Latin American bishops call for formation of disciples, missionaries

Published: 2005-05-25

LIMA, Peru (CNS) -- The 30th general assembly of the Latin American bishops' council ended with a call for the formation of disciples and missionaries. In the May 20 closing statement of the council, known by its Spanish acronym CELAM, the bishops noted that they had celebrated the council's 50th anniversary and "the providential action of God, which has helped it grow in episcopal fraternity and find responses to the many challenges that our churches have faced during these years." Much of the discussion at the 30th general assembly, which began May 17, focused on the need to form disciples and make the Latin American church more missionary, topics that will also be on the agenda of the fifth general conference. "The phrase 'that our peoples may have life' is key, given the situation in our countries," said Archbishop Baltazar Porras Cardozo of Merida, Venezuela, president of the CELAM communications department. Among the problems he cited were "increasing poverty, marginalization, violence with all its different characteristics, and political and economic instability."

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