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ACatholic lay association, also referred to asCatholic Congress, is anassociation oflay Catholics aiming to discuss certain political or social issues from a Catholic perspective.[1]
ThePontifical Council for the Laity is the body responsible for approving those Catholic associations that exist at an international level.[2] The structure of some Religious Orders allow for Lay branches to be associated with them. These are often referred to asThird Orders.
Some of the best known Catholic Lay Associations areKnights of Columbus,Knights of Columba,Catenians,Knights of Malta, thePiusverein in Germany and Switzerland,Azione Cattolica in Italy and the UK-basedCatholic Truth Society.
There are also lay Catholicguilds and associations representing a whole range of professions. These include theCatholic Police Guild, Holy Name Society (NYPD), theAssociation of Catholic Nurses, the Guild of Catholic Doctors, the Catholic Physicians Guild, theCatholic Association of Performing Arts (UK), and the Catholic Actors Guild of America.
This is alist of organisations coveringCatholic laity. It aims to list ecclesial movements of unspecified standing. For international Catholic movements that have received official approval by the Catholic Church, seeDirectory of International Associations of the Faithful.
Union of Prayer was a previous term for someRoman Catholiclay ecclesial movements.[4]
They tended to bearchconfraternities aiming at the conversion of various groups to Catholicism.[4] Some of these included:
