"What then do you reproach Church leaders?" I said at last foolishly. "Me? Nothing much. To have secularized us" (M. Olivier responds to the country priest in the Diary of A Country Priest by George Bernanos

In this short presentation I will briefly summarize the essential mission of the laity and then discuss the principal obstacles to the fulfillment of that mission.

The theology of the laity put forth by the Second Vatican Council, Canon Law and Pope John Paul II is inspiring and challenging. The Code of Canon Law succinctly identifies the laity and explains their role in the Church. The Christian faithful are those who have been incorporated into Christ and the Church by Baptism, and, therefore, share in Christ's priestly, prophetic and royal office (munus). They have a duty to live a holy life, to promote the growth of the Church in holiness and to work for the diffusion of the divine message of salvation throughout the world. In addition, sometimes the laity even have the right and the duty to alert the hierarchy about matters that pertain to the salvation of souls. In the words of The Code inspired by Lumen gentium.

Dr. Robert Royal writes at First Things about elite opinion concerning Chinese human-rights abuses: getting workers a fair deal for their labors is good; defending religious freedom is better.