Vatican conference to review Synod for the Americas

December 04, 2012

Speaking at a December 4 press conference in Rome, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, said: “The valuable heritage of Christian faith, which is at the origin of the American 'New World' and inspires the life of its people, is now subject to erosion caused by waves of secularization and the impact of a global culture.”

Cardinal Ouellet spoke at an event introducing a conference on the Church in the Americas, co-sponsored by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and the Knights of Columbus. The conference marks the 15th anniversary of Ecclesia in America, the apostolic exhortation with which Blessed John Paul II concluded the work of the Synod on America. The purpose of the conference, the cardinal said, is “re-examining the prophetic intuition of Blessed John Paul II and the basic content of the exhortation Ecclesia in America.”

Cardinal Ouellet observed that in addition to secularization, the Church in Latin America must answer the challenges of drug abuse and narcotics trafficking, urban violence, poverty, and threats to family stability.

 

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Further information:

• Ecclesia in America celebrating 15 years (Vatican Radio)
• “Ecclesia in America”—Fifteen Years On (VIS)