Lay Ecclesial Movements and the New Clericalism

America magazine has two articles about apostolic movements (also called lay associations) and their relationships with parish life. (Lay movements include

• Cursillo
• Worldwide Marriage Encounter
• Communion and Liberation
• Charismatic Renewal
• Community of Saint ‘Egidio

Both articles assess their contributions and their tensions with parish life.

    Not discussed, but I think related, is what writer Russell Shaw calls the “new clericalism” and the institutional church’s attitude toward the role of the laity.

In Where the Laity Flourish Allen Figeroa Deck, S.J. writes:

Good people in these movements often experienced rejection when they tried to enlist their parish priests in supporting or working with them. The priests often saw the movement as “stealing” their parishioners and leadership. So a certain amount of tension characterizes the historical relationship between parishes and movements. That tension has tended to mount in light of the growing strength of both the older movements and new ones, such as those that have grown up in Europe in the 20th century. The latter include, for example, the Neocatechumenate, Communion and Liberation and even Opus Dei.

Parish priests often do not know how the dynamic of the movements relates to the immediate tasks and concerns of the parish. Many view them therefore as at best peripheral and at worse a debilitating drain on the parish. Yet the movements attract and energize many parishioners as well as “recovering Catholics” and the nonchurched too. Some of the better lay leaders are attracted to the movements and, what’s more, find a space to exercise leadership—something not so easy to do in too many still clericalized parish milieus.

(America is available on the web to subscribers only. Email me if you want a copy of the entire article.)

    Based on my own experience, this is exactly the case. We can’t automatically blame the parish priests for this. They are merely following one of Miles Law – a corollary to Murphy’s Law – which states:

    “Where you stand depends on where you sit.”

The pastor sits in a chair making him responsible for the functioning of the parish. It is only natural that his stand on lay associations would be influenced by his vision for the parish and his assessment of how they affect the parish.

   Vincent Gragnani, in A Symphony of Church Life  provides some context for the development and popularity of lay movements. He writes of even sharper conflicts:

In October 2004 Archbishop Harry Flynn of Minneapolis sent a letter to the Legionaries of Christ and to all parishioners informing them that the Legionaries and Regnum Christi were not to use parish or diocesan property, or use diocesan channels to promote events. “I feel very strongly that any group of religious who minister within this local church needs to do so in a way which promotes unity and cooperation,” Archbishop Flynn’s letter stated. “Rather than experiencing such a spirit, our pastors continue to sense that a ‘parallel church’ is being encouraged, one that separates persons from the local parish and archdiocese, and creates competing structures.”

The diocese of Columbus, Ohio, enacted a similar policy in 2002. And in 2004 the Diocese of Baton Rouge sent a letter home with students warning parents that the Legionaries operate outside the structures of the Catholic Church and often recruit children and teens to join their programs.

Now I understand the Bishops’ concern about movements that have their own agenda towards reforming the church. The basic issue here, just to be clear, is power.

There is, I suggest, another factor operating here. The conflict is deeper that the normal tug and pull of institutional interests characterized by Miles’ Law. It involves a vision of the role of the laity and spirituality. Author Russell Shaw, said it best in an article in Initiatives:

Christianity often exhibits “contempt of the world,” says Fr. John Courtney Murray, SJ (1904-1967). It is like the monk “who wove a basket one day; the next day he unwove it.” The monk’s so-called work was merely a backdrop to his “contemplation of heavenly things...The basket itself did not matter.” (We Hold These
Truths: Catholic Reflections on the American Proposition, Rowman Littlefield [1960], 4720 Boston Way #A, Lanham, MD 20706; $24.95)

“This negativism about the world [called contemptus mundi] points to a serious problem for lay spirituality,” says Russell Shaw, because lay people are deeply involved in the world “of structures, institutions and relationships; [their] family, work, friendships, educational and cultural influences, systems of governance and economic life.”

Fortunately, Shaw continues, “Vatican II took a profoundly different view.” Work, family life and civic involvements are hardly a distraction, according to Vatican II. In and of itself work contributes to the spiritual life—not only during one’s earthly journey, but also in some sense, notes Shaw, “the results of human activity in this world...last for eternity.” Unfortunately, the remarkable implications of Vatican II “still haven’t sunk in.” 

One obstacle, Shaw says, is a new type of clericalism that “tends to discourage lay people from cultivating a spirituality that rises above a rather low level.” This clericalism is not
the old authoritarian type and its antidote is certainly not lay hostility toward priests. In fact, countless lay people, both on the so-called right and left, buy into the new clericalism.   

The new clericalism, Shaw details, is “the assumption that the advancement of lay
people requires admitting them to offices and functions previously reserved for clerics.” The post-Vatican II explosion of lay ministries (both voluntary and professional) is “a healthy development.” But the nearly exclusive emphasis on lay ministry in many parishes and Church agencies is “a damaging blow to the church’s mission.” The current “emphasis on activities within the structures and institutions of the Church” is a setback “to the need for a new evangelization” and it leaves lay people without their own worldly spirituality. 

Lay people, taking cues from Vatican II, have to craft “a genuinely lay spirituality,” Shaw concludes. It will be fashioned from the contours of work, marriage, family life and friendships. A Vatican II lay spirituality will point toward the world, encouraging Christians “to infuse one’s milieu—workplace, classroom, home, neighborhood—with gospel values.” Catholic Laity in the Mission of the Church

    A few years ago, I was asking my spiritual advisor about choosing among the various activities open to me as a retired federal manager and long time active Catholic. I was experiencing some frustration in parish work and successes in other areas. His response was “… by their fruits you shall know them.” (Mt. 7:20) At the time I was experiencing success working with the Kiwanis Club of Charlottesville.. (Our work was bearing fruit. We have funded life skills training for over 400 Head Start students and sponsor service organizations – Key clubs – at five different High Schools involving over 400 students. Kiwanis international has sponsored a worldwide service project protecting billions of children from Iodine Deficiency Disorder, a leading cause of goiter and mental retardation). I was also meeting regularly with a centering prayer group - part of Contemplative Outreach. Both of these activities seemed more creative and fruitful than returning to roles inside the confines of our parish, I have continued in them.

    Lay associations, I suspect, are successful not just because they fulfill a spiritual need. They also take the approach that each lay person has a life to live and ministry to perform. The association is there to help them. They can't very well approach their spirituality from an attitude of "contemptus mundi". Where would we be if parishes took a positive attitude towards lay spirituality, encouraging them in their ministry instead of insisting that they dedicate their time primarily to building a stronger parish?