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 LAITY

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LAITY

means and the circuMistances of the case, to contribute towards the expenses of DiN-ine service and the fitting support of the clergj-; this is an obhgation incumbent on them in return tor the right which they have to the ser\aces of their priests with regard to the Mass and other spiritual exercises. These contributions fall under two distinct classes: certain gifts and offerings of the faithful are intended in general for the Divine services and the support of the clergy; others, on the contrary, are connected with various acts of the sacred ministry which are freely asked for, such as the sti- pends for Masses, the dues for funeral services, mar- riages, etc. There is no fixed sum for the former class, the matter being left to the generosity of the faithful; in many countries they have taken the place of the fixed incomes that the various churches and the clergy were possessed of, arising especially from landed prop- erty; they have likewise replaced the tithes, no longer recognized by the secular governments. The latter class, however, are fixed by ecclesiastical authority or custom and may be demanded in justice; not that thisispaj-ing for sacred things, which would be simony, but they are offerings for the Di\'iue ser\-ice and the clergy on the occasion of certain definite acts (see Offerings; Tithes).

There remains to speak of the duties and rights of the laity towards the ecclesiastical authority as such, in matters foreign to the sacred ministrj'. The duties, which affect both laity and clergy, consist in submis- sion and obedience to legitimate hierarchical author- ity: the pope, the bishops, and, in a proportionate degree, the parish priests and other acting ecclesiastics. The decisions, judgments, orders, and directions of our lawful pastors, in matters of doctrine, morals, disci- pline, and even administration, must be accepted and obeyed by all members of the Christian society, at least in as far as they are subject to that authority. That is a condition requisite to the well-being of any society whatsoever. However, in the case of the Christian society, authoritative decisions and direc- tions, in as far as they are concerned mth faith and morals, bind not merely to exterior acts and formal obedience; they are, moreover, a matter of conscience and demand loyal interior acceptance. On the other hand, seeing that in the Church the superiors have been estabhshed for the welfare of the subjects, so that the pope himself glories in the title "servant of the servants of God ", the faithful have the right to expect the care, vigilance, and protection of their pastors; in particular they have the right to refer their disputes to the ecclesiastical authorities for decision, to consult them in case of doubt or difficulty, and to ask for suitable guidance for their religious or moral conduct.

Privileges and Restrictions of the Laity. — Since the laity is distinct from the clergy, and since Divine worship, doctrinal teaching, and ecclesiastical government are reserved, at least in essentials, to the latter, it follows that the former may not interfere in purely clerical offices; they can participate only in a secondary and accessory manner, and that in virtue of a more or less explicit authorization. Any other in- terference would 1)6 an unlawful and guilty usurpa- tion, punishable at times with censures and penalties. We will apply this principle now to matters of worship, teaching, and government or administration.

(1) As to the Liturgy. — As to Divine service, the liturgy and especially the essential act of the Christian worship, the Holy Sacrifice, the active ministers are the clergy alone. l?ut the laity really join in it. Not only do they assist at the Sacrifice and receive its spiritual effects, but they offer it through the ministry of the priest. Formerly they could, and even were obliged to, bring and offer at t ho altar the matter of t he sacrifice, i. e. the bread and wine; that is what they really do to-day by their offerings and their stipends for Masses. At several parts of the Mass, the prayers mention them as offering the sacrifice together ^vith

the clergj', especially in the passage immediately after the consecration: "Unde et memores, nos servi tui (the clergy) sed et plebs tua sancta (the laity) . . . offerimus praeclariB Majestati tu£e, de tuis donis ac datis", etc. The laity reply to the salutations and in\atations of the celebrant, thus joining in the solemn prayer; especially do they share in the Holy Victim by Holy Communion (confined for them in the Latin Liturgy to the species of bread), which they can re- ceive also outside of the time of Mass and at home in case of illness. Such is the participation of the laity in the Liturgy, and strictly they are Umited to that; all the active portion is performed by the clergy.

Regularly, no laj-man may sit -n-ithin the presby- terium, or sanctuary, nor may he read any part of the Liturgy, much less pray publicly, or serve the priest at the altar, or, above all, offer the Sacrifice. However, owing to the almost complete disappearance of the inferior clergy, there has gradually arisen the custom of appointing lay persons to perform certain minor clerical duties. In most of our churches, the choir- boys, schoolboys, sacristans, and chanters, serve low Masses and Missw cantatw, occupy places in the sanc- tuary, and act as acolytes, thurifers, masters of cere- monies, and even as lectors. On such occasions they are given, at least in solemn ser\dces, a clerical cos- tume, the cassock and surplice, as if to admit them temporarily to the ranks of the clergy and thus recog- nize and safeguard the principle of excluding the laity. These remarks apply not only to the celebration of Mass, but to all liturgical services: the laity are sep- arated from the clergy. In processions especially, confraternities and other bodies of the laity precede the clergy; the women being first, then the men, next regular clergy, and lastly the secular clergy.

In the administration of the sacraments, the sacra- mentals, and other like liturgical offices, the .same principle appUes, and ordinarily everything is reserved to the clergy. But'it should be mentioned that the laity may administer baptism (q. v.) in cases of neces- sity, and though not of practical importance with regard to adults, this frequently occurs when children are in danger of death. In the early ages, the faithful carried away the Blessed Eucharist to their homes and gave themselves the Holy Communion (cf. TertuUian, "Ad uxorem", ii, 5). That was a purely material administration of the sacrament, and hardly differed from the communion ceremony in the church, where the consecrated host was placed in the hand of each communicant. We should mention also the use of the blessed oil by those who were sick, if that be considered an administration of extreme unction (cf. the Decre- tal of Innocent I to Decentius of Eugubium, n. 8; serm. cclxv and cclxxix; append, of the works of St. Augustine, really the work of St. Caesarius of Aries). But those practices have long since disappeared. As to matrimony, if the sacrament itself, which is none other than the contract, has as its authors the lay persons contracting, the liturgical administration is reserved to-day, as formerly, to the clergj'. With these exceptions, there is nothdng to prevent the laity from using the liturgical prayers in their private devo- tions, from reciting the Divine Office, or the various Little Offices drawn up particularly for them, or from joining in associations or confraternities to practise together and according to rule certain pious exercises, the confraternities having been formed lawfully in virtue of episcopal approbation.

(2) -Is to Doctrine. — The body of the faithful is strictly speaking the Errlcxin docta (the Church taught), in con- trast with the Eaicsia doccns (the teaching Church), which consists of the pope ami the bisli(ii)s. When there is (luestion, therefore, of the official teaching of religious doctrine', the laity is neither competent nor authorized to speak in the name of (iod and the Church (cap. xii et sej., lil). V, tit. vii, " De luereticis ''). ('onse- qucntly they are not allowed to preach in church, or to