Consultative Participation of the Laity in the ecclesiastical Power of Governance

Its Value in Canon Law and Current Developments exempli-fied by the Synod of Bishops

Abstract

As one of the forms, in which a cooperation can be realised in the exercise of ecclesiastical potestas regiminis through laypeople within the meaning of c. 129 § 2, the article discusses the consultation as an important element of Church governance. Based on the ecclesiological foundations for consultative participation in the leadership of the pastors of the Church, it can be recognised, according to respective norms of canon law, that consultation can have a significant influence on an act of ecclesiastical power of governance and that it has a high value in the ecclesial legal order, which should not be underestimated. This is also shown by current developments in the context of the XVI. Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which demonstrates the value of the consultative participation of laypeople in Church governance in two respects.