FOUR missionaries were gunned down in a Central American country and the shots were heard around the world. The 1979 killing of these women brought to the front page an old question: What really should be the work of Christian missionaries?

The role of these four missionaries has been hotly debated. Viewpoints differ about what a missionary should do. One graduate of a Catholic missionary school reportedly declared: “We don’t want to change people​—we only want to help them.” Many feel that missionaries should help by establishing hospitals, secular schools, refugee centers or orphanages​—principally, care for people’s material needs.

Others now believe that they should make the poor people that they serve more conscious of their situation and rights. “It used to be God’s will to accept the suffering,” stated one South American Catholic missionary. “Now it’s God’s will to denounce the suffering.” This attitude has brought missionaries in conflict with some national governments.

‘Many people today need medical attention, proper food and housing,’ exclaim missionaries of traditional religions. ‘They need material help first. Then we can tend to their spiritual needs.’