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INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATIONS OF THE FAITHFUL
DIRECTORY
Directory of Associations on line
PREFACE
A constant feature of the life of the Church
The burgeoning of associations of the laity, which are
such a typical feature of the contemporary Church, is by no
means unprecedented in the Church’s history. As John Paul II
has said, across the centuries "we have constantly seen the
phenomenon of groups of varying sizes being spontaneously
urged on to join together, driven by a mysterious prompting
of the Holy Spirit, to pursue specific charitable or
spiritual purposes to meet particular needs of the Church in
their time and also to cooperate in her essential and
permanent mission".( 1) Even a cursory
glance at the history of the Church reveals the magnitude of
the work performed by these associations at crucial moments
in its existence, and the wealth of charisms generated in
all ages by lay movements created for the renewal of the
Christian life. The development of monasticism in the first
millennium, and the emergence of the mendicant Orders in the
13th century stand as evidence of the work of the laity. In
the 16th century, before and after the Council of Trent, in
the wake of Church reform, a vast network of lay
associations was created, in which a leading part was played
by the Confraternities, Oratories and the Marian
Congregations.
The latter half of the 19th century saw the founding of
the Vincentian Conferences by Blessed Frédéric Ozanam, the
Union of Catholic Apostolate by St Vincent Pallotti,
educational initiatives by St John Bosco, and social work by
Blessed Adolph Kolping, to mention but a few of the many
society-oriented associations that were established in that
period, and which were to flow into the Catholic movement of
social and welfare organisations which Leo XIII did so much
to encourage.
It was also in that period that Catholic Action was
founded. It went on to flourish, particularly during the
Pontificate of Pius XI, and from it specialised associations
of Catholics emerged to address specific age groups and
environments. In the first few decades of the 20th century
numerous Catholic international organisations gradually
spread throughout the world, covering vast areas of action —
the family, the professions, education, culture, politics,
the media, charitable work and human development.
More recently, giving renewed vigour to the Church’s
acknowledgement of the dignity and responsibility of all
Christians by virtue of their baptism, Vatican II not only
gave a powerful impetus to the whole universe of lay
associations, but also to the emergence of new charisms and
new forms of associations going by the name of ’ecclesial
movements’ and ’new communities’. (2) In
Christifideles Laici, written 20 years after the
Council, it is precisely this to which John Paul II was
referring when he wrote that, "the phenomenon of lay people
associating among themselves has taken on a character of
particular variety and vitality [heralding in] a new era
of group endeavours [in which] alongside the traditional
forming of associations, and at times coming from their very
roots, movements and new sodalities have sprouted, with a
specific feature and purpose [...] so great is the capacity
of initiative and the generosity of our lay people".(3)
The Pope sees these movements as one
of the most significant fruits of the new springtime of the
Church that burgeoned with the Second Vatican Council, and
as "a motive of hope for the Church and for humanity" today,(4)
a work of the Spirit that makes the
Church a stream of new life flowing through the history of
mankind. In our increasingly secularised world, in which the
faith of many is sorely tested, and is frequently stifled
and dies, the movements and the new ecclesial communities,
which are bearers of unexpected and powerful newness, are
"the response, given by the Holy Spirit, to this critical
challenge at the end of the millennium, [a] providential
response".(5)
As
John Paul II sees it, the lay associations in the Church are
opening up a phase that is rich in expectations and hopes.
The importance of lay associations in the mission of
the Church
In the light of the Church’s renewed self-awareness as
the mystery of missionary communion, Vatican II - after
urging the lay faithful to remember that the individual
apostolate is unique and "admits of no substitute" as the "origin
and condition of the whole lay apostolate",( 6)
- went on to emphasise the importance of
organised forms of lay apostolate(7) which are not only consistent with the social nature of the
human person, but "at the same time signify the communion
and unity of the Church in Christ".(8)
Pointing out that "the associations
established for carrying on the apostolate in common sustain
their members, form them for the apostolate, and... much
better results can be expected than if each member were to
act on his own," the Council went on to say that, "in view
of the progress of social institutions and the fast-moving
pace of modern society, the global nature of the Church’s
mission requires that apostolic enterprises of Catholics
should more and more develop organised forms in the
international sphere".(9)
These have to be strengthened not only
because they "can contribute in many ways to the building up
of a peaceful and fraternal community of nations", but also
because they help to "form an awareness of genuine universal
solidarity and responsibility".(10)
In the section of the Code of Canon Law dealing with
associations of the faithful, a distinction is made between
public associations and private associations, and conditions
are laid down for their recognition or erection;( 11)
it confirms that "Christ’s faithful
may freely establish and direct associations which serve
charitable or pious purposes or which foster the Christian
vocation in the world".(12)
Here, the Code is reiterating the teaching of
Vatican II, which explicitly states that, "Maintaining the
proper relationship to Church authorities, the laity have
the right to found and control such associations and to join
those already existing."(13)
This right and the resultant freedom to form
and join associations do not depend on the benevolence of
the Pastors, but are rooted in the nature of the human
person and stem from the ontological reality of the
sacrament of baptism which creates a fundamental equality
between all the members of the people of God as "new
creatures" (cf 2 Cor 5:17), grafted onto Christ and
animated by the Holy Spirit. It is precisely by virtue of
their right as baptised Christians, that this freedom is
exercised in harmony with the ecclesiology of communion
referred to in Christifideles Laici, which presents
the Church as an organic communion of vocations, ministries,
services, charisms and responsibilities in all their
diversity and complementarity.(14) And
this freedom must be exercised under the paternal oversight
of the Pastors, who have the responsibility of discerning
charisms and recognising or erecting the associations of the
faithful.
