostolate; those, however, which the hierarchy has praised, commended, or decided to found as more urgent to meet the needs of times and places, should be valued most by priests, religious and lay people, and developed each in its own way. And among these organizations today especially must be numbered the international associations or societies of Catholics.

CHAPTER V
THE ORDER TO BE OBSERVED

23. The lay apostolate, individual or collective, must be set in its true place within the apostolate of the whole Church. Union with those whom the Holy Spirit has appointed to rule the Church of God (cf. Acts 20:28)

is an essential element of the Christian apostolate. Not less necessary is collaboration among the different undertakings of the apostolate; it is the hierarchy’s place to put proper system into this collaboration.

Mutual esteem for all forms of the Church’s apostolate, and good coordination, preserving nevertheless the character special to each, are in fact absolutely necessary for promoting that spirit of unity which will cause fraternal charity to shine out in the Church’s whole apostolate, common aims to be reached and ruinous rivalries avoided.

This is appropriate most of all when some particular action in the Church calls for the agreement and apostolic cooperation of both classes of the clergy, of religious and of the laity.

RELATIONS WITH THE HIERARCHY

24. The hierarchy’s duty is to favor the lay apostolate, furnish it with principles and spiritual assistance, direct the exercise of the apostolate to the common good of the Church, and see to it that doctrine and order are safeguarded.

Yet the lay apostolate allows of different kinds of relations with the hierarchy, depending on the various forms and objects of this apostolate. In the Church are to be found, in fact, very many apostolic enterprises owing their origin to the free choice of the laity and run at their own discretion. Such enterprises enable the Church, in certain circumstances, to fulfill her mission more effectively; not seldom, therefore, are they praised and commended by the hierarchy. But no enterprise must lay claim to the name "Catholic" if it has not the approval of legitimate ecclesiastical authority.

Certain types of the lay apostolate are explicitly recognized by the hierarchy, though in different ways. Ecclesiastical authority, looking to the needs of the common good of the Church, may also, from among apostolic associations and undertakings aiming immediately at a spiritual goal, pick out some which it will foster in a particular way; in these it assumes a special responsibility. And so, organizing the apostolate differently according to circumstances, the hierarchy brings into closer conjunction with its own apostolic functions such-and-such a form of apostolate, without, however, changing the specific nature of either or the distinction between the two, and consequently without depriving the laity of their rightful freedom to act on their own initiative. This act of the hierarchy has received the name of "mandate" in various ecclesiastical documents.

Finally, the hierarchy entrusts the laity with certain charges more closely connected with the duties of pastors: in the teaching of Christian doctrine, for example, in certain liturgical actions, in the care of souls. In virtue of this mission the laity are fully subject to superior ecclesiastical control in regard to the exercise of these charges.

As for works and institutions of the temporal order, the duty of the ecclesiastical hierarchy is the teaching and authentic interpretation of the moral principals to be followed in this domain. It is also in its province to judge, after mature reflection and with the help of qualified persons, of the conformity of such works or institutions with moral principles, and to pronounce in their regard concerning what is required for the safeguard and promotion of the values of the supernatural order.

RELATIONS WITH CLERGY AND RELIGIOUS

25. Bishops, parish priests and other priests of the secular and regular clergy will remember that the right and duty of exercising the apostolate are common to all the faithful, whether clerics or lay; and that in the building up of the Church the laity too have parts of their own to play. For this reason they will work as brothers with the laity in the Church and for the Church, and will have a special concern for the laity in the apostolic activities of the latter.

A careful choice will be made of priests with the ability and appropriate training for helping special forms of the lay apostolate. Those who take part in the ministry in virtue of a mission received from the hierarchy represent the hierarchy in this pastoral action of theirs. Ever faithfully attached to the spirit and teaching of the Church, they will promote good relations between laity and hierarchy, they will devote their energies to fostering the spiritual life and the apostolic sense of the Catholic associations confided to them; their wise advice will be there to help these along in their apostolic labors; their encouragement will be given to their enterprises. In constant dialogue with the laity they make painstaking search for methods capable of making apostolic action more fruitful; they will develop the spirit of unity within the association, and between it and others.

Lastly, religious Brothers and Sisters will hold lay apostolic works in high regard; and will gladly help in promoting them in accordance with the spirit and rules of their institute; they will strive to support, assist and complete the ministrations of the priest.

