The leading idea of the Second Vatican Council was the call for cooperation between the laity and the clergy. The cooperation in question is a reinforcement of the community of the Church, where one can find both: the equality of the members, and diversity of the functions. This cooperation appears, e.g., as a participation of all the Faithfull in in the sacred liturgy of the Church. In the liturgy the permanent lectors, acolytes, and deacons play an important role. The functions were re-instituted according to directions provided by the council and called to the service of the Church.
PL
Wiodącą ideą nauczania Soboru Watykańskiego II jest wezwanie do współpracy wiernych świeckich z duchownymi, bowiem to umacnia wspólnotę Kościoła, w której panuje równość co do godności wszystkich jej członków i różnorodność funkcji. To jawi się również we współuczestnictwie w liturgii Kościoła wszystkich wiernych. Ważną rolę w tym dziele odgrywają stali lektorzy, akolici i diakoni, odrodzeni dzięki wskazaniom soborowym i powołani do służby w Kościele.
After the Vatican Council II in the Catholic Church the service of permanent deacons has been restored. In the world there are over 37 thousand of them. In Poland the first deacons were ordained in 2008. The service of permanent deacons is the restoration of the permanent and proper level of holy orders, and in consequence it consolidates and enriches the hierarchical structure. At the same time it is a gift for the whole Church understood as a community of complementary states, offices, services and charismas. In Poland, for various reasons, there is a risk that permanent deaconate will be treated as a pastoral experiment. If this happens so, it would be a damage to the development and the deserved place for the deacons’ service, but also in a way it would be wasting the chance to consolidate the communal character of the Church.
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