Catholics in Canada, Latin America have much in common, says bishop

Published: 2007-05-24

APARECIDA, Brazil (CNS) -- Canada's Catholic Church has much in common with its Latin America counterpart, including the challenge of "convincing people that because they are baptized they have an obligation to be disciples and missionaries," said Canadian Bishop Martin Currie of Grand Falls, Newfoundland. Migration, the environment and the church's relationship with indigenous peoples are other shared concerns, said Bishop Currie, who is part of the Canadian delegation participating in the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, meeting until May 31 in Aparecida. The biggest common task is developing a deep faith commitment among Catholics, he said. "We baptize very easily, people make their first Communion, get confirmed very easily," Bishop Currie told Catholic News Service. "But have we initiated them (so) they have a commitment to Jesus and the church? This is one of the serious questions that we're all facing."

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