Vatican City, Nov 17, 2008 / 16:27 pm
The pontifical council charged with helping care for the laity met with Pope Benedict on Saturday and received the challenge to continue their efforts to reach the youth and promote the equal dignity of women.
With the entire Pontifical Council for the Laity gathered for its 23rd assembly, Pope Benedict XVI focused on revisiting John Paul II’s exhortation "Christifideles Laici" on its 20th anniversary.
The Pope began by explaining how the John Paul II’s document on the laity represents "an organic reassessment of Vatican Council II's teaching on the lay faithful: their dignity as baptized persons, their vocation to sanctity, their membership of the ecclesial communion, their involvement in building Christian communities and in the mission of the Church, their witness in all areas of social life and their commitment to serve the integral growth of the individual and the common good of society."
As society changes, Benedict XVI explained that the laity should look to the historic document as a guide "for discernment and for the intensification of the Church's lay commitment."