POST-SYNODAL APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION "ECCLESIA IN AMERICA"

VATICAN CITY, JAN 23, 1999 (VIS) - Pope John Paul's Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, "Ecclesia in America," signed and dated yesterday afternoon in the apostolic nunciature in Mexico City, was formally turned over to the bishops and people of the continent during this morning's Mass at the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in conclusion to the synod for America.

The 140-page document, whose title means "The Church in America," was published in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Latin. It is divided into an introduction, six chapters and a conclusion.
In the Introduction, the Holy Father reviewed the path of the Special Assembly for America of the Synod of Bishops, which took place in the Vatican from November 16 to December 12, 1997. He recalled that he had proposed such a synod both at the 1992 Fourth General Assembly of the Latin American Episcopate and again in 1994 in the Apostolic Letter "Tertio Millennio Adveniente."

Saying that the past - the celebration of the fifth centenary of the evangelization of America - and the future - the new evangelization of the third millennium - both provided the backdrop for this assembly, the Pope highlighted the synod's theme, "Encounter with the Living Jesus Christ: The Way to Conversion, Communion and Solidarity in America" as well as its "experience of encounter."

He also stressed the unity of the continent by speaking of "America" in the singular: "I asked that the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops reflect on America as a single entity, by reason of all that is common to the peoples of the continent, including their shared Christian identity."

Chapter I is entitled "The Encounter with the Living Jesus Christ." Here, the Pope looks at "Encounters with the Lord in the New Testament," "Personal encounters and community encounters," "Encountering Christ in the time of the Church," and "We encounter Jesus through Mary."

In this section on Mary, whom he calls "the spokeswoman of her Son's will," the Holy Father speaks of her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531, leading to the now centuries-old devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe. And he writes: "I welcome with joy the proposal of the Synod Fathers that the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother and Evangelizer of America, be celebrated throughout the continent on December 12."

Concluding Chapter I, we have "Places of encounter with Christ." These places, he says, include Scripture, the liturgy, especially the sacrament of the Eucharist, and our encounter with Christ in "the persons, especially the poor, with whom Christ identifies himself."

In Chapter II, "Encountering Jesus Christ in America Today," The Pope traces the situation of the men and women in America and their encounter with the Lord, the Christian identity of America, and the fruits of holiness as seen in the continent's many saints. He writes: "The Synod Fathers proposed - and I find this a very timely initiative - that there be prepared a 'collection of short biographies of the Saints and the Beatified of America, which can shed light on and stimulate the response to the universal call to holiness in America'."

In this same chapter John Paul II also looks at a number of other topics, including some problematic areas for the continent, which he further develops and for which he suggests remedies in Chapter V, "The Path to Solidarity."
Among these topics: popular piety, the Eastern Catholic presence, the Church in the fields of education and social action, growing respect for human rights, the phenomenon of globalization, growing urbanization, the burden of external debt, corruption, the drug trade and ecological concern.

In that section dedicated to human rights; Pope John Paul says: "Among the positive aspects of America today, we see in civil society a growing support throughout the continent for democratic political systems and the gradual retreat of dictatorial regimes; this has immediate moral implications. ... 'The rule of law is the necessary condition for establishing true democracy'. There can be no rule of law, however, unless citizens and especially leaders are convinced that there is no freedom without truth. ... 'The fundamental rights of the human person are inscribed in human nature itself, they are willed by God and therefore call for universal observance and acceptance."

In Chapter III, "The Path of Conversion," the Pope examines the urgency of the call to conversion, its social dimension, the need for conversion to be ongoing and for the faithful to be guided by the Holy Spirit to a new way of living. He also looks at the universal call to holiness, Jesus as the one way to holiness and penance and reconciliation. In this last part, he reiterated the Synod Fathers' request "that priests give the necessary time to the sacrament of Penance, and strongly and insistently invite the faithful to receive the sacrament."

In the part on the social dimension of conversion, John Paul II writes: "It is most important, especially in a pluralistic society, to understand correctly the relationship between the political community and the Church, and to distinguish clearly between what individual believers or groups of believers undertake in their own name ... and what they do in the name of the Church, in communion with their Pastors. ... The Church ... can in no way be confused with the political community nor be tied to any political system."

