Toward a Theology of Lay Ecclesial Ministry: The Contribution of Edward Hahnenberg

Abstract

The large-scale entry of lay persons into ministerial roles has dramatically changed the ministerial landscape in the Roman Catholic Church in North America, Australia, and parts of Europe since the Second Vatican Council. Both the growth in the numbers of lay ecclesial ministers and the levels of responsibilities which they undertake in the name of the Church have created a new form of pastoral diversity which is a theological anomaly. Edward Hahnenberg has made a sustained effort to develop a theology of lay ecclesial ministry both his scholarly work and his work with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. This thesis provides an overview of his body of work on lay ecclesial ministry, with a specific focus on three themes: a call for a trinitarian theology of ministry which provides a relational rather than an individualistic approach to ministry; the retrieval of “vocation” language which is not limited to “states of life”; and a focus on the concrete community and the unfolding reality of the Church as historic subject.