Böcker av Pope St John Paul

The definition of the laity as those not in Holy Orders is swept away by this historic document which provides a positive and clear expression of the identity, dignity, and role of lay people in the mission of the Church. The role of the laity was discussed at the 1987 Synod of Bishops. This led to Christifideles Laici, the first comprehensive statement on the calling and mission of lay people in the Church. A calling to fully participate in the new evangelization. John Paul invites the laity as the labourers in the vineyard to labour for the kingdom.John Paul starts from the basis that baptism is the source of every Christian's dignity and identity, and calls all to a life of holiness and service. The place of the laity in the Church is discussed, including participation in her life and mission with special reference to charisms and ministry. Great emphasis is placed on the shared responsibility of every lay Christian for the mission of the Church, and the need for a new evangelisation of individuals and society as a whole. Particular emphasis is given to the status and role of women. John Paul ends by exhorting all lay people to be fruitful, and to work with the whole Church in obeying Christ's command to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation".

From its very title, Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), Pope John Paul II showed that he wished to give the protection of life, from conception to its natural end, a highly positive character and great new spiritual thrust.While realistically countering new and unprecedented threats to life and the rapid spread of a "culture of death", the primary intention of this document is to proclaim the good news of the value and dignity of each human life, of its grandeur and worth, also in its temporal phase. The cause of life is in fact at the same time the cause of the Gospel and the cause of man, the cause entrusted to the church.This encyclical was published following consultation with an extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals in 1991 and subsequently with all the bishops of the world. It is "a precise and vigorous reaffirmation of the value of human life and its inviolability," containing "a pressing appeal addressed to each and every person in the name of God: Respect, protect, love and serve life, every human life! Only in this direction will you find justice, development, true freedom, peace and happiness."