Canons 781-792 are devoted to "The Missionary Action of the Church."  In this short talk I will focus on Canons 784 and 785: their basic meaning and how they are being applied in Taiwan.  Canon 784 states: Missionaries, that is, those whom competent ecclesiastical authority sends to carry out missionary work, can be chosen from among natives or
non-natives, whether secular clerics, members of institutes of consecrated life or of societies of apostolic life, or other lay members of the Christian faithful.  According to John Beal's Commentary on the Canon Law, "those people endowed with the proper natural temperament, have the necessary qualities and outlook, and ready to undertake missionary work have a special vocation, whether they are natives of the place or foreigners, priests, religious or lay people."    The present canon law makes it clear a missionary is not limited to foreigners, natives my serve within their own region; further, not only priests and religious may be missionaries, but lay people, with the proper natural and supernatural endowments, and if sent by the competent ecclesial authority, may also take up this special vocation.  Besides professional, theological and spiritual training, adequate salary and social security should be provided for such lay evangelists.

Canon 785 states: §1. Catechists are to be used in carrying out missionary work; catechists are lay members of the Christian faithful, duly instructed and outstanding in Christian life, who devote themselves to setting forth the teaching of the gospel and to organizing liturgies and works of charity under the direction of a missionary.§2. Catechists are to be formed in schools designated for this purpose or, where such schools are lacking, under the direction of missionaries.  According to Beal, "especially in places where the missionary is a foreigner, the catechist who is one of the people, speaking their language and cognizant of their culture, can be an important aid."

Taiwan confirms the contribution lay missionaries/catechists to missionary work of the Church.  From the late 1950s to mid 1970s the Church in Taiwan increased from 20,000 to 300,000.  During this same period of time the number of catechists/lay evangelists grew from a few to over 1,200.  Since the 1970s their has been no further increase in the Church's numbers; at the same time the number of catechists has radically declined.  In response to this some Bishops, especially Bishop Philip Huang of Hualien dioceses, have begun to train catechists to work among Taiwan's Aboriginal peoples: currently training 25 local lay people at a new catechetical center he has established.  Further, some religious orders have begun to send local Chinese lay persons to a new program at our Faculty of Theology to be trained as lay evangelists.  These two initiatives are in line with Canon Law's teaching on the missionary activity of the Church.  These initiatives are needed because Taiwan is still is a missionary area, relying on many foreign priests and religious in its missionary apostolate.