Message from the Bishops of the Church in America
At the meeting of the Inter-American Bishops' meeting held in La Habana, Cuba from February 14-17, 1999, the participants issued a statement at the end of the meeting. It was agreed that the statement be shared with the episcopal conferences in America as an effort to inform the bishops of the discussions in the meeting. A decision was reached to change the name of the annual gathering to The Meeting of the Bishops of the Church in America to conform to the desire of the Holy Father that North, Central and South America be considered as one ecclesial entity to facilitate communion and solidarity among the dioceses in the American continent.