“Lay persons with a call to lay ecclesial ministry possess certain dispositions…. These include: Being in full communion with the Catholic Church, able to minister joyfully and faithfully within the hierarchical communion that is the Church.”
-Coworkers in the Vineyard of the Lord, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, p 30.

I am in formation to be a lay ecclesial minister in the Roman Catholic Church. As part of our lay formation process, we met as a group this morning to reflect on the USCCB Document, “Coworkers in the Vineyard of the Lord,” a document focused on lay ministry within the Church. Our group focused our discussion on the above quote.

This leads me to the question, “What on earth does full communion mean?”

Of course, my mind jumps to those areas in which I do not agree with the teaching of the Catholic Church. After much discernment, I have chosen to follow my conscience rather than subscribe to ideologies in which I do not believe. I have also chosen to minister within the Catholic Church. My choice to follow my conscience is in fact obeying Church teaching, for the primacy of conscience is of utmost importance.

So, what does this mean for me in terms of being a lay ecclesial minister? Is following my conscience a way of being “in full communion” with the Catholic Church?

In any sort of nonviolence movement, conscience is a major issue. It is unavoidable. For most of us, we are drawn to nonviolence BECAUSE of our conscience. Something was nagging inside of us and we followed it down the path of nonviolence.

But what is the effect of following conscience on working within an institution? Often, following our consciences lead us outside of an institution. It is possible, however, to remain within the institution? Clearly there is a need for some to leave an institution, but there is also a need for some to work for change from within.

I am left once again with the question, “What effect does following one’s conscience have on being in full communion with the Church?”

As I write this, I am aware that something deep within me is saying that following my conscience is essential to being in communion with the Church. It is a way of actively living out communion.

Clearly, this issue is not something that can be resolved in a blog entry. It is, however, a worthwhile issue to continually reflect upon and return to. The connections of nonviolence, ministry, Church, and conscience are both complicated and astounding. For this I am grateful.