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• 07 / 13 / 2007

The 31st ordinary Assembly of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM) began in Cuba on Tuesday as leaders of that organization thanked the Cuban government for the chance to hold the meeting on the island and its efforts towards its successful development.

Cardinal Francisco Javier Errásuriz, Archbishop of Santiago de Chile and CELAM President, told reporters in Havana that one of the main issues to be discussed and analyzed during the meeting is the implementation and strategy to put into practice the so-called Aparecida Document, which was approved in the Brazilian locality of Aparecida in the previous meeting of the council and which, only a few days ago, was approved for publication by Pope Benedict XVI.

The First Vice President of the Council, Monsignor Carlos Aguiar, from Mexico, and the General Secretary, Argentinean Monsignor Andrés Stanovnik, noted that, taking this document as a starting point, the church of the region aims at retaking a path that is in tone with the new Latin American context.

The Argentinean bishop said that the strategy agreed upon during this meeting will help make the Church's actions more visible and added that CELAM would welcome any transformation that favors the people's lives.

The CELAM assembly takes place every other year with the participation of 55 bishops, including delegates of the Episcopal Conferences of each country. On this occasion, the agenda also includes the election of a new executive board that will govern until 2011.

The Latin American Episcopal Council was founded in 1955 and it has its venue in the Colombian city of Bogotá.

Source: Radio Habana Cuba