Latin America's great mission starts to take shape, archbishop says

Published: 2008-03-03

LIMA, Peru (CNS) -- The idea of a "great continental mission," which proved elusive when the bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean met in Aparecida, Brazil, last year, is slowly taking shape, said the prelate responsible for its implementation. Archbishop Hector Cabrejos Vidarte of Trujillo, who heads the Peruvian bishops' conference and serves as coordinator of mission and spirituality for the Latin American bishops' council, or CELAM, sees the mission as an ongoing effort that signifies a shift in the way parishes reach out to the faithful. "The idea is that the mission not have a beginning and an end, but that it involve preparation and intensive action over time, along with evaluation," he said. The archbishop foresees a long-term effort spanning at least 10 or 15 years. "The idea is that it be a permanent mission. All of CELAM's pastoral programs are oriented toward the continental mission," he said. At the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean last May, leaders expressed concern that Catholics were drifting away from the church. In a 2005 survey by the Chilean polling firm Latinobarometro, while three-quarters of the people surveyed in the region said they considered themselves Catholic, only 40 percent said they practiced their faith. What did not emerge from Aparecida, however, was a clear plan for addressing the problem, although the final document mentions the need for renewal of church structures and a greater emphasis on community.

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