AMERICA/BRAZIL - “ There is urgent need for reflection and deeper awareness of who we are and what we offer to the world: and from this depends our qualified manner of exercising the mission of the Church.”: interview with Archbishop Odilo P. Scherer Archbishop of Sao Paulo and secretary general of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Brazil.

Aparecida (Fides Service) - Ten days before the opening in Brazil of a major Catholic Church event CELAM 5, the 5th General Conference of the Council of Latin American Bishops' Conferences, Fides interviewed CELAM 5 Secretary Archbishop Odilo P. Scherer, installed as new Archbishop of Sao Paulo on Sunday 29 April, who is also secretary general of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Brazil.

In the context of recent socio-political and cultural changes in Latin America, what pastoral challenges and priorities will CELAM 5 seek to address?
Since CELAM 4 held in Santo Domingo in 1992, the changes on our continent have been many and varied. The main challenge now is how to carry on the Church's mission in a changing world; the Church must announce the Gospel, the good news, to people in persistent and ever more accentuated situations of poverty and social exclusion; violence is everywhere; large numbers of Latin American peoples migrate to rich countries in the northern hemisphere; the economic and cultural implications of globalisation; religious changes, Catholics leaving to join other churches and groups; commercialisation of the sacred according to a concept of “religion market”; new moral problems… in the vast cities great challenges face the Church's mission to deepen the faith and foster a stronger sense of belonging to the Catholic Church in a cultural environment marked by mobility, fragility and instability of relationships and human compromises with traditional institutions.

Are these challenges the same all over Latin America?
With a few slight variations in the different countries yes the challenges are present in every region of the Continent and of course more acutely felt in large urban areas.

Could you pleace explain the choice of the COMLA 5 theme: “Disciples and Missionaries of Jesus Christ so that in Him our Peoples may have life ”. Could this not appear to be a theme which is distant from day to day reality in your countries? What fruits will it bear?
This theme, the result of long reflection on Latin America, was proposed to Pope Benedict XVI who approved it and added something of his own. The theme has three nuclei: Christian and Catholic identity “Disciples and missionaries of Jesus Christ” ; mission “Missionaries of Jesus Christ, so that in Him our Peoples may have life ”; the significance of the presence and activity of Christians and the Church among our peoples “so that in Him our peoples may have life”. There is urgent need for reflection and deeper awareness of who we are and what we offer to the world: and from this depends our qualified manner of exercising the mission of the Church. In the context of major cultural changes the genuineness of the Christian proposal for "life of the world" risks being diluted or scarcely distinguishing. It is right to return to Jesus Christ and his Gospel to see what they mean for our peoples. Moreover the challenges of our times demand new missionary openness of the whole Church. We can no longer presume that everyone has already been evangelised and that it is enough to maintain what has been achieved. Our nations, our dioceses, our parishes, our Catholic families, continue to be tempted every day by countless 'different' proposals of life and religion. The Catholic Church is anxious to rediscover her missionary nature in each of her communities, organisations, every individual Catholic. It is not a question of competing, but rather of doing our very best to fulfil our mission.
I do not see the COMLA 5 theme as distant from the life and real interests of our peoples. Or is the Gospel no longer of interest for our people? The third nucleus of the theme “so that in Him our peoples may have life ” is rightly directed to the reality of the life of our peoples: the daily hardship and struggle, the crosses of history, the hopes and longing for freedom, dignity and happiness. And the Church wishes to continue to be an important presence in the social, historical, political, economic and cultural situations of our peoples. The Latin American Church has something to announce to its peoples, organisations and culture: the life of peoples according to God's plan and his Kingdom, not connected with any ideology, economic theory or political party, “so that in Him they may have life ”.

What does Brazil and the whole Continent expect and hope from this 5th Conference?
It is our hope that Pope Benedict XVI's address to inaugurate the Conference and the final guidelines issued at its conclusion will help the Church in Latin America see clearly how her mission must continue and the most suitable ways to face the present day challenges to the Church's mission in Brazil and throughout the Continent. I hope the event will give new impulse to missionary dynamism and activity; that it will give Catholics a deeper awareness of the joy of being believers, members of the Catholic Church; help lay people shoulder with dynamism and competence their mission in the Church and, most important, in the world; that it will bear fruit for the life of our peoples ever more abundant as time passes.

Do you think the Conference will help Catholics rediscover and strengthen their identity, weakened by present day relativism in society, the spread of religious sects and many other challenges facing Christians today?
I hope so but I know also that this will demand considerable missionary activity and much patience and perseverance on the part of the Church. The Conference will certainly help foster a new approach and this must be transmitted to the Church's members and organisations. It is not something which can be achieved only by ecclesiastics. We live in a vast and varied cultural situation which favours little identification with the Catholic faith and the Church. I am convinced of the need to help Catholics become more aware of their identity as Catholics and members of the Church; a person with no identity is like a dry leaf blown here and there by the wind … and the formation of an identity starts from basic Christian formation, intense evangelisation, catechesis and mystical formation, positive witness of the Church's presence and activity in the life of individuals and society. As Pope Benedict XVI says repeatedly, it is right to rediscover the joy of believing,.

What will this visit of the Holy Father mean for Brazil and what are the main events of his schedule?
The Pope is coming to Brazil first of all to preside the inauguration of the 5th General Conference of the Council of Latin American Bishops' Conferences. The previous Conferences all enjoyed the presence of the Pope, except for the one in 1955 in Rio de Janeiro, so this is why the Pope's visit is so important for Brazil and for all Latin America. The Pope is the visible referent of the Church's unity and his mission is to “confirm his brothers and sisters in the faith ” ( cf., Lk 22, 32 ). His presence in Aparecida is so significant because Benedict XVI will give legitimacy to a major Church event and offer important indications on the role of the Church among our peoples in order to be faithful to the mission entrusted by Christ.
In Sao Paulo, the Pope will have meetings with the President of Brazil, the young people and the Bishops. He will also celebrate an open air Mass for the canonisation of Blessed Antonio di Sant’Ana Galvão, first Saint born in Brazil. The Pope will also visit Fazenda of Hope, a centre for social reintegration of drug addicts; on his last day 13 May the Pope will preside the celebration of the opening Mass of CELAM 5 followed by the first working session. We are truly grateful that the Holy Father has allotted time to meeting and speaking with the local people. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 3/5/2007 righe 44 parole 435)