"The Path to Communion" is the title of Chapter IV. This is divided into sections dedicated to: the Church, sacrament of communion; Baptism and the Eucharist; bishops as builders of communion; communion between particular Churches and fraternal communion with the Eastern Catholic Churches; priesthood, consecrated life and permanent diaconate; promoting vocations; the lay faithful; women; challenges facing families; children and young people; relations with other Christian Churches and ecclesial communities, with Jewish communities and with non-Christian religions.

The Pope stresses the "value of a communion transcending the individual conferences of bishops," and suggested that "it would be helpful to specify more exactly the nature" of inter-American gatherings and "to establish special commissions to explore more deeply issues which concern America as a whole."

On the role of the laity, he says: "The renewal of the Church in America will not be possible without the active presence of the laity. ... On a continent marked by competition and aggressiveness, unbridled consumerism and corruption, lay people are called to embody deeply evangelical values such as mercy, forgiveness, honesty, transparency of heart and patience in difficult situations. ... A good number of lay people in America legitimately aspire to contribute their talents and charisms 'to the building of the ecclesial community as delegates of the word, catechists, visitors to the sick and the imprisoned, group leaders, etc.'() The Synod Fathers expressed the hope that the Church would recognize some of these works as lay ministries, with a basis in the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, without compromising the specific ministries proper to the Sacrament of Orders. This is a large and complex issue and some time ago I established a Commission to study it."

In the section "Leading children to encounter Christ," the Holy Father recalls that "the Synod Fathers rightly deplored and condemned the painful condition of many children throughout America who are denied their dignity, their innocence and even their life. ... Special mention was made ... of the problem of the sexual abuse of children and child prostitution."

Chapter V, "The Path to Solidarity," focusses on solidarity as the fruit of communion, and the Church's social doctrine vis-a-vis: the globalization of solidarity; human rights; preferential love for the poor and the outcast; foreign debt; the fight against corruption; the drug problem; the arms race; the culture of death and a society dominated by the powerful; discrimination against indigenous peoples and Americans of African descent and the question of immigrants.

Of the Church's social doctrine, the Holy Father writes: "To this end, it would be very useful to have a compendium or approved synthesis of Catholic social doctrine, including a 'Catechism' which would show the connection between it and the new evangelization."

A section of this chapter is dedicated to "the social sins which cry to heaven ... Among these must be mentioned: 'the drug trade, the recycling of illicit funds, corruption at every level, the terror of violence, the arms race, racial discrimination, inequality between social groups and the irrational destruction of nature. These sins are the sign of a deep crisis caused by the loss of a sense of God and the absence of those moral principles which should guide the life of every person. ... The best response to this tragic situation is the promotion of solidarity and peace, with a view to achieving real justice. ... Encouragement and support must be given to all those who are examples of honesty in the administration of public finances and of justice."

In the section on the foreign debt, John Paul II says: "Once more I express the hope, which the Synod Fathers made their own, that the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace together with other competent agencies, such as the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State, 'through study and dialogue with representatives of the First World and with the leaders of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, will seek ways of resolving the problem of the foreign debt and produce guidelines that would prevent similar situations from recurring on the occasion of future loans'."

This chapter embraces a strong defense of life and decries the death penalty, abortion, assisted suicide and euthanasia.

The sixth and final chapter is entitled "The Mission of the Church in America Today: The New Evangelization." Saying that "the Church in America must speak increasingly of Jesus Christ, the human face of God and the divine face of man," this chapter highlights the importance of catechesis and the need to evangelize culture and centers of education. In the part on evangelization through the media, the Pope states: "On this point, the Synod Fathers suggested a range of concrete initiatives to make the Gospel effectively present in the world of social communications."

Chapter VI also looks at the challenge of sects and says, in this regard: "The success of proselytism by sects and new religious groups in America cannot be ignored. It demands of the Church on the continent a thorough study, to be carried out in each nation and at the international level, to ascertain why many Catholics leave the Church. ... To this end, it is more necessary than ever for all the faithful to move from a faith of habit, sustained perhaps by social context alone, to a faith which is conscious and personally lived."

Pope John Paul expresses "hope and gratitude" in the Conclusion and ends with a prayer to Jesus Christ for the families of America.

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