The following is from the June 2005 document of the Diocese of San Jose which outlined the formation of the Council of Lay Ecclesial Ministers, based on documents of the U.S. Bishops:
“In the post-conciliar (Vatican II) period, a distinctly new and different group of lay ministers has emerged in the Church in the United States. This group consists of lay women and men performing roles that entail varying degrees of pastoral leadership and administration in parishes, church agencies and organizations, and at diocesan and national levels.
“They emphasize ministering in ways that are distinguished from, yet complementary to, the roles of ordained ministers.
“Many of them also express a deep sense of vocation that is part of their personal identity and that motivates what they are doing.
“Lay Ecclesial Ministry is a way of serving the mission of Christ that flows from Baptism and the gifts of the Spirit; it has its sacramental basis in Baptism and Confirmation, and therefore, does not require the sacramental gifts that are given in Holy Orders.”
“Lay Ecclesial Ministry: The State of the Question” (USCCB 1999) notes: “The word ‘lay’ underscores the fact that persons in this group remain first, foremost and always members of the laity.
“Their work is a specific and legitimate expression of the general vocation of all laypersons. It is not simply an activity undertaken on personal initiative. Identity as a lay ecclesial minister is both a question of personal awareness and intentionality.”
In their November 2005 document on Lay Ecclesial Ministry, the U.S. Bishops provide clarity regarding Religious Life and Holy Orders:
“A person living the consecrated, vowed life has a certain public identity and canonical status within the Church that is distinct from the lay faithful and the secular character which is properly theirs.
“Religious profession of vows is not primarily a charge to particular ministry, but a decision to enter into a community and to share with others a particular way of life and distinctive mission, under a specific rule and with public commitment to the Evangelical Counsels [poverty, chastity, obedience).
“When the person whose vocation to Religious Life includes a further call to collaborate with the ordained by filling public roles of leadership, then she or he accepts a role that can be considered lay ecclesial ministry.
“While they differ essentially, the ordained priesthood and the common priesthood of the faithful are ordered to one another and thus intimately related… directed toward accom- plishing Christ’s mission.
“While at times deacons may carry out some of the same tasks as lay ecclesial ministers, care must be taken to avoid a merely ‘functional’ understanding of the deacons’ sacramental identity.
“Even when functions may be exercised that are the same as those exercised by lay persons or by priests, there is nonetheless a distinct sacramental basis of the deacon’s ministry that flows from the Sacrament of [Holy] Orders. “