Church Statements
Called and Gifted: The American Catholic Laity (1980)
Called and Gifted: The American Catholic Laity, Reflections of the American Bishops Commemorating the Fifteenth Anniversary of the Issuance of the "Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity"
This statement was prepared by the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on the Laity and was approved by the full body of bishops November 13, 1980. First Printing, November 1980; Sixteenth Printing, March 1998.
The Church is to be sign of God’s kingdom in the world. The authenticity of that sign depends on all the people: laity, religious, deacons, priests and bishops. Unless we truly live as the People of God, we will not be much of a sign to ourselves or the world.
We are convinced that the laity are making an indispensable contribution to the experience of the People of God and that the full import of their contribution is still in a beginning form in the post-Vatican II Church. We have spoken in order to listen. It is not our intention rigidly to define or to control, to sketch misleading dreams, or to bestow false praise. We bishops wish simply to take our place and exercise our role among the People of God. We now await the next word.