Vatican's laity council publishes index of international lay groups

Published: 2004-11-24

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church has a strong hierarchical structure, but it also lives and acts in the world through the work of lay associations and movements, said the head of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko, council president, made his comments in the introduction to the Index of International Associations of the Faithful. The index includes the self-descriptions of 123 lay associations, communities and movements that have a formal relationship with the laity council. Published only in Italian, the index was released to coincide with the Nov. 25 opening of the council's plenary assembly. Translations into English, Spanish and French are planned. A statement from the council said the project began in 2000 at the request of Pope John Paul II to have a comprehensive listing of Catholic lay groups.

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