Reign of the Temple Whore: Have we blurred the boundaries between the ordained and the laity?

Priest as bitch?

Originally embraced as a way to offset priest shortages, pastoral associate programs can sometimes be used to push other agendas. [ed.: a gross understatement]

Celebrating Mass on January 17 and commissioning seven new pastoral associates for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Archbishop José Gomez thanked the three women and four men for their “generous response to the spirit.” The newly installed pastoral associates join others in the archdiocese in serving alongside ordained clergy—heading up RCIA classes, planning Sunday liturgies, and leading communal prayers, Communion services, wakes, Scripture studies, faith formation programs, and more. Designed to respond to the call of Vatican II’s Lumen Gentium, which is described on the Los Angeles archdiocesan website as “reminding us of the ancient understanding of the priesthood of all the baptized,” the pastoral associates program was created to provide lay Catholics an opportunity to share in the salvific mission of Christ in the world.

It is a laudable goal. But in some dioceses throughout the country, pastoral associates programs have caused confusion about both the purpose of such programs and the role of the laity. A “broadened” interpretation of the “priesthood of all the baptized” has created a sense of ambiguity about the appropriate limits of the laity as well as a blurring of the boundaries between the laity and the ordained. In Los Angeles, the role of the pastoral associate has expanded to include the ministry of pastoral care with couples “with regard to marriage or annulment procedures,” and “developing social consciousness among the staff and parishioners and respond[ing] to the needs of the poor and victimized.” The archdiocesan website also states: “At the Archbishop’s discretion and in dialogue with the parish community, a pastoral associate may function as the primary pastoral minister.”  (more...)

Have we blurred the boundaries between the ordained and the laity?

She who entered the temple to be worshipped, not to worship