The article critically examines the relationship between clergy and laity by examining New Testament and early patristic sources, the practice in Protestant churches, and the theological grounding in the contemporary Catholic Church. The upheaval in the Corinthian church, as described by Clement of Rome at the end of the 1st century, is compared with similar phenomena in smaller Protestant churches, where the existing legal leadership is now being absorbed by representatives of charismatic spirituality. Whereas in Protestantism the understanding of ordained ministers as chosen members of the community has taken hold, in the Catholic understanding the source of legitimacy is primarily the words of Christ: “you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,” as well as apostolic succession, the three-tier hierarchy and the sacramental nature of ordination. The almost exclusive method of appointing ministers in Protestant church formations is by election, which carries the danger of electing ministers according to one’s own wishes. The Catholic Church, at the initiative of the Second Vatican Council, implanted the originally Protestant concept of a universal priesthood of all believers. However, this has not only produced positive results, since the ontological sacramentality of priestly ordination is often obscured in the practical operation of participatory clergy and many liturgical excesses occur when lay people take on roles that do not belong to them. All this can be characterized as a clericalization of the laity, resulting from a loss of the sense of the sacramental character
of ordination.

The article presents the theological basis for lay participation in discernment and responsibility for the Church. A proper understanding of baptism, the universal priesthood of believers and the sensus fidei are the source of all activity in the community and the realization of its mission. The authors also present a wide range of solutions for the structural involvement of believers in the Catholic, Orthodox, Oriental, Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist, and Evangelical (including Baptist or Pentecostal) Churches. The very display of different perspectives and configurations leads to reflection on the prospect of mutual inspiration (keeping one’s identity intact) and the challenges posed by the chosen solutions.

The theme of this article was approached from both theological and canonical-
juridical perspectives, which allowed me to examine and evaluate the texts of the canonical legislation of the Eastern Church concerning the participation of the laity in the exercise of the teaching power, not only from the standpoint of canonical doctrine, but also from the perspective of the dogmatic and liturgical doctrine of this Church.

This scientific approach also enabled me to ascertain that one may indeed speak of the 
participation of the laity – who belong to the degrees of the clergy of human institution – in catechetical, missionary, and teaching activities, provided that they are instituted through chirothesia (χειροθεσία) by the local bishop. For this reason, I also highlighted the role of the ritual of the laying on of hands, which, in the case of the clergy of divine institution, represented ordination (χειροτονίας), while for the clerics of human institution (cf. can. 2 ap.) it signified chirothesia, that is, a consecration for ministry
in the Church.

I also investigated and examined certain early documentary testimonies of primary importance in order to clarify the canonical-juridical status of the laity, including women, in the exercise of the Church’s teaching power. This analysis led me to conclude that the laity were called to confess and defend the Christian faith and to contribute to its transmission by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, being blessed for this purpose by His Apostles and their successors, within the sphere of authority of apostolic succession, namely,
by the bishops of the Church.

The article presents the life and activities of Dominican lay tertiaries as a concrete example of the active engagement of lay people in the life and mission of the Catholic Church. The article focuses primarily on describing the autonomy of Dominican lay tertiaries in two dimensions: in terms of their governance structures and in terms of their emphasis on the lay apostolate. These areas are preceded by a section outlining the development of regulations for Dominican lay tertiaries from the promulgation of the Code of Canon Law in 1917 to the present day.

The dignity of the human person is a fundamental value and source of ethical principles. Its theoretical basis is derived from the Gospel and is inscribed in the Western culture and the ideas of human rights. At the axiological-ethical level, the human person is an autotelic value, which means a person deserves respect and is free from instrumental treatment. This postulate also applies to the organization with which persons are associated. In this article, the main subject of analysis is the issue of dignity of the human person in relation to what denies it, namely institutional violence. The context for the analysis undertaken is: a) John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation Christifideles laici, b) Francis’s encyclical Fratelli tutti, and c) the declaration Dignitas infinita on human dignity. The latter document was prepared by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and signed by Prefect Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández. In this article I intend to analyze the content of the above-mentioned documents from the philosophical-critical perspective. Here I refer to the clarification of mechanisms that lead to violence related to the functioning of institutions and, at the same time, the indication of attitudes and behaviours that consist of informing and revealing situations of violence when the victims experiencing it are its passive witnesses and are sometimes involuntary perpetrators.

The problem addressed in this article is the varied scope of privacy protection within canon law, specifically concerning how this right is applied differently depending on the canonical state of the faithful, such as laypersons, clerics, and consecrated persons. The aim of the research conducted is to determine the sources, the subjective and objective scope, and the acceptable limitations of the right to privacy, including those limitations resulting from voluntary self-limitation and the public mission of the Church. The method employed is a dogmatic-legal analysis based on the 1983 Code of Canon Law, documents of the Magisterium of the Church, canonical literature, and the General Decree of the Polish Episcopal Conference of 2018 regarding personal data protection. The findings demonstrate that the right to privacy is universally rooted in human dignity, but its practical application calls for a three-tier model of protection, providing the broadest protection for laypersons, narrower protection for clerics, and the narrowest protection for consecrated persons. The conclusions drawn from the research indicate that the varied application of the right to privacy does not constitute discrimination because it is justified by the specific nature and voluntary commitments of each canonical state, while the internal forum remains strictly inviolable for all the faithful.

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