LAITY
749
LAITY
so evident aa to place beyond all doubt the existence
at that time of two distinct classes, the clergy and the
laity. Moreover, in all societies among which Chris-
tianity kid spread, religious service had already its
special ministers, and the Christian organization would
have retrograded if its worship and its sacrifice had
not been entrusted exclusively to a special class.
Christ selected the .Vpostles from among His dis- ciples, and among the .Vpostles He selected Peter to be their head. He entrusted them with the furtherance of His work; to them he confided the power of the keys, i. e. spiritual authority, for they are tlie keys of the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt., xvi, 19) ; He gave them the mission to teach and baptize all nations (Matt., xxviii, 18); to them also He addressed those words at the Last Supper: "Do this in commemora- tion of me" (Luke, xxii, 19). As soon as the Church begins to live, the ,-\postles appear as its leaders; they are distinct from the "multitude of believers"; it is into their ranks that they Isring Matthias (Acts, i, 15), and later, by the command of the Holy Ghost, Saul and Barnabas, whom they receive with the imposition of hands (Acts, xiii, 2). Wherever St. Paul founds Churches he gives them leaders "placed by the Holy Spirit to govern the Church of God" (.\cts, xx, 28); the Pastoral Epistles reveal to us a directing liody com- posed of the bishops, or priests, and deacons (I Clement., xliii, 4); and they it is, especially the bishops, who perform exclusively the liturgical services (Ep. Ignat., "ad. Smyrn.", 8). If at times the Christian people participate in the Divine service or the government, they never appear acting independently nor even on an equal footing with the heads of the community (cf. Batiffol, "L'Eglise naissante et le catholicisme", Paris, 1909). This distinction between the two classes in the Christian society refers to social rank, not to individual moral perfection. It is true that the clergy, being dedicated to the service of the altar, are thereby bound to strive after perfection; yet neither their vir- tues nor their failings influence in any way their pow- ers. On the other liand, the laity, besides their right to aspire freely to admission into the ranks of the clergy, on complying with the requisite conditions, are exliorted to practise every virtue, even in the highest degree. They can also bind themselves to observe the evangelical counsels, under the guidance of the Church, either in the world, as did the ancient ascetics, or by- withdrawing from the world into one of the many reli- gious houses. But ascetics, nuns, and unordained members of religious associations of men were not originally in the ranks of the clergy, and, strictly speaking, are not so even to-day, though, on account of their closer and more special dependence on ecclesias- tical authority, they have long been included under the title clergy in its wider sense (see Religiou.s). The juridical condition of the laity in the Christian society is therefore tletermined by two considerations: their separation from the clergy, which excludes them from the performance of acts reser\'ed to the latter: and second, their subjection to the spiritual authority of the clergy, which imposes certain obligations on them, while at the same time it confers on them certain rights.
Duties .\nd Rights of the L.mty. — Having come through Baptism to the supernatural life, being mem- bers of the Christian society and adopted children of God, the laity belong to the "chosen race ", the " royal priesthood " (I Peter, ii, 9) formed of all those who are born again in Christ. They have therefore a right to share in the common spiritual goods of the Chris- tian society, which implies a corresponding obligation on the part of the clergy to bestow on them these goods, in as far as this bestowal requires the intervention of the ministers of religion and of the spiritual authority. But if the laity are to share in these common goods they must employ more or less frequently the means of sanctification "instituted by Jesus Christ in His Church, and of which the clergy have been put in
charge. Further, the laity, being subject to ecclesias-
tical authority, must obey and respect it; but in re-
turn they have the right to obtain from it direction,
protection, and service. Thus, for the laity rights and
duties are, as always, correlative. The first duty of a
Christian is to believe; the first obligation imparted to
the laity is, therefore, to learn the truths of faith and of
religion, at first by means of the catechism and reU-
gious instruction, and later by being present at ser-
mons, missions, or retreats. If they are thus obliged
to learn, they have the right to be instructed and con-
sequently to require their priests to give them and
their children Christian teacliing in the ordinary way.
Second, a < 'hrist inn's moral conduct should be in keep-
ing with his faith; he must, therefore, preserve his
spiritual life by the means which Jesus has established
in His Church: the Divine service, especially the Mass,
the Sacraments, and other sacred rites.
This necessity of having recourse to the pastoral ministry gives rise to a right in the laity as regards the clergy, the right of obtaining from them the adminis- tration of the sacraments, especially Penance and the Holy Eucharist, and others according to circum- stances; also all the other acts of Christian worship, especially the Mass, the sacramentals and other rites, and lastly Christian burial. These are the spiritual goods destined for the sanctification of souls; it the clergy are appointed to administer them, they are not free dispensers, and they are bound to give their ser- vices to the faithful, as long, at least, as the latter have not by their own fault placed themselves in a condi- tion that deprives them of the right to demand these services. Considered from the standpoint of the laity, this recourse to the ministry of the clergy is sometimes obligatory and sometimes optional, according to cir- cumstances. It may be an oliligation imposed by a command of the Church, or necessitated by personal reasons; in other cases, it may be a matter of counsel and left to the devotion of each one. This is a subject which exhibits most clearly the difference between a precept and a counsel with regard to our outward Christian life. Assistance at Mass on Sundays and holy days of obhgation, annual confession, Easter com- munion, the reception of the viaticum (q. v.) and the last services of religion, the celebration of marriage in the prescriljed form, the baptism and religious instruc- tion of children, and, finally, the rites of Christian burial — all these suppose a recourse to the ministry of the clergy which is of obligation for the laity, abstract- ing from individual cases when there may be a legiti- mate excuse. On the other hand, more or less frequent confessions and communions, hearing of daily Mass, frequenting the Divine Oflice, asking for special cere- monies (for instance, churcliing) celebration of Masses, obtaining services and prayers for the dead or for other intentions, are things that are perfectly legiti- mate and are counselled, but are optional. We may also mention the obligatory or free acts intencfed for the personal sanctification of the laity, but which rlo not require the help of the clergy: private prayer, fasting and abstinence, avoidance of servile work on Sundays and holy days of obligation, and, lastly, in general all that relates to the moral hfe and the observ- ance of the commandments of God.
From these obligatory and optional relations exist- ing between the laity and the clergy there arise certain duties of the former towards the latter. In the first place, respect and deference should be shown to the clergy, especially in the exercise of their function, on account of their sacred character and the Divine au- thority with which they are invested (Cone. Trid., Sess. XXV, c. xx). This respect should be shown in daily intercourse, and la>Tnen inspired with a truly Christian spirit do homage to God in the person of His ministers, even when the conduct of the latter is not in keeping with the sanctity of their state. In the second place the laity are obliged, in proportion to their
