Aparecida Conference (CELAM V)

Definition

The Fifth General Conference of Latin American Bishops, or Aparecida Conference, or CELAM V, was convened by Pope John Paul II and was inaugurated by Pope Benedict XVI in Aparecida (São Paulo), Brazil, on May 13 and ended on May 31, 2007. It was organized by the Latin American Episcopal Council based in Medellin, Colombia, under the guidance of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America based at the Vatican, where Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (later Pope Francis) played an important role (Brackley 2007, pp. 15–32). Aparecida recovered the theological/pastoral method “to see, to judge, to act,” the importance of “ecclesial base communities,” and the “preferential option for the poor.” It urged the Catholic Church to discern the social and cultural context of the continent and the challenges of a “new evangelization” which is relaunched as a “Great Continental Mission” in its concluding document (Ameríndia 2007; CELAM 2009, 2011a, b).

Introduction

Following the trajectory...