Guatemala City, Guatemala, Nov 30, 2003 / 22:00 pm
Amidst joyous festivities in the presence of the pilgrim images of Christ of Esquipulas y Our Lady of Guadalupe, the II American Missionary Congress, which brought together more than three thousand people from across the continent, came to a conclusion yesterday in the National Stadium of Guatemala.
The papal envoy for the event, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, presided at the celebration of the Eucharist and led a commissioning ceremony for the missionaries who have been in Guatemala since November 25 reflecting on the challenges of evangelization in America.
“The importance of CAM 2 for us is above all the fact that it is a calling for our diocesan churches, and especially for young clergy, to fully assume the missionary vocation, which is given to everyone and not just to religious,” explained Bishop Rafael Felipe Núñez of Barahora, Dominican Republic, who is also director of the Committee on Missionary Work for the Bishops Conference of that country. He added that CAM 2 “is very important for the renewal of our missionary spirit, for evangelization and for the spread of the faith.
Likewise Bishop Núñez said “the enthusiasm of missionaries at the congress is contagious, and it encourages us to form diocesan teams that will organize missionary outreaches to children, young people and families, so that our parishes can truly see themselves as missionary.”
CAM 2 brought together in Guatemala people from 37 countries, including cardinals, bishops, priests, religious and representatives from other continents, all of whom participated in conferences, testimonies, work groups, prayer and masses.