Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bogota (Agenzia Fides) - " We ask for more missionary commitment, first of all from ourselves ... we wish to hear the missionary mandate resound with all its demands, struggle for its goals and realise all this as Church in communion for mission together bishops, priests, religious and lay people united to live our identity as disciples and missionaries of Jesus Christ that our countries may have life in Him": this was affirmed by Archbishop Luis Augusto Castro Quiroga of Tunja, president of the Colombian Bishops’ Conference in his address on 5 February to open a plenary assembly on the theme “The Missionary Activity of the Church” (see Fides 31/1/2007).
Archbishop Quiroga recalled that all Christians are " missionaries when they accept to be sent to make Christ known and obeyed among those who do not know Him or accept Him as Lord". This activity is not only for specialists, priests or religious, he underlined "it is a task for every Christian", as in the early Church. Therefore “we must be once again missionaries, while continuing to support consecrated missionaries who dedicate their lives to this service. We are called to resume universal missionary work as a reality at the heart of our pastoral activity.... this we must do in effective collaboration with the Pontifical Mission Societies who have first place in the Church’s missionary activity " the Archbishop said.
The goal of missionary activity is to announce the Gospel, plant the Church and promote Gospel values. "Today - said Archbishop Castro Quiroga - with anti-values ever more powerful…we must sow the values of the Kingdom proclaimed by Jesus with his life and with his Gospel message, a great missionary duty in which lay people have first place". The president of the Bishops’ Conference called on Colombian Catholics to "welcome with youthful enthusiasm this universal missionary task, not as an obligation but with deep desire to make Jesus Christ known to the far ends of the earth."
In his address Archbishop Castro Quiroga called for reconciliation and peace in Colombia, recalling that the Church must " accompany and illuminate the national challenge of reconciliation with faith and charity, starting with the transforming force of forgiveness and guided by the principles of the Gospel". He said humanitarian agreements must be enacted to stop hostage taking for extortion, attacks on members of the civil society, evacuation. The truth must shine "this is a condition to heal the wounds caused by violence and restore dignity to the victims". Archbishop Castro Quiroga rallied Catholics to "continue the fight, each in his own place and according to possibilities and all together with pastoral action against drug trafficking which not only foments fratricidal conflict but also the degradation of many people, greed for easy money, abundant and at any cost, and corruption at all levels". The President of the Bishops’ Conference reaffirmed the Church’s support for " processes leading to Colombia reconciled and in peace". (RG) (Agenzia Fides 6/2/2007; righe 41, parole 561)
