Pope says Latin America needs 'courageous, effective missionaries'

Published: 2007-05-14

APARECIDA, Brazil (CNS) -- Celebrating Mass at Latin America's biggest Marian shrine, Pope Benedict XVI said the church needs "courageous and effective missionaries" to revitalize the region's Christian identity. More than political platforms or social movements, it is the church's promotion of faith in Christ that will bring relief to the suffering and needy, the pope said May 13. "This is the priceless treasure that is so abundant in Latin America, this is her most precious inheritance: faith in the God who is love, who has shown us his face in Jesus Christ," he said. The pope was winding up a five-day visit to Brazil with a series of events aimed at all of Latin America. The Mass, attended by about 150,000 people on an esplanade in front of the Basilica of Our Lady Aparecida, opened the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean. The evening before, inside the basilica, the pope gave a spiritual pep talk to Catholic priests, seminarians, religious and lay leaders, proclaiming: "The church is our home. This is our home. In the Catholic Church we find all that is good."

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