Youth ministers discuss education for lay ministry, budget cutbacks

Published: 2006-02-20

PORTLAND, Ore. (CNS) -- Good formation for Catholic laypeople is essential as the number of lay ecclesial ministers in the U.S. continues to grow, an official of the U.S. bishops' conference told some 200 diocesan youth ministers meeting in Portland. Richard McCord, director of the bishops' Secretariat for Family, Laity, Women and Youth, spoke on the bishops' recent document "Co-workers in the Vineyard of the Lord," which acknowledges the huge number of laypeople with official positions in the church. He was addressing the annual meeting of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, held Jan. 25-28 in Portland. The youth ministers also focused on doing more with less. With budget cutbacks in most U.S. dioceses and younger Catholics tending to give less, diocesan youth offices that once had a half dozen staff members now make do with one or two.

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