AMERICA/ECUADOR - Second year of National Mission begins

Quito (Agenzia Fides) - Wednesday, 8 December, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, in the Basilica del Voto Nacional, in the presence of all the Bishops and with the participation of many lay people, the solemn Eucharistic Celebration was held to begin the second Missionary Year, reported the General Secretariat of the Episcopal Conference of Ecuador to Fides on the opening of the second national Missionary Year. At the Mass, which was attended by delegations of the various jurisdictions in the Country, the new Global Plan for the Pastoral Care of the Church for 2011-2015 was presented and which has been called the second National Congress for the Family in Ecuador.
As part of the ongoing process of the National Mission, it is hoped that all lay people feel a part of the great National Mission, guided by the message of Aparecida and committed to promoting the living encounter with Jesus Christ, starting with the family to then ferment, transforming society.
“The current situation,” say the Bishops, “challenges all of us, men and women of the Church, because in our society which excludes or marginalizes God, there is a growing religious indifference and a loss of Gospel values. Trust in the goodness of God the Father, which gave much serenity to all, is highly endangered, and the traditional solidarity in the culture of our people is suffocated by a strong consumerism that pervades everything. We see in these holes, the Lord's call to bring the Gospel to all sectors of society.” (CE) (Agenzia Fides 09/12/2010)