Louis Fink, delegate to the first International Catholic Lay Congress, said “If the congress what it is supposed to do, it will set down broad principles which can be implemented by the bishops and people back home.”

Fink left Atlanta this week to attend the congress in Rome Oct. 11-18.

During the eight-day session, the 2,000 delegates will discuss broad topics dealing with world problems—ecumenism, poverty, race relations, family life, migration. The committees will be broken into five language groups according to topic. Although the congress is not a law-making body, Fink said, “the committees will make recommendations which will be acted upon by the whole congress.”

Since every subject will be discussed in the five bilingual groups, the discussion leaders were chosen from participants who speak two languages. “Unfortunately,” Fink said, “the 30-member delegation from the United States has no discussion chairmen. You have to be able to argue and conduct discussions in two languages.”

Eight women are included in the U.S. delegation which represents a cross-section of the country, Fink said. The delegates, selected by their bishops, attended a briefing session in Bethesda, Md. this summer.

“We are not going to represent any particular organization. It was made very clear to us that we were to represent the whole Church in the United States,” Fink said. At the briefing session, delegates agreed they would not give individual press conferences, but would make a statement following their recommendations.

Fink expects some lively discussions on the topics of migration—which will cover the problems of refugees the Cuban refugees in the United States, the Arabs in Israel, the displaced people in India and Pakistan.

Since his appointment as a delegate, Fink has traveled across the country meeting with laymen and bishops to prepare for a committee session on lay organizations. “In each case,” he said, “you meet with laymen and bishops—the bishops sit on the platform and listen to the laymen. This is quite a change.”

The role of the laymen in the apostolate is a question that “must be settled,” Fink said.