{"product_id":"catholicism-at-the-crossroads-paul-lakeland-9780826428103","title":"Catholicism at the Crossroads","description":"\u003cbr\u003eTry to define a layperson without using the word \u003cb\u003enot\u003c\/b\u003e: \u003ci\u003ecannot \u003c\/i\u003epreach or say mass, is \u003ci\u003enot \u003c\/i\u003ea priest, is \u003ci\u003enot \u003c\/i\u003ein a position of leadership in the church. This generally negative or passive understanding of the laity was epitomized in a statement of Pope Pius X: \"The one duty of the multitude [i.e., the laity] is to allow themselves to be led and, like a docile fl ock, to follow the Pastors.\" The Second Vatican Council, with its emphasis on the priesthood of all believers rooted in baptism, changed all that. Yet, writes Paul Lakeland, \"many of our bishops and not a few of the lay members of the church are attracted to a dangerously incomplete vision of Catholicism...one that sidesteps the major themes and key insights of Vatican II.\" In \u003ci\u003eCatholicism at the Crossroads, \u003c\/i\u003ehe teases out themes fi rst developed in a much more formal way in his prize-winning \u003ci\u003eThe Liberation of the Laity. \u003c\/i\u003eIn his new book he is \"talking to ordinary Catholics in language that requires no special expertise in theology and does not necessitate constant reference to a dictionary.\"\u003cbr\u003eBaptism, says Lakeland, not priestly ordination, is the basis for all mission and ministry, and the mission of those baptized into Christ is to be the sacrament of God's love in a world rife with violence and brutal inequity. The specifi c mission of the laity is to the world, whereas the mission of the clergy is to the household of the faith. Yet lay people can't leave \"church business\" exclusively to the clergy, and the clergy can't leave the church's \"worldly mission\" exclusively to the laity. The key to resolving these overlapping responsibilities is by becoming an adult church, an open church in an open society. In pursuing this goal, Lakeland develops \"ten steps toward a more adult church.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Paul Lakeland\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 082642810X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780826428103\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Bloomsbury Publishing PLC\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/15\/2007\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 176\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.52lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.42h x 5.58w x 0.47d","brand":"Paul Lakeland","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47136120013055,"sku":"9780826428103","price":35.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_9d859aa3-2fde-4ddd-9abf-342dfdfb7c30.jpg?v=1755022406","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/catholicism-at-the-crossroads-paul-lakeland-9780826428103","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}