Puebla (Fides Service ) – To mark the 25 years of pontificate of Pope John Paul II, the Holy Father’s first visit to Mexico in January 1979 and the 3rd General Conference of the Council of Latin American Bishops’ Conferences (CELAM) in that same year in Puebla in 1979, Puebla will host preparatory meetings in view of CELAM 5. The preparatory meeting 12 - 15 February will be attended by former CELAM Presidents and the Presidents of the Bishops Conferences of Latin America and the Caribbean. Invitations have also been sent to the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences of North America, United States and Canada.
The main task of the preparatory meeting will be to trace methodology for CELAM 5, for which the date is still to be set. The agenda includes two conferences and a round table. The first conference “The challenges which faced Puebla 1979” will be given by Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family. The second conference “Puebla: Lived under the guidance of John Paul II ” will be given by the President of CELAM Cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa Archbishop of Santiago del Chile. The theme of the round table “Fundamental Contents in the Puebla Document” will be addressed by Cardinal Aloisio Lorscheider Archbishop of Aparecida (Brazil), Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy and Archbishop Estanislao Esteban Karlic emeritus Archbishop of Paraná (Argentina).
On Sunday 15 February in thanksgiving for Pope John Paul II’s first visit to the Church in Mexico in 1979, the participants will take part in a solemn concelebration of Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of America. (R.Z.) (Fides Service 29/1/2004; lines 21 - words 265)