Agenzia Fides

Montevideo (Agenzia Fides) - As of today, May 16 until May 21, the XXXIII Ordinary Assembly of LAEC (Latin American Episcopal Council) will take place in Montevideo(Uruguay). The meeting brings together 75 participants, of which 6 are Cardinals and 50 Bishops of the 22 Episcopal Conferences of Latin America and the Caribbean. The Ordinary Meeting is held, according to the statutes, every two years. In 2009 the Assembly was held in Managua, Nicaragua. This year`s Assembly is also elective because, in addition to examining the management of the four years 2007-2011, it will proceed to the election of the new presidency of LAEC for the period 2011-2015. The note sent to Fides points out that, for the appointment, the Episcopal Conferences are consulted to submit some candidates for these pastoral roles. It is a service to the Church in Latin America, where creativity, availability, and the initiative must be dominant.
The current President of LAEC, Mgr.Raymundo Damasceno Assis, Archbishop of Aparecida, was appointed President of the Episcopal Conference of Brazil (see Fides 05/03/2011). The other current offices are: Mgr.José Leopoldo González González, Auxiliary Bishop of Guadalajara in Mexico, who is General Secretary of LAEC, and Father Sidney Fones, Deputy General-Secretary.
Especially for this occasion, the Prefect of the Congregation of Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, along with Vice President and the Apostolic Nuncio in Uruguay, Archbishop Anselmo Pecorari, the President of CLAR (Confederation of religious), Fr. Paulo Oetry F.S.C., other authorities and representatives of church bodies were invited to take part in the XXXIII Ordinary Assembly of LAEC. (EC) (Agenzia Fides 05/16/2011)