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A document to describe the importance of the service of the laity in the Church, of their contriution also at the theological level, and also to furnish directives on their employment in the fields of evangelization and the liturgy, has been published by the Swiss Church. The result of the work begun five years ago by a study group of the theological Commission of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference, it has been distributed to pastoral workers in the country, as reported in a communiqué released by the bishops on 17 January. The document, divided into two chapters, is entitled: “Laity sent on the service of the Church” (Laïcs mandatés au service d’Eglise) and emphasises the “urgent and significant” role of the laity in the field of evangelization. It also clarifies some points on their “identity and their tasks” within the Church. “According to the Council, in fact, all the laity are called, by virtue of Baptism, to participate actively in the preaching of the Word, in the liturgical celebration of the sacraments and in the Christian edification of the faithful”. In the second chapter the bishops point out the danger, due to the shortage of priests, of not taking very seriously the mission and tasks of the ordained ministers of the Church. To “heighten awareness” of this issue, the document ends with a list of the directives and norms that regulate the tasks of the laity in the service of the Church.
