Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Sao Paulo (Agenzia Fides) – "Safeguard the memory to strengthen the identity and assume the mission." With this purpose the COMIRE (Regional Missionary Council of the State of Sao Paulo) celebrated its annual meeting November 27 to 29, at the headquarters of the Opera Cenacoli Missionaries Region Lapa, Sao Paulo. After a moment of prayer, the Coordinator of COMIRE South 1, Robson Luiz Ferreira, opened the meeting and thanked the 35 participants for having come. Bishop Jose Maria Pinheiro, Bishop Emeritus of Bragança Paulista and President of the CNBB Comire South 1, was in Rome for their Ad Limina visit.
Robson Ferreira presented the partial results of a survey on 30 years of COMIRE on a regional level, highlighting significant moments of the journey and the people who have been present along the way, stressing the importance of preserving the historical legacy in order to strengthen the identity of the Missionary Council. He called for contributions to supplement the information, and thanked those involved in this task. The coordinator also spoke of the need for an update to address the "current challenges within the Church, and encouraging the mission ad gentes.”
Father Jaime Carlos Patias proposed a reflection on the identity of COMIRE, noting that "it is crucial in order to offer originality and unity to the path we must follow." Speaking of the mission, Father Patias suggested that the coordinators of the Councils should study well the documents on the subject, such as the Document of Aparecida, the orientations of the evangelizing action of the CNBB, and also what the structure of the Church forged in the Second Vatican Council, as People of God, so as to organize missionary parishes.
The Assembly also received a visit from Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, Archbishop of São Paulo, and his Auxiliary Bishop João Mamede Filho. The Cardinal spoke of the recent Ad Limina visit and meeting with the Pope. "We realized that sending missionaries is for all of Latin America. Europe is asking for missionaries. Therefore, our Church in America is called to be more and more missionary, as requested by the Document of Aparecida and the project of Continental Mission," said Cardinal Scherer inviting those present to embrace the project locally and on an international level, with concrete initiatives.
"The community must be aware that we cannot only save ourselves and that discipleship must be lived in the missionary dimension. A church does not exist to take care of itself. Catholic communities exist for the Mission, to go out to others. This requires a new attitude," concluded the Cardinal of Sao Paulo, who also expressed his joy at seeing the action plan drawn up by COMIRE. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 05/12/2009)
