The Vatican II Code of Canon Law has the provision for laymen to be permanently instituted as lectors and acolytes. Canonically speaking those are the only "lay ministries" in the Church. It seems that there are no bishops in the world who promote or confer these ministries on our lay men. Perhaps it is because the ministries are to be conferred exclusively upon males (viri laici) and not females, and many of our bishops, being swayed by the current fashions and political pressures prefer to neglect our illustrious millennial traditions by feminizing our sanctuaries. I propose that it is precisely why they should promote these ministries: because they are exclusively male!
The lay ministries of acolyte and lector would be a very dignified way to give a boost to our Catholic religion and to the men and women of our parishes by enabling our male parishioners to take ownership of our liturgical lives, under the priest, with the blessing of the bishop.
In a world in which true femininity and true masculinity are increasingly distorted and conflated, whatever we can do to accent the difference and complementarity of the sexes will prove to be a great service to the building of a Christian civilization. Note, for instance, the recent heroic decision of CUA to re-institute single sex dormitories, with the ensuing litigation.
Most priests could greatly benefit from one such close circle of men to support their ministry as a man. For, one of the things that is greatly lacking in homes and in parishes is true Christian manhood. That is one of the reasons there is so much abuse, which is mainly perpetrated by men, even in the Church. We need virtuous Christian men associating with one another and with the priests, exemplifying Jesus Christ without fear. The strength of our Christian men is the greatest buttress for the dignity and virtue of our wives and daughters and of all the women of the world who want to be truly feminine. We need to form and support strong men if we want to support and strengthen the women of the world. In other words, convert the abusers and you eliminate the abuse! In fact, that is the only sure way to eliminate it.
And our bishops should boldly take the lead in this duty to sanctify the sanctuary availing themselves of all of the resources provided by our Catholic tradition and the canonical norms. May the bishops finally begin to promote and install worthy men to the lay ministries of the Church to further what Pope Benedict has called "the reform of the reform"!
