Topic summary
Lay ecclesial ministers
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Lay ecclesial ministry.
Overview
In many dioceses, lay ecclesial ministers already account for the majority of the ecclesial and pastoral ministers alongside deacons and presbyters. According to a study by the National Pastoral Life Center, since at least 2007 the number of Lay Ecclesial Ministers employed in full- or part-time parish ministry (29,000) has exceeded the number of presbyters employed in full- or part-time parish ministry (27,000), and the number of Lay Ecclesial Ministers continues to grow while the number of priests in parish ministry continues to contract. The number of Lay Ecclesial Ministers in parish grew in 2009 to 37,929. Many more Lay Ecclesial Ministers serve in other Catholic institutions, schools, hospitals, dioceses, etc.