Pope urges Latam bishops to come closer to African Americans
(July 20, 2012) Pope Benedict XVI has encouraged the bishops of Latin America to
come closer to African Americans so as to make Christ more relevant to them, especially
the marginalized. The Pope’s encouragement came in a letter sent by Vatican Secretary
of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone to the 12th Meeting on African American Pastoral
Care in Guayaquil, Ecuador, July 16 to 20. In the letter addressed to Auxiliary Bishop
Pablo Varela Server of Panama, the president of the department for education and culture
of the Latin American Episcopal Council, the Holy Father encouraged the bishops in
the meeting "to examine the cultural values, history and traditions of African Americans,
with a view to improving the Church's ability to present Jesus Christ as the authentic
response to the most profound questions of mankind". In doing this they should allow
themselves to be "led by the impulse of the Holy Spirit which came to make all cultures
fruitful, 'purifying them, germinating the many seeds which the incarnate Word placed
therein, and thus guiding them along the paths of the Gospel". The Pope also invited
the bishops and their collaborators "to continue to accompany those beloved peoples,
who are often marginalised and ignored". Some 250 delegates from 19 Latin American
countries discussed the theme, “African American and Caribbean Pastoral Care and the
Aparecida Document. Challenges and Hopes in the Church and in Society".