SPECIAL COUNCILS

26. In dioceses, as far as possible, councils should be set up to assist the Church’s apostolic work, whether in the field of evangelization and sanctification or in the fields of charity, social relations and the rest; the clergy and religious working with the laity in whatever way proves satisfactory. These councils can take care of the mutual coordinating of the various lay associations and undertakings, the autonomy and particular nature of each remaining untouched.

Such councils should be found too, if possible, at parochial, inter-parochial, interdiocesan level, and also on the national and international plane. In addition, a special secretariat should be established at the Holy See for the service and promotion of the lay apostolate. This secretariat will act as a center which, with the proper equipment, will supply information about the different apostolic initiatives of the laity. It will undertake research on the problems arising today in this domain; and with its advice will assist the hierarchy and laity in the field of apostolic activities. The various apostolic movements and institutes of the lay apostolate all the world over should be represented in this secretariat. Clerics and religious should also be there to collaborate with the laity.

COOPERATION WITH OTHER CHRISTIANS
AND NON-CHRISTIANS

27. The common patrimony of the Gospel and the common duty resulting from it of bearing a Christian witness make it desirable, and often imperative, that Catholics cooperate with other Christians, either in activities or in societies; this collaboration is carried on by individuals and by ecclesial communities, and at national or international level.

Not seldom also do human values common to all mankind require of Christians working for apostolic ends that they collaborate with those who do not profess Christianity but acknowledge these values.

Through this dynamic, yet prudent, cooperation, which is of great importance in temporal activities, the laity bears witness to Christ the Saviour of the world, and to the unity of the human family.

CHAPTER VI
TRAINING FOR THE APOSTOLATE

28. A training, at once many-sided and complete, is indispensable if the apostolate is to attain full efficacy. This is required, not only by the continuous spiritual and doctrinal progress of the layman himself, but also by the variety of circumstances, persons and duties to which he should adapt his activity. This education to the apostolate must rest on those foundations which the Council has in other places set down and expounded. Not a few types of apostolate require, besides the education common to all Christians, a specific and individual training, by reason of the diversity of persons and circumstances.

PRINCIPLES OF TRAINING

29. Since the laity participate in the Church’s mission in a way that is their own, their apostolic training acquires a special character precisely from the secularity proper to the lay state and from its particular type of spirituality.

Education for the apostolate presupposes an integral human education suited to each one’s abilities and conditions. For the layman ought to be, through an intimate knowledge of the contemporary world, a member well integrated into his own society and its culture.

But in the first place he should learn to accomplish the mission of Christ and the Church, living by faith in the divine mystery of creation and redemption, moved by the Holy Spirit who gives life to the People of God and urges everyone to love God the Father, and in Him to love all people. This education must be considered the foundation and condition of any fruitful apostolate.

Besides spiritual formation, solid grounding in doctrine is required: in theology, ethics and philosophy, at least, proportioned to the age, condition and abilities of each one. The importance too of a general culture linked with a practical and technical training is something which should by no means be overlooked.

If good human relations are to be cultivated, then it is necessary for genuine human values to stand at a premium, especially the art of living and working on friendly terms with others and entering into dialogue with them.

Training for the apostolate cannot consist in theoretical teaching alone; on that account there is need, right from the start of training, to learn gradually and prudently to see all things in the light of faith, to judge and act always in its light, to improve and perfect oneself by working with others, and in this manner to enter actively into the service of the Church. Inasmuch as the human person is continuously developing and new problems are forever arising, this education should be steadily perfected; it requires an ever more thorough knowledge and a continual adaptation of action. While meeting all its demands, concern for the unity and integrity of the human person must be kept always in the foreground, in order to preserve and intensify its harmony and equilibrium.

In this way the lay person actively inserts himself deep into the very reality of the temporal order and takes his part competently in the work of the world. At the same time, as a living member and witness of the Church, he brings its presence and its action into the heart of the temporal sphere.

TRAINING OTHERS FOR THE APOSTOLATE

30. Training for the apostolate should begin from the very start of a child’s education, but it is more particularly adolescents and youth who should be initiated into the apostolate and imbued with its spirit. This training should be continued all through life, to fit them to meet the demands of fresh duties. It is clear that those with responsibility for Christian education have also the duty of attending to this apostolic education.

It rests with parents to prepare their children from an early age, within the family circle, to discern God’s love for everyone; they will teach them little by little — and above all by their example — to have concern for their neighbor’s needs, material and spiritual. The whole family, accordingly, and its community life should become a kind of apprenticeship to the apostolate.

