AMERICA/ARGENTINA - Campaign for Supporting the Church in Lent, to encourage every Catholic in taking up his role in the work of evangelization

Buenos Aires (Agenzia Fides) - “We are all Church. It is time to share.” This will be the theme for Saturday, March 21 and Sunday, March 22, in the 5th Campaign for Supporting the Church, promoted by the Bishops' Conference.
Having seen the fruits of the campaign in the past years, the Bishops have decided to continue holding it and this year will be the 5th Campaign for Supporting the Church, to be held during Lent 2009. The main goals of the Campaign are to encourage every Catholic to participate more fully in supporting the evangelization effort and to inform the faithful about how the Catholic Church currently supports itself.
In the Letter that the Bishops have sent out to all the parish pastors in the country, they remind them that although “the dioceses and parishes have a variety of different circumstances, we also share the need to inform and educate the people of God on these issues.” Likewise, they also ask that the Campaign be adapted according to the local circumstances. “Rediscover the responsibility we have implies that each one of us does his own part in the Church, dedicating the talents, time, and money that we know we can offer,” the text says.
The Bishops also consider the use of the mass media, “so that it may be more widely known and publicized,” and they remind them that “in order to reach a progressive change of mentality on the support of the Church's work of evangelization, its pastors and laity, we must make the commitment to walk along the path of personal and pastoral conversion.” “We believe that the Campaign is a great opportunity to reach out to our people. To tell them about what activities go on in the parish, why and how we do them, how we support the many pastoral activities, and what is needed,” the text concludes.
The Economic Affairs Council of the Argentinean Bishops' Conference, presided by Auxiliary Bishop Joaquin Sucunza of Buenos Aires, has prepared extensive material for carrying out the campaign, including the Letter to Pastors, a letter to each and every Catholic, a guide to how to carry out the Campaign, a pamphlet, radio advertisements, and more. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 3/3/2009)