These are Holy Orders and Matrimony. Matrimony is the authentic and highest attainable lay ministry . Matrimony is not 'first among equals' in relation to other ministries. It is rather with Holy Orders that Matrimony shares a radical equality of dignity. Married ministers perform a maternal role in the Family of God.
Ordained ministers perform a paternal role in the Family of God.
This explains the glaring handicaps in evangelization. Only with the ministerial intercourse of Ordained and Married can full ecclesial communion be realized. If the current attitude to marriage does not change among laity and clergy, marriages and families will continue to break down and Church institutions will increasingly have to address the consequent problems. The phenomenal growth of the charismatic renewal movement is explained by the fact that it is fundamentally family-based . Unfortunately, laypersons and organizations acting with little or no collaboration with priests can only accomplish so much.