Lay Associations

​​​​​​​Registration

Code of Canon Law, c. 298: §1. In the Church there are associations distinct from institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life; in these associations the Christian faithful, whether clerics, lay persons, or clerics and lay persons together, strive in a common endeavor to foster a more perfect life, to promote public worship or Christian doctrine, or to exercise other works of the apostolate such as initiatives of evangelization, works of piety or charity, and those which animate the temporal order with a Christian spirit. §2. The Christian faithful are to join especially those associations which competent ecclesiastical authority has erected, praised, or commended.​​​

Resources/Reflection for Lay Movements:

Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life – supports the life and development of international associations of the faithful, ecclesial movements and new communities. Resources, news and other updates can be found by clicking here.

The Ecclesial Movements – A Theological Reflection on Their Place in the Church – Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger - Proceedings of the World Congress of the Ecclesial Movements Rome, 27-29 May 1998. This thoughtful and insightful reflection can be found here.