Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Albuquerque (Agenzia Fides) – Yesterday, October 28, marked the opening day for the US Mission Congress 2010 taking place in Albuquerque (New Mexico), October 28-31. A note sent to Fides by the United States Catholic Mission Association, sponsors of the Congress, explains that there are now over 350 delegates, including 19 bishops attending the event.
The Congress began with a high-spirited Eucharistic Liturgy presided over by Bishop Gerard Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona. Archbishop Michael Sheehan of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe (New Mexico) welcomed the assembly and the visiting Bishops at the Mass. The homily of Bishop Kicanas helped the Congress to re-appreciate the missionary reality as that which is, “... being chosen, entrusted with a mission to bring all into the household of God.”
The Congress also heard the first of three keynote addresses scheduled during the event. Fr. Gary Riebe Estrella, SVD engaged the Congress in a theological and pastoral and critical effort to examine the theme of the Congress: “God’s Mission, Many Faces: A Portrait of U.S. Catholics in Mission.” He spoke of the dangers of the individualism that plagues American society, of the contributions of immigration to Catholicism in the country, and the need for unity in spite of the obstacles. According to the statement, he explained that “the mission of American Catholics has to be, minimally, a denunciation of the divisions and the polarities so easily provided to the community by contemporary American experience.” Thus, the need to emerge from a self-centered vision in order to carry out the mission that awaits us.
The Mission Congress will continue for two more days, ending on October 31. (AR) (Agenzia Fides 29/10/2010)
