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Skriven 2007-05-15 06:53:12 av Marc Lewis (1:396/45)
Ärende: Vatican Information Service (Press Release)
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                               VIS-Press releases

FIFTH CELAM CONFERENCE: HOPE FOR LATIN AMERICA

VATICAN CITY, MAY 13, 2007 (VIS) - Following this morning's Mass on the
esplanade in front of the Brazilian shrine of Aparecida, the Holy Father
recited the Regina Coeli with the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims gathered
there, calling on them to pray for the outcome of the Fifth General Conference
of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean which, he said, "opens up
a future of hope for the Latin American family. You have a part to play in
building the destiny of your nations."

The Pope then greeted the various groups present, beginning with Spanish-
speaking faithful to whom he said: "May the Virgin Mary help you to keep alive
the flame of faith, love and harmony, so that by the witness of your lives and
by faithfulness to your baptismal vocation, you may be light and hope for
humanity."

"Families stand at the heart of the Church's mission of evangelization," he
told English-speaking pilgrims, "for it is in the home that our life of faith
is first expressed and nurtured."

To French-speaking families, especially those living in Haiti, French Guyana
and the Antilles, he said: "May you build, in cooperation with others, a more
generous and fraternal society, taking care to help young people discover the
greatness of family values."

Benedict XVI also recalled the fact that today is the 90th anniversary of the
apparitions of the Virgin at Fatima in Portugal. "With their powerful call to
conversion and penance," he said, "they are without doubt the most prophetic of
all modern apparitions."

"In a special way we entrust to her those peoples and nations that are in
particular need," and especially "those brothers and sisters who suffer from
hunger. In this regard I want to mention the 'March against Hunger' promoted by
the World Food Program. ... This initiative is taking place today in many
cities worldwide."

Finally the Pope offered prayers for the Afro-Brazilian community, "who this
Sunday are commemorating the abolition of slavery in Brazil. May this
celebration foster a renewed sense of missionary outreach towards this highly
significant socio-cultural group in the Land of the Holy Cross."
PV-BRAZIL/REGINA COELI/APARECIDAVIS 070514 (370)

SUMMARY

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