AMERICA/ANTILLES - Final Message at the close of the Plenary Assembly on the Continental Mission: “this is our time as Church, a time of grace and a New Pentecost. We cannot miss this opportunity.”

Monday, 11 May 2009

Martinique (Agenzia Fides) – The Bishops of the Antilles Episcopal Conference (AEC) issued a message to the entire People of God at the close of their Plenary Assembly held in late April. The Message is entitled: “Disciples and Missionaries of Jesus Christ, so that our peoples may have Life in Him.” In the Message, the Bishops recall the V General Conference of Bishops held in May 2007 in Aparecida (Brazil), which brought together over 200 Bishops from Latin America and the Caribbean, along with numerous priests, religious, and laity, “in an effort to build communion and solidarity among our local Churches and to develop a common vision for the Church.” Moreover, the Message says, “the Bishops wished to give a new impulse to evangelization to ensure the continued growth and maturity in faith of our people.”
The Bishops of the Antilles affirm that “the Church in the Caribbean today, in pastoral solidarity and communion with the Church in Latin America, has accepted the challenge to form disciples and missionaries of Jesus Christ, so that our peoples may have life in Him.” They also recall that every member of the Church is called to be disciple and missionary, which requires “a new way of thinking, seeing and acting. It requires formation for clergy, religious and all of God’s people in order to fulfil this task with responsibility and boldness.”
The Bishops note that “Aparecida is a new starting point of the New Evangelization of our Peoples. It reinforces the preferential and evangelical option of the Church for the poor, its preferential option for youth and commits itself to defend those who are weak.” They also consider the fact that Aparecida is a call to leaders to “defend the truth, respect life and the dignity of each person,” and offer a contribution to “the promotion of a culture of honesty that will heal the root of all forms of violence, illegal enrichment and generalized corruption.”
The conclusion of the Message reads: “Sisters and Brothers, this is our time as Church, a time of grace and a New Pentecost. We cannot miss this opportunity. The vision must become a reality. From now on you will hear many references being made to Aparecida and to what it means to us in our forward march as Church in your own (Arch) dioceses and in the region.” (RG) (Agenzia Fides 11/5/2009)


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