1. SOME BASIC ASPECTS OF THE LAY APOSTOLATE

As a starting point for these considerations We shall take one of the questions meant to clarify the nature of the lay apostolate: "Does not the layman who is en trusted with teaching religion-that is, with the missio canonica, the ecclesiastical mandate to teach-and whose teaching is perhaps his only professional activity, pass by this very fact from the lay apostolate to the 'hierarchical apostolate?' "

In answering this question it must be remembered that Christ granted His Apostles a two-fold power: first, the priestly power to consecrate, which was given in full to all the Apostles; second, the power to teach and govern, that is, to communicate to men in God's name the infallible truth which binds them, and to establish the rules which regulate Christian life.

These powers of Apostles were passed on to the Pope and Bishops. The Bishops, through the ordination of priests, transmit to others to a precise extent the power to consecrate; the power to teach and govern belongs to the Pope and Bishops.

Thus a two-fold distinction must be taken into ac count when we speak of the "hierarchical apostolate" and the "lay apostolate;" first, between pope, bishops, and priests, on the one hand, and laymen on the other; second-within the ranks of the clergy itself-between those with full power to consecrate and govern, and the rest of the clergy. The first (pope, bishops, and priests) necessarily belong to the clergy. Even if a layman were elected pope, he could accept the election only if he were fit for ordination and willing to be ordained But the power to teach and govern, as well as the divine gift of infallibility, would be granted to him from the very moment of his acceptance, even before his ordination.

Now, this two-fold distinction must be taken into consideration in answering the question proposed above. In the present case, we are not concerned with Holy Orders, but with the power to teach which is held only by those invested with ecclesiastical authority. Others, priests or laymen, cooperate with those in authority when they are entrusted with teaching faithfully and guiding the faithful. (Cfr. Canons 1327 and 1328.)

Priests-who act "vi muneris sacerdotalis" ('by the power of their priestly office")-and laymen can receive the mandate for these functions, a mandate which, in some circumstances, can be the same for both. But they are distinguished by the fact that one is a priest and the other a layman, and, as a consequence, the apostolate of one is priestly, and that of the other is lay. The value and efficacy of the apostolate exercised by a teacher of religion depend on his personal ability and supernatural gifts. Lay teachers, Religious, catechists in mission countries, and all whom the Church entrusts with teaching the truths of the faith, can properly apply to themselves the Lord's words: "you are the salt of the earth," and "You are the light of the world." (Matt. 5: 13- 14) Layman Should Cooperate in an Organized Way

It is clear that the ordinary layman can resolve and it is highly desirable that he should so resolve-to cooperate in a more organized way with ecclesiastical authorities and to help them more effectively in their apostolic labor. He will thereby make himself more dependent on the Hierarchy, which is alone responsible before God for the government of the Church. The layman's acceptance of a particular mission, of a mandate of the Hierarchy, may associate him more closely with the spiritual conquest of the world being conducted by the Church under the direction of her pastors, but this does not make him a member of the hierarchy or give him the powers of Holy Orders or of jurisdiction that remain strictly bound to reception of the Sacrament of Holy Orders in its various degrees.

We have not yet considered those Orders which precede the priesthood, and which, in the present practice of the Church, are only conferred in preparation for ordination to the priesthood. The duties connected with Minor Orders have long been performed by laymen, and We know that thought is being given at present to the introduction of a diaconate conceived as an ecclesiastical office independent of the priesthood. Today, at least, the idea is not yet ready for application. Should it someday become so, what We have just said would still hold true and this diaconate would take its place with the priesthood in the distinctions We have just drawn. Responsibility of Laymen.