The Organization
In its Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, the Fathers of Vatican Council II described the model lay apostolate.
- It would “encourage a closer harmony between the everyday life of the members and their faith”; such associations “must be given primary consideration” (n. 19).
- In order to meet the needs of cities and rural areas, “laymen should not limit their cooperation to the parochial or diocesan boundaries but strive to extend it to interparochial, interdiocesan, national, and international fields” (n.10).
- “In the present circumstances, it is quite necessary that the united and organized form of the lay apostolate be strengthened” (n.18).
- “Scattering of energies must be avoided” (n. 19).
- “Pastors should welcome the laity who work in this apostolate and should make sure that their situation meets the demands of justice, equity and charity” (n. 22).
In the closing passages of Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI endorsed a particular form of teaching natural family planning: “Among the fruits which ripen forth from a generous effort of fidelity to the divine law, one of the most precious is that married couples themselves not infrequently feel the desire to communicate their experience to others. Thus there comes to be included in the vast pattern of the vocation of the laity a new and most noteworthy form of the apostolate of like to like; it is married couples themselves who become apostles and guides to other married couples. This is assuredly, among so many forms of apostolate, one of those which seem most opportune today” (n. 26).
Natural Family Planning International, Inc. (NFPI) is a fruit of Vatican II and Humanae Vitae.
Next week: A Plan
John F. Kippley (September 2014)