Children must be trained, besides, to go beyond the confines of the family and take an interest in both ecclesial and temporal communities. Their integration into the local parish community should succeed in bringing them the awareness of being living, active members of the People of God. Priests, for their part, should not lose sight of this question of training for the apostolate when catechizing, preaching and directing souls, and in other functions of the pastoral ministry.

Schools and colleges and other Catholic education institutions should foster in the young a Catholic outlook and apostolic action. If the young do not get this type of education, either because they do not attend these schools, or for some other reason, all the greater is the responsibility for it that devolves upon parents, pastoral and apostolic bodies. As for teachers and educators, who by their calling and position practice an outstanding form of lay, apostolate, adequate learning and a thorough grasp of pedagogy is a prerequisite to any success in this branch of education.

The various lay groups and associations dedicated to the apostolate or to any other supernatural end should look after this education to the apostolate with care and constancy, in ways consistent with their objectives and limits. Frequently the are the ordinary channel of adequate apostolic training; doctrinal, spiritual and practical. The members, gathered in small groups with their companions or friends, evaluate the methods and results of their apostolic action, and measure their everyday behavior by the Gospel.

The training should be pursued in such a way as to take account of the entire range of the lay apostolate, an apostolate that is to be exercised in all circumstances and in every sector of life — in professional and social sectors especially — and not confined within the precincts of the associations. In point of fact, every single lay person should himself actively undertake his own preparation for the apostate. Especially for adults does this hold true; for as the years pass, self-awareness expands and so allows each one to get a clearer view of the talents with which God has enriched his life and to bring in better results from the exercise of the charisms given him by the Holy Spirit for the good of his brothers.

FIELDS CALLING FOR SPECIALIZED TRAINING

31. Different types of apostolate require their own appropriate method of training:

(a) The apostolate of evangelization and sanctification: the laity are to be specially trained for engaging in dialogue with others, believers or non-believers, their aim being to set the message of Christ before the eyes of all. But as materialism under various guises is today spreading far and wide, even among Catholics, the laity should not only make a careful study of Catholic doctrine, especially points that are called into question, but should confront materialism of every type with the witness of evangelical life.

(b) The Christian renewal of the temporal order: the laity are to be instructed in the true meaning and value of temporal goods, both in themselves and in their relation to all the aims of the human person. The laity should gain experience in the right use of goods and in the organization of institutions, paying heed always to the common good in the light of the principles of the Church’s moral and social teaching. They should acquire such a knowledge of social teaching, especially, its principles and conclusions, as will fit them for contributing to the best of their ability to the progress of that teaching, and for making correct application of these same principles and conclusions in individual cases.

(c) Works of charity and mercy bear a most striking testimony to Christian life; therefore, an apostolic training which has as its object the performance of these works should enable the faithful to learn from very childhood how to sympathize with their brothers, and help them generously when in need.

AIDS TO TRAINING

32. Many aids are now at the disposal of the laity who devote themselves to the apostolate; namely, sessions, congresses, recollections, retreats, frequent meetings, conferences, books and periodicals; all these enable them to deepen their knowledge of holy scripture and Catholic doctrine, nourish the spiritual life, and become acquainted also with world conditions and discover and adopt suitable methods.

These educational aids take into account the various types of apostolate exercised in this or that particular area.

With this end in view higher centers or institutes have been created; these have already given excellent results.

The Council rejoices at initiatives of this kind now flourishing in certain regions; it desires to see them take root in other places too, wherever the need for them makes itself felt. Moreover, centers of documentation and research should be established, not only in theology but also in anthropology, psychology, sociology, methodology, for the benefit of all fields of the apostolate. The purpose of such centers is to create a more favorable atmosphere for developing the aptitudes of the laity, men and women, young and old.

EXHORTATION

33. The Council, then, makes to all the laity an earnest appeal in the Lord to give a willing, noble and enthusiastic response to the voice of Christ, who at this hour is summoning them more pressingly, and to the urging of the Holy Spirit. The younger generation should feel this call to be addressed in a special way to themselves; they should welcome it eagerly and generously. It Is the Lord Himself, by this Council, who is once more inviting all the laity to unite themselves to Him ever more intimately, to consider His interests as their own (cf. Phil. 2:5),

and to join in His mission as Savior. It is the Lord who is again sending them into every town and every place where He Himself is to come (cf. Luke 10:1).

He sends them on the Church’s apostolate, an apostolate that is one yet as different forms and methods, an apostolate that must all the time be adapting itself to the needs of the moment; He sends them on a apostolate where they are to show themselves His cooperators, doing their full share continually in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord their labor cannot be lost (cf. 1 Cor. 15:58).

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