Vatican’s upcoming documents on lay brothers and religious life

(February 5, 2010) The prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life has announced plans for two new documents – one, on lay brothers and the other, on the liturgical formation of religious. Cardinal Franc Rodé explained to Vatican Radio that the figure of the lay brother, member of a religious order who makes vows but is not ordained priests, "must be appreciated in the Church." For this reason, he said, a document on this topic is planned for publication later this year. He noted that in the last decades the number of lay brothers has decreased a lot. The Brothers of the Christians Schools, he said, had some 16,000 members in 1965, and currently have less than 5,000. The trend is also true for congregations that have both priests and brothers. Cardinal Rodè noted a certain lack of attention on the part of the Church to this figure of consecrated lay brother, saying there are no documents on a lay brother’s vocation. A lay brother must not be seen as someone who has not been able, or has not wanted for some reason, to be a priest. Cardinal Rodè also spoke about another document which addresses "the absolute need of prayer" and of "liturgical formation" for religious. "Today, in such an agitated world, prayer is, without a doubt, more difficult," the cardinal acknowledged. For this reason, he said, "we must stress the absolute necessity of prayer in the spiritual life of a consecrated man or woman."