Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People
Vatican II, “Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People,” Apostolicam actuositatem, November 18, 1965, translated by “Father Finnian, OCSO,” in Austin P. Flannery, General Editor, The Documents of Vatican II, Preface by John Cardinal Wright (New York: Costello Publishing Company, 1975).
“In dioceses, as far as possible, councils should be set up to assist the Church’s apostolic work, whether in the field of evangelization and sanctification or in the fields of charity, social relations and the rest; the clergy and religious working with the laity in whatever way proves satisfactory. These councils can take care of the mutual coordinating of the various lay associations and undertakings, the autonomy and particular nature of each remaining untouched.3
“Such councils should be found too, if possible, at parochial, inter-parochial, inter-diocesan level [sic], and also on the national and international plane.4 ” (no. 26, pp. 791-2)
