AMERICA/PANAMA - Education, health, justice, security, and the high cost of living are among the main problems pointed out by the Bishops at the closing of their Ordinary Assembly

Tuesday, 8 July 2008

Panama City (Agenzia Fides) – The Bishops of Panama have published a statement at the close of their second ordinary annual meeting held June 30 – July 4, 2008, in which they mention some of the most important ecclesial events occurring in the country and make an analysis of the country’s situation, indicating some of the main problems.
Firstly, they mention their upcoming “Ad Limina Visit” that the country’s bishops will make September 15-20, expressing their great expectation as they await this encounter with the Vicar of Christ. The Bishops also reflect on seminary life and priestly formation, “joyfully observing an increase in the number of young people who respond to the Lord’s call.” With that said, they also ask that all join in praying to the Lord of the harvest and to collaborate economically in supporting seminarians. As regards the Year of Saint Paul, they consider it an opportunity “in order to rediscover his missionary spirit, reread his Letters, relive those early days of the Church, deepen in the knowledge of his teachings, and meditate on his intense spirit of evangelization.”
The Bishops also encourage the faithful in “promoting a Eucharistic worship in its various dimensions, especially with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament,” echoing the message of the recent International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec. The adoration should be dedicated “the sanctification of the Clergy and the promotion of vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.” They later express their gratitude for the mode of reception of the Aparecida Document, and ask that the faithful become familiar with and reflect on this document as a first step in carrying out the Great Continental Mission, whose official inauguration will take place on August 17, in Quito (Ecuador), in the Closing Mass of the Third American Missionary Congress (CAM 3). In Panama, the Bishops have created a Central Committee in order to promote the mission on a national level, as it will be officially launched on March 1, 2009 in Atalaya. With this in mind, they mention that the Continental Mission “is not a certain span of time characterized by missionary activity, but rather an occasion the place the Church in a permanent state of missionary work.”
Regarding the country’s situation, they mention the upcoming elections and the need to pray that the country may remain in a peaceful state. “The authorities cannot renounce their responsibility in guaranteeing tranquility, social peace, and the common good,” they say. They also make a call on the governors to find a solution to “the larger problems present in the country, mainly in the areas of health, education, housing, transportation, justice, security, and the high cost of living.”
The Bishops consider it unacceptable that “a large portion of the population has no access to quality health services.” Finding a solution is not easy, but the Bishops recommend “a State Agreement on Health with the participation of all social sectors.”
Regarding the violence going on in the country, the Bishops suggest “a security policy, agreed and acted upon by the various social sectors with a long-term vision...one that is upright, responsible, without political bias, and that insures respect for the dignity of the human person and their rights.” Regarding the high cost of living that is affecting so many Panamanian families, the Bishops ask that in addition to making an effort to make goods available at more reasonable prices, they may also “promote and assume a culture of austerity and solidarity.”
Lastly, they mention the problem of education, which is “the best instrument in reaching authentic progress and overcoming social and cultural barriers that still cause divisions among Panamanians.” However, authentic education “should be integral and offer not only the tools for economic progress, but for progress in the area of human development with dignity, solidarity, and equality.” In addition, all proposal in the area of education should take into account the family and “should be a response to the values and principles that are most cherished by our people, which today are threatened by a cultural tendency that is foreign to our traditions and history and that seeks to affirm so-called human rights that distort the reality of the person, the family, and life.” (RG) (Agenzia Fides 8/7/2008)


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