AMERICA/COLOMBIA - International Congress for the 40th anniversary of the II General Conference at Medellin: a historical and pastoral reflection on the new means of evangelization needed in the modern world

Medellin (Agenzia Fides) – This coming August 3-5, an International Congress will be held in honor of the 40th anniversary of the II General Conference of Latin American Bishops, which took place in the Colombian city of Medellin. This celebration will not imply a mere recalling of the past, but rather will present the opportunity to reflect on the path trodden until now and the challenges being presented at the dawn of the 21st century. The historical reflection will allow for an appreciation of the Church’s work from 1968 until the present.
The main objective of this event is to reunite the representatives of the Latin American, Colombian, and local Church in an International Congress, in order to make a historical and pastoral reflection on the new forms of evangelization needed in the modern world.
The Congress, which will take place in the Conciliar Seminary in Medellin, will be divided into conferences that will focus on testimony and narration. At the end of each conference, there will be a panel for further reflection on the topic. The scheduled conferences include: “Theological Inspiration of the Medellin Document” (Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras); “Theological Inspiration of the Aparecida Document” (Archbishop Luis Augusto Castro Quiroga of Tunja, Colombia); “Narration and anecdotes on the development of the Medellin Conference” (Fr. Humberto Jiménez Gómez); “Man and the light of Medellin and Aparecida” (Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga); “The Theology of Hope in the light of the Medellin Document” (Mr. Alberto Ramírez); “Ideological Critique of the Medellin and Aparecida Documents” (Msgr. Héctor Fabio Henao, President of Caritas Colombia); “A Philosophical Reading of the Medellin Document” (Bishop Víctor Manuel Ochoa Cadavid, Auxiliary Bishop of Medellin); “The Parish as a Community of Communities, from Medellin to Aparecida” (Archbishop Alberto Giraldo Jaramillo of Medellin). (RG) (Agenzia Fides 22/7/2008)