AMERICA - Synodal path: Latin American churches want to prepare together for the Synod of Bishops

Tuesday, 29 March 2022 celam   synodality   bishops  

Bogota (Agenzia Fides) - The Council of Latin American Bishops (CELAM), together with various ecclesial organizations of the continent, invites tomorrow, March 30th, to the first "Virtual Ecclesiastical Meeting of Latin America and the Caribbean". The initiative sees itself as a joint stage on the way to preparing for the Synod of Bishops on synodality and aims to deal with the challenges that have arisen from the Ecclesiastical Assembly that took place from November 21 to 28, 2021 (see Fides, 29/11/2021; 24/2/2022). As explained by Father David Jasso, Deputy Secretary of CELAM, this first meeting is intended to "take up the impulses of the Ecclesial Assembly in an atmosphere of prayer and reflection". In addition, the 15th anniversary of the assembly of Aparecida will be celebrated. The 1,000 members of the Latin American Church Assembly held in November last year, the members of CELAM pastoral centers, the team for theological reflection, the respective synod officers, the presidents and secretaries of the bishops' conferences and others have been invited to this meeting on March 30th. Those wishing to participate can do so through the CELAM and Church Assembly social networks. Outlining the pastoral journey of the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean with the Synod and Ecclesiastical Assembly as the horizon, the Presidency of CELAM recalled that "the current task until April-May 2022 is to take as a starting point the challenges and pastoral guidelines and from there to develop a proposal for the discernment of the Church on the continent". The CELAM team for theological pastoral reflection collects these contributions in order to summarize them in a single text. The phase of ratification and implementation then begins with the subsequent presentation of the resolutions. According to CELAM, as part of the preparation for the Synod of Bishops on the topic of synodality, various activities, including a Lenten Spiritual Path "are intended to help us to reflect on our personal, community and pastoral conversion in a synodal key". On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the General Conference of Aparecida, virtual meetings are planned for the regions to "meet and share the path we are following, under the sign of hope". As part of this synodal process, CELAM will hold an Extraordinary Assembly in July 2022, where the bishops will be able to deepen the first results in the context of the pastoral guidelines that shed light on the processes, projects and pastoral plans of the communities. Finally, within the framework of a study seminar on "Identity and pastoral mission", a "space for reflection" will be offered "to consider the horizon of the Church from the perspective of her renewal and restructuring and in a synodal key. All this with a view to realization the continental phase of the Synod in 2023". (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 29/3/2022)


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