LAY ASSOCIATES AND MISSION AD GENTES,
OF THE MARYKNOLL FATHERS AND BROTHERS

I am grateful for the opportunity to present my perspective on the role of lay associates in the mission ad gentes of the church and the challenges that this presents. First of all I wish to make it clear that my comments are based on the experience of the Maryknoll Society with Lay Associates over the past twenty-five years, and my own personal experience of working closely with Lay Associates over the past twenty years in Peru. My outlook is also shaped by the mission ad gentes experience of representatives of the church in the U.S. working in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Because of the constraints of time I will not enter into an analysis of this experience but rather, I will present the challenges.