A Revolution-Lay Parish Ministers

Speaker calls growth in number of lay parish ministers a revolution

"Veil tip" to Dom on the Archdiocese of Boston's newspaper- "The Pilot"

Two-thirds of parishes across the spectrum of Catholic life in the United States, from cities to suburbs to small towns, now employ lay parish ministers, he said."It is hard to fathom just how much parish ministry changed in the span of one generation," DeLambo said. "Lay parish ministers are (now) a common and accepted presence in parishes across the country. This, indeed, is a development of revolutionary proportions."

What happened to the priest's role in the parish? Why isn't he considered to be in charge? Because he doesn't have great management or finance skills? Or is it because he can abdicate his authority to lay people who (more than likely) have been poorly catechized thereby relieving him of the responsibility to fully shepherd his flock.
I wish as a mother -in my vocation, that I could say to my husband--"here honey, you get to do all the shopping, the laundry, car-pooling, etc. now." So, if he responds negatively, I'll inform him that I'm going to hire a driver, a laundress, and a shopper to do this work. Seems to me that this would not be a true acceptance of my vocation.

To make matters worse these lay people have not been "fed" the true teachings of the Catholic Church. Often they have received degrees or instruction from schools or colleges that have blatantly NOT followed the Magisterium.

"The challenge for church leaders will be to facilitate the education and formation of lay parish ministers," he added. More and more dioceses are offering continuing education and formation programs, he said.Today about 80 percent of lay parish ministers are women, DeLambo said, noting that the percentage of men has increased slowly since 1990. He added that women in parish ministry are a "gift to the church," and those married with children "bring sensitivity to lay concerns, and to families, as well as to issues related to gender and inclusion."

And I know for fact there is a concerted effort to remove the patriarchy of the church only to replace it with a matriarchy. (This could be an interesting read --cuddle up to when the weather finally changes)

I'm afraid it appears to be business as usual...and as a local Sister of Mercy once stated (btw-vehemently "in my face") "the train has already left the station"! Thank you Sister!

GOD HELP US!