"the Church" and "the mission"

The Pope is calling upon "the Church" to have a "change of mentality" about its identity. Two days ago at a conference in Rome he said, "There is still a tendency to unilaterally identify the Church with the hierarchy, forgetting the common responsibility, the common mission" of all the baptized. He continued, "In Christ, we become really the People of God," which, he affirmed, means everyone, "from the Pope to the last child." More on this at ZENIT. A brief video reporting on the conference can be seen below:

Unfortunately its seems that the "clergy" - "laity" divide that reached a height in previous generations (known as clericalism) - still maintains a hold on mentality of much of the Church (both clergy and laity alike).

Post Vatican II there was a shift upon emphasizing the laity - but the Church was a bit confused about how to do this and what to do - and there was a movement to highlight "laity" in pastoral ministry (lay participation in the apostolate of the hierarchy) - which tended to liberalize certain essential truths about the ministerial priesthood - rather than emphasize the "apostolate of the laity" - which is the laity's commitment to evangelization.

Two important articles on this:

• What Should the Laity be Doing?
  This article, excerpted from Russell Shaw's book Catholic Laity in the Mission of the Church, discusses various ineffective attempts in incorporating the laity into the Church's mission and offers valuable insight into how laity can revitalize the Church in the future.


• What is the lay apostolate?
  This brief article explains what the lay apostolate is and why it is essential to the new evangelization. Following the article are several useful links on the apostolate.

What has your experience been? What do you like about what the Pope is saying? What challenges you?