AMERICA/COSTA RICA - “CAM 2 marked an unprecedented milestone in preparation and celebration this means we have entered a new era which we call, with an expression of John Paul II, “a great Christian springtime in the Church’s evangelising activity”.

San Jose (Fides Service / CAM2 press office) - The 4th Central American Meeting for Pastoral Delegates taking place at San José di Costa Rica concludes today 18 February with a solemn celebration of Mass at the Basilica “Nuestra Señora de los Angeles” during which the conclusions of CAM 2 will be presented.
Bishop Francisco Ulloa, Bishop of Limon and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Costa Rica welcoming the participants said, “CAM 2 was a profound experience of ecclesial communion which filled everyone with enthusiasm and zeal for mission ad gentes”.
Bishop Vittorino Girardi, Bishop Tilaran and President of the Missions Commission of the Bishops of Costa Rica, in his prolusion said “although CAM 2 was a fundamentally important lap on the journey of the Church, it is a realisation, prophecy, fruit and seed for the future”.
From the beginning the Congress organisers wanted the event to have a gradual and systematic itinerary on the line of an authentic process of evangelisation and mission of a Church which is en route and is ready to rediscover with new interest the identity of her missionary nature. This meant consequently that the path they wanted to travel in the stage of preparation was realised “in ecclesial communion”, “but above all it was to be a dynamic and creative unfurling of an evangelising pastoral process to facilitate missionary experience within the Christian communities, in order to rediscover the immense riches of its Christian heritage and reawakening conscience to carry to the entire world the Good News beyond continental borders especially to those who have still not heard it (cfr EA. n.74)”.
The Meeting exceeded the expectations of the organisers because besides representatives from the central American countries, there were also representatives of Canada, Peru, Argentina, Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Paraguay, Cuba, Chile, Uruguay, giving the event a continental dimension. Bishop Vittorino Girardi, said in this regard that the Meeting “is another sign of the brotherly love and bonds of unity formed during the process of preparation for CAM 2”. (Agenzia Fides)