WHY THE CONCERN OVER THE FORMATION OF LAY CATHOLICS?
There are nearly 1 billion lay Catholics in the world. At present, only 2-3% of lay Catholics have access to significant formation outside their local parish. But this is not enough! All have been called to be apostles; all have been given gifts of the Holy Spirit for the sake of the world. Lay movements and specialized institutes are doing a wonderful job forming and empowering lay people but they are reaching only a tiny portion of the total Catholic population. Only a highly motivated minority of lay people with considerable leisure and mobility, (not to mention financial resources) will be able to seek out significant formation outside their local parish.
