The 49 th Annual Plenary Meeting of the Antilles Episcopal Conference was held in the Diocese of Paramaribo, Suriname from Sunday, April 10 through Thursday 14.

I shall use my column this week to provide the readers of the Catholic News with a report on the Bishops' Meeting. My method will be to state the text of the major resolutions and then explain briefly the context of the resolutions.

I think it is important, especially during a post Synod implementation period for the Archdiocese of Port of Spain, that the Archdiocese be aware of and be willing to become involved in the larger perspective of the entire region of the Antilles Episcopal Conference.

RESOLUTION:The bishops approved the proposal that serious attention be given in each (Arch)diocese to Catholic education and formation in:
1) Catholic schools;
2) to Catholic students in government schools and
3) to Catholic students in tertiary education.

It is the view of the Bishops that the specific Catholic identity of Catholic schools must be strengthened. In addition, new energy must be generated for evangelisation ministry and catechetical ministry to Catholic students in the remaining two categories of the resolution.

There was a consensus of opinion that too many young people are receiving inadequate attention from the Church during their years of formal education. As a result of the resolution, the Bishops began to structure the Education Commission of the Conference.

The Commission is a new body for the Conference. It will have a membership of three bishops and a number of consultants drawn from the region.

RESOLUTION:The bishops requested that the Family Life Commissions of the various (Arch)dioceses of the Conference be strengthened and to accept responsibility for developing a Caribbean-wide strategy on issues concerning life.

While the resolution specified life issues, the discussion that led to the resolution was much broader. It included issues currently being presented for consultation in the Caribbean e.g. the redefinition of the family, sex education, homosexuality (now being called alternative sexualities), contraceptives and reproductive rights, gender roles, secularisation and the influence of religion on culture and the redefining of masculinity.

The view of the Bishops is that the voice of the Catholic Church must be proclaimed and heard on many levels throughout the Caribbean . Voices inimical to the teaching of the Catholic Church are already well organised and financed.

One dimension of the discussion that was placed on a future agenda is: after an agenda is developed from a series of (Arch)diocesan meetings and consultations on an Episcopal Province level, a formal assembly for the Caribbean Church be scheduled to build the foundation for communicating Catholic teaching throughout the Caribbean .

RESOLUTION:The bishops approved the proposal of the Catechetical Commission of the Antilles Episcopal Conference that a workshop on the implementation of the Pastoral Letter on the Ministry for Catechesis and its companion document, Guidelines for Catechesis be scheduled for October 18-21, 2005 at the Emmaus Centre in Trinidad .

The Commission has asked each (Arch)bishop to send his Head Catechist and one member of the Presbyteral Council to the workshop to study the two documents and to discuss ways to implement them with a view to implementing the philosophy of lifelong catechesis. A key component of the workshop will be adult education and formation.

RESOLUTION:The bishops established an ad hoc committee to examine ways to improve communications between the diocesan priests of the region and the Conference of Religious with the Bishops' Conference.

The Conference of Religious represents priests from Religious Communities in the region to the Bishop's Conference. Four bishops were assigned to the ad hoc committee: Bishops Alleyne, Bennett, Lafont and Rivas.

The present practice of having representatives from each group travel to the Annual Plenary Meeting to meet with the Bishops for a relatively brief period is not only time consuming and expensive, it does not seem to produce satisfactory results. Hopefully, other alternatives will be found in dialogue.

RESOLUTION:The bishops approved the Pastoral Letter on the environment: “Caring for the Earth – Our Responsibility: An Invitation for Reflection.”

The Pastoral Letter has been in preparation for two years. After a lengthy and detailed review of the final draft, the text was approved. It will be sent to the printers in the near future.

RESOLUTION:The bishops approved the list of Commission Chairmen for the Conference along with the Commission Members:

Doctrine - Chair: Archbishop Pinder; Members: Archbishop Gilbert, Bishop Malzaire.

Catechetics - Chair: Archbishop Gilbert; Member: Archbishop Pinder

Ecumenism – Chair: Bishop Reece: Member: Bishop Dickson

Education - Chair: Bishop Malzaire; Members: Archbishop Gilbert, Bishop Bennett

Evangelisation and Mission - Chair: Bishop Darius; Member: Bishop Lafont

Family Life – Chair: Bishop Alleyne; Member: Bishop de Bekker

Finance – Chair: Archbishop Gilbert; Members: Archbishops Burke and Pinder

Laity - Chair: Bishop Dufour; Member: Archbishop Meranville, Bishop Bennett

Liturgy and Ministry – Chair: Bishop Reece; Member Bishops Galt and Rivas

Justice and Peace - Chair: Archbishop Felix; Members: Archbishop Meranville, Bishop Dickson

Youth – Chair: Bishop Rivas; Member: Bishop Secco

RESOLUTION: The bishops approved the list of Liaison Bishops:

CACT: Bishop Malzaire

Catholic Biblical Federation: Archbishop Clarke

Canon Law Society: Archbishop Gilbert

Forum for Theology: Bishop Malzaire

Catholic Students Movement: Bishop Malzaire

Commission on Latin America : Bishop Secco

CELAM: Bishop Secco

Haitian Conference of Bishops: Bishop Cabo

PMS Diocesan Directors: Bishop Darius

Radio and Television Communications: Archbishop Gilbert

Diocesan Vocation Directors: Bishop Dufour

Conference of Religious of the Antilles : Bishop Alleyne

The Bishops hope for a generous response from skilled and professionally experienced people throughout the region to staff the various Commissions of the Conference.

RESOLUTION:The bishops approved a statement on HIV/AIDS. The statement stresses the response of the Catholic Church in the Caribbean to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

The remaining resolutions concerned ordinary administrative matters.