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Quito (Agenzia Fides) - The Third Assembly of Catholic Jurists in Latin America and the Caribbean (JUCALAYC) was held April 10-13, with the theme: “Identity and Mission of the Catholic Jurist,” an encounter that concluded with the formulation of a “Jurist’s Creed” and “Jurist’s Beatitudes.”
The encounter was attended by, among others, Bishop Luis Artemio Flores Calzada, head of the Pastoral/Social Care Section of the Department of Justice and Solidarity, and Cardinal Antonio Jose Gonzalez Zumarraga, Archbishop Emeritus of Quito. In both the opening Mass and the closing Mass, Bishop Luis Artemio emphasized the need to continue serving in light of the Gospel and in the spirit of Aparecida, in this era so in need of our commitment. Guest speaker Fr. Salvador Valadez Fuentes, Director of ITEPAL (Theological Pastoral Institute of CELAM), spoke to jurists on: “The Biblical-Doctrinal Foundation of the Catholic Jurist,” and “The Discipleship and the Mission of the Catholic Jurist in Our Time.” Guest speaker Sr. Izabel Arantes, head of the Migration Section of the Department of Justice and Solidarity, spoke on migration and its implications in the area of legislation. The Statutes of the JUCALAYC were also presented.
According to event organizers, “one of the fruits of the encounter has been to recognize the need to care for our brethren that are without freedom, in whom they can discover the suffering face of Christ, in the spirit of Aparecida that has called for special attention to the imprisoned, also on the part of government authorities who are called to resolve the serious problems that are found inside prisons.”
JUCALAYC began in 2001, in the 4th Latin American and Caribbean Encounter on Prison Ministry, where there was an encounter for Jurists of Latin America and the Caribbean with ties to prison ministry. There, a document was drawn up defining the doctrinal bases for a network of jurists from Latin America and the Caribbean, approved by CELAM and that in 2006, organized a 2nd encounter in order to discuss and approve the JUCALAYC Statutes, placing it as a juridical branch of the Catholic Prison Ministry of the continent. In this encounter, the guidelines for becoming a member of JUCALAYC were set: one must be a jurist (lawyer), practice the Catholic faith, actively work in Prison Ministry, honor the principles enumerated in the document from Bogota, and finally, promote the recognition of Christ as man’s redeemer and the Lord of history who hears the cry of those in prison that reaches the heart of the Church and her conscience. The institution seeks to “promote the living out of one’s profession as an act of faith, being an instrument of God’s love, promoting reconciliation, radiating a spirit of service, truth, and honesty, evangelizing through professional action, awakening hope and desire for freedom, working to make human justice a reflection of Divine Justice.”
JUCALAYC has a Council, made up of coordinators from the four regions of CELAM: Central America and Mexico, Caribbean, Bolivia and its neighboring countries, and the Southern Continent. It is an assembly formed by two representatives from each country, a councilor, and a priest. JUCALAYC also holds in national chapter meetings, diocesan meetings, and on a local parish level. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 18/4/2008; righe 42, parole 530)
