Toward a New Self-Understanding: The U.S. Catholic Missionary Movement on the Eve of the Quincentennial

This article takes as its starting point the presence and evolving role of U.S. Catholic missioners in Latin America. The occasion of the 500 Years Commemoration provides an opportunity to reconsider this contemporary movement and its contribution to forging a church from the perspective of the poor in Latin America. It examines those internal and external factors that have shaped a new way of doing mission based on a recognition of “otherness” and develops some of the motivations that are unique to the North American experience. Awareness of these contributions together with challenges that arise out of the present moment form the backdrop for what is envisioned as an ongoing attempt to articulate the U.S. Catholic missionary movement both in Latin America and the United States.