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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 October 2024
The object of Catholic Action is to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. It is identified with the mission of the Church to teach all nations “to observe whatsoever I have commanded you.” The Bishops, by their strict apostolic succession, acquire the right and the duty to lead in the Church’s mission. With themselves they associate priests, who are ordained for specially sacred functions in the Church, and lay apostles who, by Catholic Action, share in the Divine Mission. The methods adopted by Bishops and priests in pursuance of this mission—prayer, exhortation and the Sacraments—are universal in their application and effective under all conditions. The methods of the lay apostle must depend largely on conditions of time and place, on the atmosphere in which he works, on the temperament of those with whom he comes into contact and even on his own human qualities. In a word, the method of Catholic Action depends on the milieu. It may therefore be of value to the apostles of Catholic Action in this country to attempt an analysis of the milieu in which we find ourselves and which we seek to supernaturalize.