WASHINGTON (March 24, 2003) -- Bishops from Canada, Latin America and the United States, meeting in Quebec, Canada, in late February, outlined eight pastoral strategies for the Americas.

The bishops met February 16-19, and examined the split between the Gospel and culture as experienced in the Americas, in light of the impact that globalization has on local cultures.

"Globalization is a mixed blessing, one that harbors opportunities as well as dangers, offering benefits to some and perils to others, and thus it can and does create unacceptable inequalities," they said in a February 18 statement.

Today's youth, in light of globalization, "are increasingly challenging us to go beyond a fragmented view of life," they said.

"Their experience of interconnectedness reveals a hunger and thirst for peace, justice and compassion, and a search for deeper meaning in life," they said. "This experience, however, is fragile and fraught with much loneliness and a sense of vulnerability."

The bishops said they "recognize that the electronic media are one of the pivotal vehicles of today's social communication and one of the driving forces of globalization."

"The media can either serve positively to enhance education and learning, or negatively impact and subvert family and societal values in the Americas," they said. "The young and the innocent are especially vulnerable to the negative influence of the media. It is the hope of so many young people today that peace prevail in the world, and the media have recently contributed to a more globalized awareness of this widespread hunger for peace and justice."

They noted the plight of those who are "marginalized as a result of globalization " and effected by "the unjust economic policies operative in the globalization process."

"The acknowledged benefits that accrue to some segments of our society must be weighed against the inequalities that globalization creates in others," the bishops said. "Among the causes that presently impoverish and marginalize some segments of our society, however, care must be taken to distinguish those factors that stem directly from globalization and those that are the result of domestic, non-global factors."

The church leaders agreed to eight pastoral strategies.

To conduct a vigorous and in-depth critical analysis of globalization to better understand and educate the faithful as to the benefits and negative fallout of globalization;

To recall and reclaim our spiritual heritage, with its rich mystical tradition and expressions of the past, so that the youth of today who seem hungry and eager for this might become the new evangelizers in our contemporary society;

To emphasize, above all else, the compassionate face of Christ, as demonstrated in the Good Samaritan, in order to counter the cruel, impersonal and sometimes merciless onrush of globalization;

In dialogue with shareholders, corporate leaders and policymakers, to do their utmost to instill in the globalization process much more inclusion and participation, and a greater concern for the common good;

To acknowledge and promote the sacred character that is inherent and deeply embedded in every culture, in order to inculturate the faith at a deeper level in our various American cultures;

To celebrate the popular piety of the faithful that springs from a genuine encounter with the Gospel and that affirms it in so many diverse ways;

To foster a pastoral sensitivity among the emerging lay leadership in the C hurch today so that they, who are now increasingly implicated in the process of globalization, may better humanize and evangelize that very process;

And in addition to the above, we renew and pledge our solidarity with Pope John Paul II and the multitude of people on every continent who are currently crying out and demonstrating for peace in the Holy Land and in the Middle East.

Participants at the meeting included:

Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
Bishop Jacques Berthelet, C.S.V of Saint-Jean-Longueuil, President
Archbishop Brendan O'Brien of Saint John's, Newfoundland
Archbishop André Gaumond of Sherbrooke, Québec
Bishop Anthony Tonnos of Hamilton, Ontario
Msgr. Peter Schonenbach, P.H., General Secretary
Joe Gunn, Social Affairs adviser
Father Richard Côté, O.M .I., Theology adviser

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Bishop Wilton Gregory of Bishop of Belleville, President
Bishop Edmond Carmody of Corpus Christi
Bishop William Friend of Shreveport
Archbishop Reverend James Keleher of Kansas City
Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane
Msgr. William Fay, General Secretary
Father Arthur Kennedy, Director, U.S. Bishops' Secretariat for Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs

Latin American Delegation
Bishop Jorge Enrique Jiménez Carvajal of Zipaquirá, Colombia, President
Cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa, Archbishop of Santiago de Chile
Archbishop Roberto O. Gonzáles Nieves, O.F.M., of San Juan, Puerto Rico
Bishop Carlos Aguiar Retes of Texcoco, Mexico
Archbishop Marcelo Pinto Carvalheira of Paraíba, Brasil
Cardinal Pedro Rubiano Saénz, Archbishop of Bogota, Colombia
Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, Archbishop of Havana, Cuba
Father Mario de França Miranda, S.J., