The CBCP declared 2014 to be the Year of the Laity.

It officially began last Dec 1 with the release of the Pastoral Exhortation titled, Filipino Catholic Laity: Called to be Saints Sent Forth as Heroes penned by Archbishop Soc Villegas, the new CBCP President.

As some of you may know, the Philippine Church is preparing for 2021 the 500th year of Christianity in the Philippines. The highlight of the preparations is 9 years of intensive evangelization with a different theme each year. Last liturgical year, 2013, we celebrated a Year of Faith. This liturgical year, 2014, is time for a Year of the Laity. One small sidenote, it would be good to note the correct pronunciation for the word laity. It should be read a leyyi-tee, not ley-te. In the CBCP Pastoral Exhortation, Filipino Catholic Laity: Called to be Saints Sent Forth as Heroes, Bishop Soc, underlines the need to empower the laity. He laments that while the Philippines has been a Catholic nation for almost 500 years and a vast majority of Filipinos are Catholic, majority of the corrupt people in government and business are Catholic, majority of politicians who buy votes are Catholic, and majority of Filipinos who sell their votes are Catholic. There is an urgent need to renew the social and political fabric of our country. The bishops further add, Individual goodness is not sufficient anymore. The good individual will only be swallowed up by the evil system. Bishop Soc notes the insufficiency of our religious festivities and educational systems, It is certainly a shameful proof of our failure to evangelize our country that our churches are filled with people, our religious festivities are fervent, our Catholic schools are many, but our country is mired in poverty and in corruption. There appears to be a disconnect between the faith we profess and the actions we commit.

On the positive side, the CBCP lauded the faith exhibited by Filipinos, especially when faced with devastating calamities. They said, what Filipinos have is a paradox of poverty and abundance. We may be anguished, dazed, and lost in the face of recent calamities but amid all these, the abundance of hope, faith, and love surfaces. These are the jewels of Filipino dignity. The first and most important truth about you Filipino Catholic laity is not poverty but the greatness of your dignity. The CBCP went on to stress the role of the laity to transform the world by penetrating the different straits of society where we participate. Noting the words of the Supreme Pontiff, they said, You must go into the world of the family, of business, of economics, of politics, of education, of the mass media and the social media, to every human endeavor where the future of humanity and the world are at stake and to make a difference. We can draw strength from reading the Word of God and the seeking recourse to the Sacraments. More importantly, we must evangelize through our own simple means by making our faith bear on our day-to-day decisions and activities. Finally, the CBCP notes that the only Filipino saints are both lay. Saints Lorenzo Ruiz and Pedro Calungson can be our shining inspiration for the Year of the Laity.