Experts throughout the Americas met in Mexico to reflect on how to announce the Gospel and be missionaries in Latin America.
The president of Pontifical Missionary Works traveled from the Vatican to support this day of study. He underlined the importance of dialogue and of accepting the other.
MSGR. GIAMPIETRO DAL TOSO
President, Pontifical Missionary Works
“For Jesus and His Church, dialogue is an attitude of the heart and of action. It is indispensable to the work of evangelization.”
For three days, they debated on what sort of formation is needed to promote a missionary attitude.
FR. RONALD FLORES
Redemptorist Missionary
“It's a kind of formation which should include all of God's people, especially the laity. It should help them take up the entire mission, from a lay perspective, to serve all of society.”
LUCAS CERVIÑO
Doctor of Theology
“The mission should be for everyone, without exceptions, and present the Gospel in every moment. The missionary shouldn't just be who brings the Gospel, and the recipient someone who merely receives it. There should be a reciprocal relationship.”
FR. MANUEL HURTADO
Bolivian Catholic University
“Missionaries shouldn't have a priori judgments nor preconceptions of the religious ambiguity we live. Rather, they should know how to listen and how to see that reality and learn from it.”
LUIS ALBERTO NAHUELANCA
Director, OMP Chile
“As Catholics, we're used to living with a sense of homogeneity. We believe our religion to be the only one on the continent, when in reality, there are many, including our indigenous religions.”
In the Basilica of Guadalupe, preparations began for the ambitious American Missionary Congress, which will take place in Puerto Rico in 2023.
Each participant received one of these torches, a symbol of the path they will lead as they approach the event.
JMB/CT
