Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Santiago de Chile (Agenzia Fides) -The remarks given by the President of the Chilean Bishops' Conference, Bishop Alejandro Goic, and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, marked the inaugural session of the 99th Plenary Assembly of Chilean Bishops, which took place Monday, April 12 at 9am at the Pontifical Major Seminary in Santiago.
In the opening session, at the auditorium of the Pontifical Major Seminary of the Holy Guardian Angels, the President of the Bishops' Conference, Bishop Alejandro Goic, greeted Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone and thanked him for his visit, calling it a "good opportunity to confirm our communion with the Vicar of Christ and the Universal Church in its mission to proclaim the Gospel, the source of abundant life for the men and women of our time."
For his part, Cardinal Bertone expressed the warm greetings of Pope Benedict XVI, "that from the moment he heard about the devastating earthquake last February, with its severe consequences, has followed with particular interest and concern the situation this beloved country is experiencing."
Cardinal Bertone also emphasized that the missionary dynamism centered in Jesus Christ is gaining strength among the pastors and faithful of Chile and it is something which the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean has set as an objective following the V General Conference celebrated in Aparecida , and which has been expressed in the pastoral guidelines and the Continental Mission that the Bishops in Chile continue to work on.
Cardinal Bertone's visit to Chile ends on Wednesday, April 14, the day he will return to the Vatican. The Bishops' meeting at Punta de Tralca continues until Friday, April 16, when it will end with a Mass at 5pm at the Cathedral of Rancagua, the city hardest hit by the earthquake, which in these days welcomes the visit of the pilgrimage image of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, blessed by the Pope. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 13/04/2010)
