AMERICA/EL SALVADOR - First National Missionary Congress concludes: “we should start on our journey, going into our dioceses and parishes to communicate what we have heard and seen.”

San Salvador (Agenzia Fides) – “When this Congress began, we said that an event like this, so rich in content, cannot be the final destination but rather, the point of departure. Today, we reaffirm this point,” said Rocio Arujo, Secretary of the National Council for Missions (CONAMI) of El Salvador, in a statement sent to Fides, commenting on the conclusion of the First National Missionary Congress in El Salvador. The Congress took place May 16-18 with the theme “Missionary Parish, Beyond Borders.” “We should start on our journey, going into our dioceses and parishes to communicate what we have heard and seen,” the Secretary said.
A total of 1,750 people participated in the Congress in representation of the country’s eight diocese and according to the Secretary of CONAMI, the experience could be described as “an experience of ecclesial communion, thanks to the presence of representatives from all the dioceses, the large number of pastoral care workers, and the communion with our Pastors.” In addition, “the parish encounters and those of the families that hosted the participants in the event, were of great importance.” During the Congress, talks were given by three priests (one diocesan, a Pauline priest, and Redemptorist priest) on the theme: “The history and mission of El Salvador.” Bishop Julio Cabrera Ovalle of Jalapa (Guatemala) spoke on the “Parish missionary community,” and the last day, Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Madariaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa (Honduras) and President of Caritas Internationalis, spoke on the “Challenges of the mission in the post-modern age.”
Among the final conclusions were a presentation of the characteristics that should be found in a parish open to the mission, namely that: it be a parish that is both evangelized and evangelizing, with a special preference for the poor, participant and protagonist in the mission, moved by the Holy Spirit, living the sacraments with an authentic testimony of faith, a parish of prayer and contemplation, and organized and committed to the challenges of the post-modern era.
It was also noted that the missionary activity “ad gentes” has not entered into pastoral plans in the parishes due to an indifference towards the mission, which comes from a lack of knowledge and awareness of the mission ad gentes. For this reason, in most parishes there is not a great interest in the mission. Therefore, what is needed is to create awareness among the clergy in order to promote the mission ad gentes, starting with the pastoral plans, giving them the place they deserve. Regarding the Catholic in the parish, it was mentioned that he should be a committed Catholic, constantly in formation, with a testimony of life, with a missionary spirit, serving, prayerful, with a sacramental life, with a desire for holiness, in love with Christ, and with a social-critical conscience.
It was seen that the pastoral care workers are needed in forming believers and parishes of tomorrow. The priests should take on a greater spirit of dialogue with the laity and a acquire a spirit of service. They should always be willing to serve in the mission, be close to the people, capable of giving their life for the sheep and willing to work in team. The religious, for their part, should be committed to the mission and live the Gospel. They should get involved in the Parish Ministry and promote religious vocations. The laity should be people of prayer and responsibility. They should be creative, obedient, faithful to Catholic doctrine, with permanent formation, and being authentic disciple of Christ. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 28/5/2008 righe 45, parole 581)