Preparations for November Congress of Lay Ecclesial Movements, new communities
2014-07-22 Vatican Radio
(Vatican Radio) Preparations are underway for the Third World Congress of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities to be held in Rome from 20 to 22 November 2014. The Congress, whose theme will be "The joy of the Gospel: a missionary joy…" (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 21), is being organized by the Pontifical Council for the Laity and will be held at the International Pontifical College Maria Mater Ecclesiae. The Council for the Laity has invited members of large, officially recognized international associations and others involved "in ongoing dialogue" with the Dicastery to participate.
Under the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, previous editions of the World Congress (1998 and 2006) brought together ecclesial movements and new communities to discuss issues such as the identity and mission of associations of the lay faithful in the Church and in the world.
The Pontifical Council for the Laity hopes that the November Congress "will encourage the joyous adherence of ecclesial movements and new communities to answering the pressing invitation of the pope to enter into a 'dynamism of missionary outreach'".
Delegates from more than eighty ecclesial movements and new communities are expected to attend as well as a number of bishops coming from dioceses and Holy See offices.
Bishop Josef Clemens, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, explains that the character of the meeting will be that of mutual listening, sharing and dialogue. The gathering will not be a special academic meeting where speakers demonstrate their knowledge to an audience, but rather a meeting where the reflections and experiences of the participants will be the core of the event.
For more information from the Pontifical Council for the Laity website click here
(From archive of Vatican Radio)
