Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Fides Service) - “Our main task is to evangelise young people and families”, says Bishop Audilio Aguilar Aguilar of Colón-Kuna Yala, Panama. “And while we are organising diocesan meetings to propose a journey of faith and we discover that many people wish to draw nearer to God. And this is a motive for hope”.
The Bishop illustrates the situation of the Church in Panama: “The social context has deteriorated and there are problems such as violence, breaking up of families, crime, indifference towards others. This is why our mission today is to increase awareness that with Christ we can be better people. In years of pastoral experience as a parish priest I learned a lot about the human heart and I believe that Christ is the answer to all human longing. Hence the urgency of evangelisation”.
Bishop Aguilar says “Faith has to face the threat of spreading Protestant sects and scarcity of vocations. In the life of the Church the role of the laity is most important for pastoral work in the communities, a valid source of assistance for priests and religious”.
In Panama Catholic hospitals and Homes for people with AIDS, old people, drug addicts, orphaned and sick children are very appreciated.
Referring to a statement issued at the end of an assembly of Central American Bishops held in Panama in November 2005 “Building a Future of Hope” the Bishop said in the face of economic, social and political difficulties, the Church is a point of reference and also in the face of moral and doctrinal relativism, to defend the marginalised and the suffering, in the fight against poverty and injustice, to protect life and the family. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 16/2/2006, righe 27, parole 270)