On many occasions, John Paul II made it clear that "there
is no conflict or opposition in the Church between the institutional dimension
and the charismatic
dimension, of which the movements are a significant
expression. Both are co-essential to the divine constitution
of the Church founded by Jesus, because they both help to
make the mystery of Christ and his saving grace present in
the world."( 15)
Charisms are gifts of the Holy Spirit to the Church to
make it ever more able to perform its mission in the world,
and should therefore be welcomed with gratitude, and
accompanied and helped to develop.( 16)
The canonical recognition that they
officially receive from the Church authorities confirms the
validity of what they offer the faithful as a genuine means
of moving forward towards the holiness of personal and
community life. It is for this reason that discernment and
recognition must take place in the light of the clear "criteria
of ecclesiality" which are listed in Christifideles
Laici. It might be useful to recall briefly at this
point: "the primacy given to the call of every Christian to
holiness, the responsibility of professing the Catholic
faith, the witness to a strong and authentic communion with
the Successor of St Peter and the local Bishop, and a
commitment to a presence in human society".(17)
These criteria - which "find their
verification in the actual fruits that various group
forms show in their organisational life and the works they
perform",(18) -
are essential guidelines for the work of discernment
performed by the Pastors, and are valuable signposts to be
followed by associations and movements, which are
significantly urged by the Pope to set out along the path of
"ecclesial maturity".(19)
The nature and purpose of this Directory
The Directory is a response to the invitation extended by
John Paul II to the Pontifical Council for the Laity in Christifideles Laici
to draw up a list of associations
which have received the "official recognition and explicit
approval" of the Holy See.( 20)
Considering the wealth of charisms and
different forms that associations of the laity have in
today’s Church, in its response to the Holy Father’s request,
the Pontifical Council for the Laity worked on the idea of
publishing a Directory of the international associations of
the faithful, to present a general picture as
comprehensively as possible, and based on the latest data at
its disposal, of the phenomenon of associations throughout
the vast and varied world of the Catholic laity.
It was in April 2000 that the Pontifical Council began by
sending a form to all the international associations of the
faithful in contact with it, to be used as the blueprint for
submitting information on what they are and what they do.
All the forms that were submitted, in different ways and at
different times, by the associations who responded to this
request were carefully examined and the information was
painstakingly extracted to ensure uniformity in the way the
data would be set out, but also in many cases it was
necessary to ask for clarifications, explanations and
missing data. Particular care has been taken to spell out
the charisms at the origin of the associations listed in the
Directory, always seeking to safeguard the concepts and
keywords that characterise their particular experiences.
This Directory, which contains 122 associations of the
faithful, is the first publication by the Pontifical Council
for the Laity in which such a full and systematic treatment
has been given to the associations in the contemporary lay
Catholic world.( 21) In view of the
great variety of different types of associations, and their
differing legal status and statutes, it must be borne in
mind that this Directory lists associations - distinct from
Institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic
life - that have an international spread and in which "the
Christian faithful, whether clerics, lay persons, or clerics
and lay persons together, strive in a common endeavour to
foster a more perfect life, to promote public worship or
Christian doctrine, or to exercise other works of the
apostolate such as initiatives of evangelization, works of
piety or charity, and those which animate the temporal order
with a Christian spirit".(22)
It also lists international associations with
a particular ecumenical and/or interfaith vocation in which
the Catholic component prevails. But it does not list any of
the associations which, while in contact with the Pontifical
Council for the Laity, are juridically dependent on other
Departments of the Roman Curia (such as the Congregation for
Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic
Life, the Congregation for the Clergy, the Congregation for
the Evangelisation of Peoples), and those which work
exclusively in the diocesan or national environment.
