My column this week will offer a summary of the Final Message of the Fifth General Conference of the Latin America and the Caribbean Bishops.

 It will conclude with some observations for the Archdiocesan Commission for Evangelization, for the Regional Vicars and their Vicariate Councils and for the Parish Priests/Administrators of the Archdiocese along with their Parish Councils, for Religious Communities, Public Associations of Christ’s Faithful and for Prayer Groups which are involved in public ministry under the terms of the recently promulgated document: Pastoral Guidelines.

Prenote: As mentioned last week, the Final Document (which is distinct from the Final Message) is estimated to be approximately 106 pages. The Holy Father has already given his approval for the publication of the text.

The Final Message

The Message opened with an acknowledgement that the Conference was celebrated in a spirit of prayer, fraternity and affective communion. (This observation is important because it shows that the Conference was not just a meeting for pastoral analysis and planning, it was truly an ecclesial event).

The Message also stated that the Conference accepted the challenge of giving new impetus and vigour to the mission of the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Message contained five headings:

1) Jesus the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14: 6)
The Bishops acknowledged the challenges of our times but renewed their faith in the fact that Jesus is alive and present among us. Therefore, in Jesus we can be free from sin and from slavery and, most importantly, we are able to live together in justice and fraternity.

2) We have been called to the Following of Jesus (John 1:39)
Our greatest joy is that of being his disciples and being part of his community. As disciples we follow Christ through the paths of the Gospel.

We see conversion as the starting point for the transformation of society and as the way that opens eternal life to us. Through Jesus we learn a new life moved by the dynamism of the Holy Spirit and we reflect on the values of the Kingdom.

The calling to be disciples-missionaries demands from us a clear option for Jesus and his gospel, it requires a coherence between faith and life and a willingness to live as a sign of contradiction in the world.

3) Missionary Discipleship in the Church’s Ministry (Matthew 28: 19)
Missionary discipleship is a source of renewal for our ministry and a starting point for the New Evangelisation of our people.
3.1-A Church that Becomes a Disciple Herself
As disciples we learn to be nourished from the Word which we taste in prayerful reading and liturgy especially the liturgy of the Eucharist. The Word reveals to us the living presence of the Risen Christ. We will continue to exercise our prophetic task in the social sphere, in particular, for the marginalised.
3.2-A Church that Forms Disciples
Everyone in the Church is called to be a disciple and missionary. It is our duty to form ourselves and others to fulfill this missionary task with boldness. The joy of being a disciple and missionary can be seen in a particular way through the creation of fraternal communities. Therefore, we encourage parishes to become the home and school of communion.
We commit ourselves to strengthen our presence and proximity to the people. We commit ourselves to be with them at the important moments of their lives so they will feel valued and consider the Church their home. We commit ourselves to being a Church which learns to pray and teaches others how to pray.

4) Missionary Discipleship to the Service of Life (John 10:10)
We commit ourselves to begin a new stage of our pastoral journey. We declare ourselves to be in permanent mission. We commit ourselves to announcing the Kingdom with creativity and boldness.

Inserted in society, we must make visible our love and fraternal solidarity. We must promote dialogue in a pluralistic world. We must work for justice, reconciliation and for solidarity. We must highlight the acute differences between the rich and the poor, defend the weak especially children, the elderly and migrants. We must fight against the forces that disrespect and destroy life.

5) Towards a Continent of Life, Love and Peace (John 13: 35)
We close the Conference with enthusiasm. We resolve to search out fallen away Catholics and those who know little or nothing about Jesus Christ so we may joyfully form a community of love of God our Father.

We entrust this new Pentecost in our Church of Latin America and the Caribbean to Mary the Mother of God, the first disciple and missionary. We repeat with past Conferences: WE BELIEVE AND WE HOPE.

Concluding observations

The data on the archdiocese over the last twenty-five years that was gathered by research and from the various consultations and surveys that were held last year makes it very clear that we have a need to review and to update the current evangelisation plans on the parish, vicariate and archdiocesan levels.

It is my hope that the summaries I have offered over the last three weeks under the heading of “Initiatives for Evangelisation” will be a very effective stimulus for the archdiocese as it approaches a third Synod session. The remarks of the Holy Father were quite challenging to the entire Church.

We must intensify our efforts to think and pray in a context of vigorous evangelisation.