P. MILKO RENE TOWERS ORDONES
Monsignor Jorge Lozano, general secretary of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM), when delving into the reality that the Church lives in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlights four critical areas that are related to Pope Francis’ approach to synodality: communion, participation , mission and hierarchical functionality. Communion is a fundamental aspect of the Church, although it has challenges. Clericalism, authoritarianism, fundamentalisms and ideologies present obstacles to achieving true communion, as do internal divisions.
The centrality of the Word of God must not be overlooked in catechesis, and the itinerary of Christian initiation must facilitate an encounter with the living Christ. Another challenge is that the evangelizing identity of the Church and the communities are focused more on solving their problems than on reaching out, on the mission itself. There is a tendency not to allow young people to speak when they want to. They have entered the digital age, but the Church has not. She is far from the cries and sighs of the lands, of the peoples and of the vulnerabilities of the marginalized. Among those issues that are associated with the clergy and the hierarchy of the Church, we can mention formation in seminaries and religious communities. Urgent reform is needed. You still breathe a Tridentine air. Another area of concern involves the priestly ordination of permanent deacons, particularly in the Amazon context, along with the inclusion of married priests. Numerous cases of abuse occur within the Church, specifically with regard to conscience, power, and sexual misconduct. There is also a lack of economic transparency that requires attention. Finally, it is essential to address the need to value conversion. This complex and prophetic analysis by Bishop Lozano hits the nail on the head. It is imperative to turn our gaze to the cross of Jesus. Do we doubt his centrality in our ecclesial mission? It is not enough to say God, but that intimacy with the Father makes him accessible forever. Evangelizing strategies can be in vain if, in a guilty way, we have forgotten that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He leads us to God as Father, because otherwise he would have remained an “unknown” God to us. Jesus dared more than anyone. He died and rose again. Therefore, he is the truth of our Christian existence and the life of our experience of faith. Pope Francis, at the time of refreshing the urgency of drinking again at the source of love from the beginning, has marked a new path that must be looked at to continue doing things in the best way. Lay movements must “avoid any temptation to withdraw into themselves”. He asks us to pray so that ecclesial movements and groups rediscover their evangelizing mission every day, putting their charisms at the service of the needs of the world. He recognizes that ecclesial movements are a gift, they are the wealth of the Church. He thanks them because they renew the Church with their capacity for dialogue at the service of others. They have to stay in harmony with the Church because she is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
