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07.03.2007          Church in  Latin America            Tuesdays Reflection

For the church in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Bishops'

Conference of Puebla was the breadth of the Spirit that blew in the

renovation of the church with the participation of the laity and the

preferential option for the poor. In May 2007, the bishops met again

in Aparecida, Brazil. The great prophet of Latin America, Pedro

Casaldáliga wrote "What simply cannot be ignored in the bishops'

meeting in Aparecida":

"In May, the Catholic Church celebrates the 5th General Conference of

the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopate in Aparecida, Brazil. And

sincere and honest voices of all kinds have been raised, demanding

'things that simply cannot be ignored in Aparecida': the option for

the poor, ecumenism and macro-ecumenism, linkage between faith and

politics, care for Nature, a prophetic retort to neoliberal

capitalism, the rights of indigenous and Afro-American peoples, the

active role of the laity, the effective recognition of women's

participation at all ecclesiastical levels, the co-responsibility and

subsidiarity of the whole Church, the stimulation of ecclesiastical

base communities, the committing memory of our martyrs, the sincere

inculturation of the Gospel in theology, the liturgy, pastoral work

and Canon Law."

Our churches in North America have a lot to learn from the churches

of Latin America. Perhaps the summer holidays is a good time to dust

off a book from one of the great theologians/ prophets of the South:

Casaldáliga, Leonardo Boff, Jon Sobrino, Oscar Romero, Albert Nolan,

Gustavo Gutiérrez, Dom Helder Camara, etc.

Cecily