The Formation of Lay Catholics

Abstract

The revival of theology of the laity that was initiated by the Vatican Council II bears fruit in the form of giving back the dignity and role to the lay faithful, which follows from the fact that they belong to the Church community. Giving them back their subjective character in the Church is tantamount to recognizing their salutary activity in the Church and in the world. The Christian formation of lay Catholics seems a particularly important issue, as it is the foundation of a complete and proper involvement of lay Catholics in the life and mission of the Church.

The article undertakes the problem of the formation of lay Catholics, first showing what formation is and what its most important dimensions are. Next it discusses the aims of formation and the circles in which formation takes place. Finally, it points to the most important challenges that are faced by the formation of lay Catholics in Poland twenty years after publishing John Paul II’s post-synodal exhortation Christifideles laici.