Catholic Priest in Ghana Lauds “rising active lay Apostolate” in the Church in Africa

“The ‘rising’ active lay apostolate in the Catholic Church in Africa denotes the spontaneous interest being generated in the laity vis-à-vis evangelization and the desire for spiritual growth,” he said.

According to Fr. Etti, these active Lay groups, known by different names in various countries—such as “prayer ministries” in Nigeria and Catholic Women Association (CWA) and Catholic Men Association (CMA) in Kenya are succeeding because of their goals and the identity they offer their members.

“These groups are attracting many followers due to many factors. They satisfy the quest of some Lay people who want to be active in the church’s life and mission. They are clear with their goals and mission regarding their followers. They also give identity to their followers,” he said.

Fr. Etti said that the Clergy should not be threatened by the gifts that the Lay people manifest, adding, “But my question is, are we in competition in the church? I am often pissed when I hear priests saying there are rules for this and that without showing them.”

He faulted the current Church structure for being “insufficiently adaptive” to the needs of the Laity, saying, “The Church seems to be oblivion to the opened world granted to everyone through technology.”

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“The Clergy still thinks of a Laity that needs to be sermonized every day. The Clergy is being confrontational instead of being on the side of the dialogue,” he said.

Fr. Etti urged African Church leaders to work more closely with the Laity, adding that “the Church leaders must sit down with the Laity, initiate ways of understanding their wishes and aspirations instead of always trying to determine how the laity should think or reason.”

He said that the Church needs to go beyond “a hierarchical mindset” of perceiving the Laity as just needing “help”. 

“To talk of helping the laity places them in a state of imperfection in need of the clergy’s help. This is a pre-Vatican II concept,” he said.

“We should not only think of the place of the Laity in the Mass. Outside Mass, there is a lot,” he said, and posed, “Why not consider training lay leaders with pastoral and evangelization skills? We can call them lay leaders or servants.”