The participation of the lay faithful in the Church judiciary

Abstract

The aim of the article is to present the problem of the implementation of the apostolic mission of lay lawyers in the structures of the ecclesiastical judiciary. Against the background of analyses and norms of general character, the specificity of this issue in the Catholic Church in Poland is presented. The text is divided into three parts. In the historical introduction the development of the doctrine of the Church concerning the participation of the lay faithful in the structures of ecclesiastical institutions, in particular in ecclesiastical courts, is presented. Then, as a result of a search made by the author, the numerical status of the employed laity in the episcopal courts of Poland is presented. The last part of the article is an attempt to clarify the existing situation both in terms of livelihood realities (ecclesiastical institutions in Poland as employers) and the still cautious reception by Polish Catholics of the thought of the Second Vatican Council with regard to the participation of the lay faithful in ecclesiastical governance (potestas regiminis). On the basis of the literature on the subject, the theological basis for the legitimacy of the inclusion of the laity in the structures of governance and administration of justice in the Church and the corresponding doctrinal thought of the Church’s universal law in force are indicated.