.- Referring to Pope Benedict XVI’s upcoming gathering with the different ecclesial movements and associations on Pentecost Sunday, Cardinal James Frances Stafford, the former president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, said the movements “have satisfied the spiritual hunger of hundreds of thousands of laity.”
During an interview with Vatican Radio about the significance of the new ecclesial movements, Cardinal Stafford, who is currently head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, explained that the Church today “is facing the challenge of the laity’s search for greater comprehension of their role as Christians, both in the area of marriage and the family and in the area of work, politics and civic duties. In the lay movements and associations many have found a marvelous font for deepening their role as Christians,” he said.
Likewise, Cardinal Stafford pointed out, “In parishes the new movements and associations are sharpening consciences regarding the importance of a better grounded catechesis and of the documents of Vatican II. It is there also that they strengthen their role as laity in the Church and the world.”
