More On the Leadership Role of Laity

 A reader had these comments on the lay leadership discussion:

Like yourself, and Prof. Stabile, I'm puzzled by the lack of support for lay leadership of religious institutes that have established lay membership.  I find it particularly puzzling in light of the attention paid in recent pontificates to how the laity can lead lives of heroic virtue (see Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, St. Joseph Moscati, St. Gianna Beretta Molla).  Presumably if you can do that, you can lead.  So I put the question to a seminarian friend of mine, who attributed it to, at least in part, the formation of those presently in leadership roles.    He noted that this is likely to change (I think JPII's reflections on the laity will help), and pointed to the increasing use of laity (both men and women) as chancellors of dioceses as evidence that the shift was already occurring.