Vatican, Jan. 22, 2007 (CWNews.com) - The Church in Latin American is in need of a new burst of evangelization, so that the faith “may become the vital sap that forms the identity” of the region’s culture, Pope Benedict XVI said on January 20.Speaking to the members of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, who had gathered in Rome for a meeting chaired by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re the Holy Father observed that Catholicism is facing "enormous challenges: cultural changes generated by social communications media that influence the thoughts and habits of millions of people; migration, that has so many repercussions on family life and on religious practice in new environments; the re-emergence of questions regarding how peoples must approach their historical memories and their democratic future; globalization, secularism, growing poverty and environmental degradation, especially in big cities, as well as violence and drug trafficking."
While the people of Latin America have always shown a “great thirst for God,” the Pope continued, the growing influence of new sects shows the need for greater spiritual vitality in the Catholic Church. The sects, he added, capitalize on a situation in which “people receive no answers to their deepest aspirations-- answers which could be found in a shared life of faith.”
The social problems of many countries in Latin America-- including “the widespread phenomena of exploitation and injustice, of corruption and violence”-- add to the urgency of a spiritual renewal, the Pope continued. He gave special encouragement to efforts by Church leaders to nourish the strength of families, since “the legacy of faith is safeguarded in the home.”
Pope Benedict concluded his talk with a prayer the that Virgin Mary would help guide the bishops of Latin America as they prepare for the 5th general meeting of the regional bishops’ conference, CELAM. The Holy Father is scheduled to preside at the opening of that meeting, which will be held at the Brazilian Marian shrine of Aparecida in May 2007.