Beyond clericalism, for the people’s sake – on the empowerment of non-ordainend ministers
About us
Vision & Aims
Membership
Who are we?
We are a network of professional Catholic ministers empowered by baptism, theologically trained, and called to serve the mission of Christ in and on behalf of the Church. The vision of the Church being renewed toward the vision of synodality has brought us together.
While diverse, we hold essential things in common:
We are Theologically educated,
We are formed for ministry,
We possess pastoral competence
Our competence is reflected in skills for theological reflection informed by our diverse pastoral challenges and cultural contexts
One in the vision of a synodal church, we want to grow as a worldwide network of professional ministers. Committed to inspire and assist one another in orchestrating new networks of ministers in their own contexts, we hope to participate in building deeper communion, authentic participation, and border-crossing mission.
Twenty-one professional lay ministers from five continents met in Rome, with an additional 24 who joined online, from September 24-28 to share their experiences of synodality. This international meeting was the third of its kind and promotes worldwide cooperation among this important group of Church workers. The Third World Meeting of Lay Ministers was a … read more
Be part of the 3rd woldmeeting – online
„Expanding participation and exercise of our differentiated co-responsibility“ 25th-27th September 2025 Please consider joining us for an experience of the World Network of Professional Lay Ministers. For our 3rd World Meeting in Rome we will be taking up the synodal topic of „Expanding participation and exercise of our differentiated co-responsibility.“ Each day there will be … read more
2nd letter to synodal participants
in a spirit of synodality lay ministers from many countries gathered virtually from September 28-30th. After the 2023 meeting in Rome, we intensified our networking and wrote another letter to the synod members. The letter is now published and will be spread to synodal participants.In the next days there will be published some more translations. … read more
3rd worldmeeting in Rome
In the Holy Year there will be a 3rd worldmeeting of lay ministers in Rome. Professional Lay Ministers in a Synodal Church 24th-28th September 2025, Rome Building on our first meeting in 2023, and our online meeting in 2024, in September 2025 we look forward to gathering again in-person in Rome. Committed to inspire and … read more
2nd worldmeeting 2024 – September, 28th – 30th
In Fall 2024, the World Network of Professional Lay Ministers will gather, this time virtually, for our second world meeting. We will welcome new members, share personal experiences of synodality, and work collaboratively to compose and send a letter to the second synodal assembly in Rome. The focus is on our role as non-ordained but … read more
1st World Meeting of Lay Ministers
1st–5th October 2023 | Rome On the occasion of the World Synod of Bishops, theologically educated pastoral lay ministers from all continents met in Rome. These professional lay ministers got to know about each other, meet and listen to each other. The world meeting aimed at an empowerment of lay ministers in various countries all … read more
On the occasion of the World Synod of Bishops in October 2023 theologically educated pastoral lay ministers from all continents started meeting in Rome and online. These professional lay ministers got to know about each other, meet and listen to each other. The world meetings are aiming and empowering lay ministers in various countries all over the world. The next meeting will be online 2026. In 2027 or 2028 there will be the next meeting in presence.
„The meeting helped me to understand the varied contexts in which lay pastoral workers are engaged around the world. I felt a deep resonance with their joys and struggles. The processes we engaged in helped us to articulate our hopes and aspirations, as we reflected on what truly constitutes a synodal church. We also connected with each on a personal level and realised how wonderful it is to be part of a movement for collective good.“
Grace David, India
Patricia Bauer, Austria
„The meeting was a valuable experience for me. One of the things that surprised me, is that our situation as lay pastoral workers in the Austrian dioceses is fortunately much better than in other dioceses around the world. What was valuable about this meeting was the mutual appreciation and recognition of the diversity and colourfulness of our profession!“
Patricia Bauer, Austria
Emmanuel Dassah, Ghana
„The gathering was a moment of reflection for me both inwardly and outwardly with respect to inclusiveness. In order to cultivate an atmosphere of optimism, our church must strive to be hospitable and embrace individuals from various backgrounds. This entails actively embracing diversity across various dimensions, such as color, ethnicity, culture, age, gender, socioeconomic background, and others. By cultivating an atmosphere characterized by tolerance and respect, we may establish a secure and inclusive environment where persons from many backgrounds feel esteemed and honored.
Emmanuel Dassah, Ghana
Stacey Noem, USA
„The meeting was a total “game changer” for me. For the first time I had an opportunity to receive, first hand, the experience of other professional lay ministers from around the world. We are so different and yet we hold so much in common—especially a love for the people of God. Thanks to this meeting and, especially the individual relationships we got to develop, I learned how a synodal process actually looks and what it feels like.“
Stacey Noem, USA
Konstantin Bischoff, Germany
„A dream has come true. For several years I have been wishing that it would be possible to network professional theologians in pastoral ministry internationally. The exchange with colleagues from so many countries in Rome was a great experience. Despite all the differences in cultures and church realities, we have a lot in common. And we are a reality that is still far too little recognized in the church. It is important to me that we now take further steps towards networking internationally and together. The church in Germany may have the most financial and structural resources, but many other resources are needed to create a genuine global network.“
Konstantin Bischoff, Germany
Documents
We want to formulate clear positions and proposals for action for a people-centred church. The documents that have been published so far can be found here:
