Hierarchy of the Catholic Church distinct from the general apostolate or ministry of the laity described above. The consultative leadership of the church, in both the diocese and the parish, usually comprises a Pastoral Council and a Finance Council, as well as several Commissions usually focusing on major aspects of the church's life and mission, such as Faith Formation or Christian Education, Liturgy, Social Justice, Ecumenism, or Stewardship. Religious—who can be either lay people or clergy—are members of religious institutes, societies in which the members take public vows and live a fraternal life in common. This is a form of consecrated life distinct from other
Persecutions of the Catholic Church and Pius XII to the Vatican improved significantly. In 1974, the Church in Yugoslavia counted 15500 priests, religious and nuns Religious institutes and institutions are historically visible targets in time of conflict and strife. Their houses, convents or monasteries were looted, burned or destroyed throughout Europe for centuries in virtually all European countries. The beginning of the pontificate of Pius XII coincided with the end of the Civil War in Spain, in which, in addition to thousands of faithful, some 4184 secular priests, 2365 religious and 283 female religious were killed within a three-year period. In World War II, the religious of Poland