Amy Coney Barrett's little-known Catholic group, People of Praise
People of Praise appeared after the Second Vatican Council, when in an effort to accommodate diversity and globalization, the church for the first time encouraged lay-led groups that had different styles of prayer. Generally what the groups shared was a desire for a more intense, more experiential faith.
Some of these lay-led groups have tens of thousands of members, like Focolare, which focuses on interfaith dialogue, and Communion and Liberation, which emphasizes that Christians must take their faith outside the private sphere.
Many of these groups are charismatic, meaning they pray in a demonstrative way more typical of Protestant Pentecostal groups — speaking in tongues and practicing faith healing. While evil is a core focus of all faiths’ theology, for charismatic groups like the People of Praise, the idea of dark forces at work is very real, not metaphoric.
People of Praise is focused on community. Single members might choose to live in a house with a family, or live in a house with other single members. Each member has a spiritual guide, called a “head.” The regional female leaders were called “handmaids” before the Margaret Atwood novel and subsequent TV series made that word too charged, and are now called “women leaders,” said Craig Lent, People of Praise’s overall coordinator, a position akin to chairman of the board. The coordinator is elected by the board to a single, six-year term.
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