EUROPE/SPAIN - NATIONAL MISSION CONGRESS IN BURGOS: “THIS IS THE HOUR OF MISSION” – WE ARE ALL CALLED TO PROCLAIM THE SAVING LOVE OF GOD TO A RESTLESS AND UNSATISFIED WORLD

Thursday, 11 September 2003

Madrid (Fides Service) – From 18 al 21 September Burgos the Church in Spain will hold the National Mission Congress on the theme “This is the hour of mission”. The Congress is expected to draw participants from all over Spain, besides numerous Bishops from the different dioceses, a hundred missionaries, and about 800 Congress participants (clergy, religious and laity ) from all over the world. The Congress is organised by the Commission for Mission of hthe Spanish Bishops’ Conference, presided by Archbishop Carlos Amigo, who appointed an executive committee which includes Bishop Francisco Perez Gonzalez of Osma-Soria who is also National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Spain.
The opening Mass on 18 September will be presided by Cardinal Antonio M. Rouca Varela, Archbishop of Madrid and President of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference. This will be followed an welcoming address by the Bishop of Burgos Francisco Gil Hellìn, and the mayor. Then the Archbishop Carlos Amigo, of Seville who is president of the Congress executive committee will present the work of the congress. After the reading of a message from Pope John Paul II by the Nuncio to Spain Archbishop Manuel Monteiro di Castro, Archbishop Robert Sarah, Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples will give the opening conference on “The Church and the challenge of mission today”. The next three days will include conferences, testimony, experience, mission exhibitions…from all over the world. On Saturday 20 there will be the talks “Challenges of mission today ”, by Archbishop Estanislao E. Karlic of Parana (Argentina) and “Mission ad gentes, priority task of the Particular Churches” by Mgr Juan Esquerda Bifet, Professor of the Pontifical Urban University and a round table discussion on “the missionary ministry” aimed at highlighting the different forms of response to the missionary vocation starting from the ecclesial vocation proper to each Christian.
Called for by the different missionary realities in Spain, the Congress was to be part of the 3 year pastoral plan 2002-2005 of the Spanish Bishops Conference for various reasons: dispel doubts and misunderstanding with regard to mission ad gentes; promote missionary vocations; confirm support for about 20.000 Spanish missionaries in mission lands; present the riches of the theological aspect of missione; give new impulse to mission involving dioceses and Christian communities so they include mission in their pastoral plans. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 11/9/2003 – lines 27; words 345)


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