Co-responsibility demands a change in mindset especially concerning the role of lay people in the Church. They should not be regarded as “collaborators” of the clergy, but, rather, as people who are really “co-responsible” for the Church’s being and acting.
Do we collaborate with the laity in the mission, or is our relationship with them exploitative?
Whatever we achieve while working alone in the ministry will always be doubled if we work together.
Religious experience differs from spirituality because one or multiple experiences with God do not always equate to a relationship with him
The lack of self-worth induced by disregard by ecclesiastical authority snuffs out the burning zeal for our father’s house
The vine-dresser in John 15 is not interested in branches with beautiful flowers but in those that bear fruits. The Church is the mystical body of Jesus Christ (Mysticum Corpus Iesu Christi), and it is ONLY Christ’s criteria for the mission that should govern everything we do. Every other thing is secondary.
Jesus is not interested in the number of our academic degrees or our grades at graduation; he is not interested in our wealth or talents, or awards, but in how our knowledge, wealth, and talents bear fruit in the lives of others.
Indeed, discussing priest or religious with the laity is a symptom of a toxic relationship in the rectory, presbyterium, or convent.
A leader is to lead, and an assistant is to assist the leader. Whether it is an assistant trying to push over or outshine the leader, or a leader trying to suppress the assistant—none is being faithful to his duty.
Ignorance of one’s obligations and rights, the crisis of competence, and a poor relationship with God create the perfect mix for an unfriendly working environment, intractable conflicts, and the threat or decision to “deal with the other”.
