AMERICA/COLOMBIA - First Encounter of Women in Latin America: a contribution to the integral formation of women and the progress of their mission in the Church and in society, in light of the Aparecida Document

Bogota (Agenzia Fides) – The First Encounter of the Women of Latin America, organized by the CELAM (Latin American Bishops' Conference) Department of Life and Family, was held December 14-16. Following the guidelines from the Fifth General Conference of Latin American Bishops in Aparecida, the immediate objective of this encounter was to establish the benefits that can contribute to the integral formation of women and the progress of their mission in the Church and society. In collaboration with the individual bishops' conferences, the ultimate goal is to define a path of missionary discipleship assigned to women and enable them to play their role in all spheres of the Church and society.
During the proceedings, opened with a Mass, various talks were given, such as that of theologian Sister Marta Ines Restrepo, on the theme "Women in the Church's evangelizing mission." Sr. Rosemery Castaneda also attended, illustrating the theme “Women in the Bible,” and also "The woman, sign of the times” that presented the thought of Pope John Paul II.
After several round table discussions, there were moments of exchange of pastoral experiences of different Latin American countries, considering everything about the pastoral care of women. The event, which ended December 16, focused on three main themes: “woman as the protagonist of evangelization and mission,” “the woman as a manufacturer of society, intervention strategies” and “the formative processes of discipleship and mission of woman and woman.” (CE) (Agenzia Fides 17/12/2009)