Permanent Ministries as one of the Three Types of Servant Commitment of the Lay Faithful

Abstract

The article presents the sources of law, which are the basis for the establishment of the following ministries: lector, acolyte, catechist from the reform of Pope Paul VI to Pope Francis. In the next part, the author lists the servants’ own tasks and the tasks they perform on behalf of someone else. In the further part of the article, he considers the significant differences between the ministry and the function or task included in the letter of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments to the Presidents of the Episcopal Conferences in connection with the issuance of the rite of establishing the ministry of catechist. After comparing these differences, the reasons why functions and tasks are more often entrusted in practice, rather than appointed to the ministry are described. The summary contains the most important differences between a ministry and a function or task.