Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bogota (Fides Service) - Diocesan directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies PMS from all over Colombia met for their annual meeting 1-4 February at Santandercito, Bogota to discuss the important theme: “the necessity to integrate the programmes of the PMS in diocesan plans for evangelisation in order to make the missionary dimension part of all ordinary pastoral activity and consequently render dioceses, parishes missionary and to help all the baptised have a missionary heart all the year round and not only during the mission month of October.”
The participants agreed on the importance of promoting “meetings for PMS directors and pastoral delegates to enable them to get to know one another and also to plan activity to avoid parallel programming and to ensure that all groups in the local Churches are formed in the missionary dimension so that all baptised Christians become missionaries” Father Valencia Lopez new PMS national director in Colombia told Fides. “In this way - he said - one day we will have a ministry of evangelisation and missionary animation. We will not limit ourselves to organising events, but we will build processes of evangelisation”.
To reach this goal PMS missionary priorities for 2005 include: integration with diocesan plans for evangelisation, establish a mission office and mission groups in every diocese; collaborate with Young Voluntary Missionaries organisation; meetings for Directors, missionary teams and schools of mission animation; diocesan courses of mission animation for priests, religious and laity; retreats and initiatives of missionary animation in seminaries; encourage Mission Congresses at various levels.
During the meeting the Directors elected new members of the PMS national council and chose themes for Holy Childhood Day, National Missionary Youth Day taking into consideration the Year of the Eucharist: “Jesus in the Eucharist sends us on mission!” and “The Eucharist centre of life for young people”. Activities this year include a Missionary Eucharistic Feast on Sunday 29 May 2005. During a National Meeting for Seminarians in Tunja 8 - 11 July, special attention will be given to the Pontifical Mission Society St Peter Apostle and the Seminary Mission Group to ensure that the missionary dimension is not lacking in the formation of future priests.
Lastly it was decided that the National Meeting for PMS diocesan Directors 2006 will take place in Bogota, 30 January to 1 February to reflect on the following: Vatican II Ad Gentes decree 40 years on; new PMS statutes POM; preparation for National Mission Congress 2006 and CAM 3, in Ecuador in 2007. (R.Z.) (Agenzia Fides 23/2/2005; righe 35; parole 434)
