Pope says pastors must 'serve, not use' laypeople

'No one is baptized a priest or bishop,' Francis says.

Vatican City:  Clericalism is a danger to the Catholic Church not only because on a practical level it undermines the role of laity in society, but because theologically it "tends to diminish and undervalue the baptismal grace" of all believers, whether they are lay or clergy, Pope Francis said.

"No one is baptized a priest or bishop," the pope said in a letter to Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. The fundamental consecration of all Christians occurs at baptism and is what unites all Christians in the call to holiness and witness, Catholic News Service reported.

In the letter, released at the Vatican April 26, Pope Francis said that in lay Catholics' work for the good of society and for justice, "it is not the pastor who must tell the layperson what to do and say, he already knows this and better than we do."

Source: UCAN