AMERICA - From CELAM to Pope Francis: "Let us always remember the call to mission. Bishop and people"

Bogota (Agenzia Fides) - "We lived through the experience of his choice in an atmosphere of episcopal collegiality. This fact filled us with a deep joy for what it represents for the universal Church, and especially for pilgrimage Churches in Latin America and the Caribbean," said a letter from the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM), addressed to the newly elected Pope Francis.
The letter, sent to Fides Agency, went on to say that "In an interview at the end of His term as president of CELAM: The last Conference of Bishops held in Aparecida is the leaven of inspiration, it is an invitation to creativity, it marks the lines of missionary action; it does not end with a document such as the previous conferences, but culminates with a mission. This is very important. "
"We want to assure You, Holy Father, that we fully identify ourselves with your first message: And now, let's start our journey: Bishop and people. Thus, we ask humbly, your apostolic blessing for the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean," the letter concludes.
The letter is signed by the President of CELAM, His Exc. Mgr. Carlos Aguiar Retes, Archbishop of Tlalnepantla, Mexico; by His Exc. Mgr. Dimas Lara Barbosa, Archbishop of Campo Grande, Brazil, Second Vice-President of CELAM; by His Exc. Mgr. Santiago Silva Retamales, Auxiliary Bishop of Valparaíso, Chile, Secretary General of CELAM and by His Exc. Mgr. Carlos María Collazzi, SDB, Bishop of Mercedes, Uruguay, President of the Economic Commission of CELAM.
(CE) (Agenzia Fides 18/03/2013)