Bogota (Agenzia Fides) - The plenary assemblies of the Bishops' Conferences of Paraguay, Colombia and Venezuela will take place this week. From Monday 4 to Wednesday 6 July, the Bishops of Paraguay will participate in a spiritual retreat, which will be followed by the Ordinary General Assembly, from Wednesday 6 in the afternoon to Friday 8 July. The coordination of the spiritual retreat has been entrusted to Msgr. Pierre Jubinville, bishop of San Pedro and vice president of the Episcopal Conference. Among the issues addressed by the Assembly - informs the note sent to Fides, are the Ecclesiastical Faculty of Theology, the report of the National Major Seminary, the ongoing process for the implementation of the Guidelines on the Ministry of the Catechist and the Ministry of the Acolyte and Lector for women. The Bishops will also listen to the reports of the Pastoral Care for Education and that for Human Mobility. On Friday, July 8, the plenary session will meet until 9.30 am, then it will move to the Cathedral to participate in the imposition of the pallium delivered by Pope Francis to the Metropolitan Archbishop of Asunción.
The Plenary Assembly of the Colombian Episcopate will be held in Bogotá from July 4 to 8, which, as usual, will bring together all the Archbishops and Bishops of the country to reflect on important issues such as the social reality of the country and the pastoral work of the Colombian Church.
The Synod on Synodality will be the starting point and the center of reflection of this Assembly, during which the voices from all regions of the country will be heard. The Bishops will receive the national summary of the synodal consultation, which was carried out in all the jurisdictions of the country, and will make their contributions. In addition, they will reflect on the options of the Episcopal Conference of Colombia for the Jubilee of Redemption, in the year 2033. Also from July 4 to 8, the Venezuelan Episcopate will meet in its Ordinary Plenary Assembly, in which the National Summary of contributions for the Synod on Synodality will be presented and other relevant topics for the life of the Church and society will be discussed.
Among them, synodality in the Venezuelan episcopate; synodality with the Venezuelan Conference of Religious and the National Conference of Laity; and the challenges after 15 years of Aparecida. The Assembly will begin on Monday, July 4, with a Eucharistic adoration led by Monsignor Mario del Valle Moronta Rodríguez, bishop of San Cristóbal and first vice president of the CEV. Then, Monsignor Jesús González de Zárate, archbishop of Cumaná and president of the CEV, will inaugurate the events, which will last until June 8, when a press conference will be held prior to the celebration of the II National Pastoral Assembly, from July 8 to 10. (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 4/7/2022)