Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bogota (Agenzia Fides) - On February 28 - March 2, in Bogota (Colombia), the Second Congress of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities will be held. The event will be organized by the Department of Ecclesial Communion and Dialogue of the CELAM. Participants in the Congress include: representatives of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, and the Latin American Bishops’ Council; the Bishops in charge of the American Bishops’ Conferences for the Committee of Movements; priests; and a group of delegates of 35 movements of Latin America and the Caribbean. The theme for the event will be: “Ecclesial Movements and New Communities, Apostles and Missionaries of Jesus, the Light of the World,” with a focus on the being and action of the missionary, called to be light to the world.
The main objective of the Congress is to offer a space of reflection, dialogue and coordination among those in leadership roles on the ecclesial movements and new communities, as well as, Bishops, with a look towards the Continental Mission, in the spirit of Aparecida.
The Congress will officially open on February 29, with a Eucharistic Celebration presided by Bishop Jose Francisco Ulloa Rojas, of Cartago (Costa Rica), Director of the Section for Church Movements and New Communities. Following, Bishop Josef Clemens, Secretary for the Pontifical Council for the Laity, will present the greeting and message from His Holiness, Benedict XVI. The Congress will be divided into three workshops: “The Event of Aparecida and the Ecclesial Movements,” by Professor Guzmán Carriquiry Lecour, Undersecretary for the Pontifical Council for the Laity; “The Process for the Continental Mission,” by Bishop Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte, OFM, president of the Mission and Spirituality Department of CELAM; and “The Pedagogical Itinerary for the formation of Missionaries in the Movements, according to the Document of Aparecida,” by Bishop Filippo Santoro of Petropolis (Brazil). There will also be a round-table discussion on the theme of “The Continental Mission, participation and integration of the Ecclesial Movements and New Communities,” which will be presented by: Bishop Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte, Bishop Ricardo Watty Urquidi, M.SP.S. of Nuevo Laredo (Mexico), President of the Bishops’ Committee for the Laity, Sr. Moysés Louro de Azevedo Filho, of the Catholic Community Shalom, and Sr. Pilar Escudero Palacios, member of the Schoenstatt Movement.
The Congress will close on Sunday, March 2, with a Solemn Mass celebrated by Bishop Josef Clemens. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 26/2/2008 righe 35, parole 396)
