| This study was conducted in four Catholic parishes in Florida of an organizational shift toward increased utilization of salaried lay professionals to carry out activities formerly the sole responsibility of priests. The research was conducted from 1994 to 1996. Parish organization, which has always entailed some lay involvement, has increased since the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). Researchers have attributed the increase to the decreasing number of priests, to a sense of shared responsibility in the Church, and as an accommodation to democratic trends in society.;Lay professionals belong to a subculture of laity; known as "lay specialists," they are emerging as a new phenomenon in American Catholic parishes. By virtue of specialization in a particular program, recognition in the community, and remuneration for their work, lay specialists have different statuses in the parishes, performing several specialized roles for which the Sacrament of Holy Orders (Ordination) was formerly thought necessary. Research questions were grounded on two general hypotheses: (1) Catholic parishes are threatened by breakdown in families, disappearance of Catholic education (schools), and erosion in distinct Catholic beliefs and practices; and (2) the presence of lay specialists performing their services increases parishioners' involvement and financial contributions to the parish, which, in turn, necessarily contribute to the stability and/or survival of the parish.;The hypotheses were tested in a cross-sectional survey of 1,293 participants from four parishes. The data indicate that some parishioners do in fact seek out the lay specialists for help for personal or domestic problems. Lay specialists interpret the problems in terms of Catholic beliefs and practices. In addition, they provide Catholic education to children as well as adults and they increase parishioners' involvement in the parish. Of particular interest, the intensity of interaction with lay specialists emerged as a significant predictor of increased financial contributions to the parish.;The study analyzes these patterns in a human materialist paradigm. When open systems are threatened by environmental or cultural forces, they may respond to these forces by elaborating their structures to more complex levels. From the research in four Catholic parishes, the author of this study maintains that the lay specialists are the new phenomenon that is emerging to respond to the social forces that threaten the stability and/or survival of the Catholic parishes. |
