AMERICA/COLOMBIA - Plenary Assembly of Bishops: “The Church's commitment is to reach out to the human being in his integral reality”

Bogota (Agenzia Fides) – In his opening address to the Bishops in their 86th Plenary Assembly, Archbishop Ruben Salazar Gomez of Barranquilla, President of the Colombian Bishops Conference, explained that the meeting would analyze the country's situation, “in all its effects,” recalling that the Catholic Church has the challenge of being “light and salt, sign and instrument, home and school within Colombian society.”
The Plenary Assembly, which began February 9 and will last until the 13th, will focus on the situation in Colombia, with the objective of determining what challenges the Church is facing and guidelines for a pastoral approach to them. There are some 90 Bishops and Archbishops from the 76 Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions of Colombia.
“Looking back, we have seen the progress made over the course of the first 100 years of the Bishops' Conference and we have also understood how the mission for Christ and the Church presents us with challenges which are of transcendental importance for the Church Herself and for the country...” Archbishop Salazar said, recalling the recent celebration of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Bishops' Conference in Colombia.
However, the task continues and we must look to the present and the future and discover the implications that the mission has for those of us who have received the Lord: “Preach the Gospel to every person; be instruments of the saving presence of the Lord amongst His disciples through the sacraments; build communities of faith, hope, and love; illumine the lives of the Christian people, so they can be yeast that transforms the world...this task, in its complex character, leads us to realize the need to reflect on the essential meaning of the Church's presence in a world that is so loved by God.”
“We should also consider – from our perspective and experience, enlightened by social sciences – the phenomenons in the cultural, political, economic, and religious spheres, which effect all Colombians, and at the light of our faith, we will see how the Church today in Colombia can, with greater clarity and strength, take the light and salt of God to the people, being signs and instruments of God's love, growing as a home and school of love and solidarity,” he said.
He expressed his hope that the Church in Colombia may “contribute in a more efficient manner to overcoming the crisis, solving problems, and in determining what paths to follow as a nation, establishing a more just and fraternal society...recognizing the inalienable rights of the human person.”
He recalled how the Church's mission has implications in “the establishment of peace that, for Colombia, has been a challenge and a deep yearning and, today more than ever, seen as a need.” He clarified, however, that the Church does not fulfill this task in the same manner as a political party or an NGO. “She does so as light and salt, sign and instrument, home and school. And she does so with the clear conscience that her goal is to reach out to the human being in his integral reality. Thus, we lovingly direct our gaze towards all Colombians.” (RG) (Agenzia Fides 10/2/2009)