CSDC 549

The Church's social doctrine must become an integral part of the ongoing formation of the lay faithful. Experience shows that this formative work is usually possible within lay ecclesial associations that respond to precise “criteria of ecclesiality”.¹¹⁴⁸ Cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici, 30: AAS 81AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 81 (1989) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1989), 446-448. “Groups, associations and movements also have their place in the formation of the lay faithful. In fact they have the possibility, each with its own method, of offering a formation through a deeply shared experience in the apostolic life, as well as having the opportunity to integrate, to make concrete and specific the formation that their members receive from other persons and communities”.¹¹⁴⁹ John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici, 62: AAS 81AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 81 (1989) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1989), 516-517. The Church's social doctrine sustains and sheds light on the role of associations, movements and lay groups that are committed to the Christian renewal of the various sectors of the temporal order¹¹⁵⁰ Cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 53 (1961) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1961) 455.. “Church communion, already present and at work in the activities of the individual, finds its specific expression in the lay faithful working together in groups, that is, in activities done with others in the course of their responsible participation in the life and mission of the Church”¹¹⁵¹ John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici, 29: AAS 81AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 81 (1989) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1989), 443..