rain and the rhinoceros

Vatican II’s affirmation of the “priesthood of the laity” led to a new understanding of the relationship between the laity and the ordained members of the Church. Vatican I emphasized papal primacy and infallibility and painted an image of the Church’s hierarchy as a pyramid. The vision of the Church’s hierarchy as a pyramid, with the pope at the top, the bishops right beneath, then the priest, left the masses, the laity, at the very bottom. As John Ford puts it, the problem with this image of the hierarchy is that it “implied a correlative understanding of the ministries of the person(s) at each level” (299). In this model, the laity play a passive role: they are recipients of the sacraments and teaching, but do not play any significant role in shaping the life and vision of the Church. In contrast, Vatican II envisioned the hierarchy, not as a pyramid, but as a communion. While affirming the structural hierarchy, the Church empowered the laity to share “in the one priesthood of Christ” (LG 10), which even includes playing a role in the formulation of doctrine (LG 12). Furthermore, the Council called the laity to “share in the priestly, prophetic and kingly office of Christ” (AA 2) in the Church through participation in activities such as teaching the catechism, pastoral care, and administering the resources of the Church (AA 10).

The emphasis on the “priesthood of the laity” has led to new understandings of the various ministries of the Church and how they relate to one another. In this model, the ordained priest still enjoys particular duties, serving as “pastoral minsters of Word and sacraments in a local eucharistic community” (M 30), but his duty includes empowering the lay people to fulfill their own priestly, prophetic, and kingly functions in the Church and in the world. In effect, this vision of the Church collapses (and perhaps even inverts) the pyramid scheme: the pope, the bishops, the priests, and deacons, though fulfilling their respective duties, also serve the laity and empower them to fulfill their vocation to be “leaven in the world” and witnesses to the gospel.