Each of the associations listed in this volume has a
section to itself, giving its official name, any commonly
used name and acronym (and whenever necessary, the
name in the original language on which the acronym is based),
the year of foundation, a short historical background,
their identity, organisation, dissemination, works,
publications, web sites and the addresses of their head
offices, and their logos. Where no data has been submitted,
the relevant items have been omitted. The addresses of the
head offices given here are those of the members of the
teams of officials who are periodically renewed; when the
Directory is eventually published, some may therefore no
longer be valid. In these cases, the web sites of the
associations may be useful. The associations are listed in
alphabetical order of their official names in English except
in rare cases where translation would not be appropriate.
Considering the pace at which the associations are changing
and developing, this Directory will have to be periodically
updated.
This Directory of the associations of the faithful is
designed to be a resource on which the pastors of the Church
can draw to find useful information when first coming into
contact with any particular lay association, and as a
practical tool to assist them in the performance of their
ministry; it is also designed for the associations of the
faithful themselves, as a stimulus to become better
acquainted with one another in a spirit of ecclesial
communion; and lastly it is for all those who wish to find
out more about the world of Catholic lay associations, to
study it more closely.
Reiterating the urgent need for a new evangelisation,
John Paul II constantly referred to the role of "forms of
association, whether of the more traditional kind or the
newer ecclesial movements, which continue to give the Church
a vitality that is God’s gift". (23)
The Pontifical Council for the Laity
is confident that the Directory will help to bear testimony
to this.
Stanislaw Rylko
Titular Archbishop of Novica
President of the Pontifical Council for the
Laity
1 JOHN PAUL II, speaking to the Ecclesial Movements
attending the II International Colloquium, original version
in "Insegnamenti", X, 1 (1987), 477.
2 Cf. H. JEDIN (a cura di) Storia della Chiesa,
Jaca Book, Milano 1992-1995; A. FLICHE-V. MARTIN, (a cura
di), Storia della Chiesa, Edizione Paoline, Torino
1957-1991; F. GONZÁLEZ-FERNÁNDEZ, I movimenti. Dalla
Chiesa degli apostoli a oggi, BUR, Milano 2000; J.
RATZINGER, The Ecclesial Movements: A Theological
Reflection on Their Place in the Church, in Movements
in the Church, Pontificium Consilium pro Laicis, Città
del Vaticano 1999, 23-51.
3 JOHN PAUL II, Postsynodal Apostolic Exhortation, Christifideles Laici, no. 29.
4 JOHN PAUL II, Homily on the Vigil of Pentecost, original version in "Insegnamenti", XIX, 1 (1996), 1373.
5 JOHN PAUL II, Address on the Occasion of the Meeting
with Ecclesial Movements and New Communities at the Vigil of
Pentecost, in Movements in the Church, op. cit.,
223.
6 SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Decree on The Apostolate of the
Laity Apostolicamb Actuositatem, no. 16.
7 Cf. Ibid., nos. 18-21.
8 Ibid., no. 18.
9 Ibid., no. 19.
10 Cf. SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on
the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, no.
90.
11 Cf. Code of Canon Law, cann. 298-329.
12 Ibid., can. 215; cfr. Code of Canons for the
Eastern Churches, can. 18.
13 SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Decree on the Apostolate of
the Laity Apostolicam Actuositatem, no. 19.
14 JOHN PAUL II, Postsynodal Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici, no. 20.
15 JOHN PAUL II, Message to Participants in the World
Congress of the Ecclesial Movements, in Movements in
the Church, op. cit., 18-19.
16 Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris
Missio, no. 72.
17 JOHN PAUL II, Postsynodal Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici, no. 30.
18 Ibid.
19 JOHN PAUL II, Address on the Occasion of the
Meeting with Ecclesial Movements and New Communities at the
Vigil of Pentecost, in Movements in the Church,
op. cit., 222.
20 Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Postsynodal Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici, no 31.
21 In 1973 the Consilium de Laicis published "The
Catholic International Organisations (CIO)" in its Bulletin,
"The Laity Today" no. 13-14, and in 1983 the booklet
entitled "Associations of the Laity. Summary data" which not
only provided information on the CIOs, but also on a number
of lay movements and associations in contact with the
Pontifical Council for the Laity.
22 Code of Canon Law, can. 298 (1).
23 JOHN PAUL II, Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio
Ineunte, no. 46.
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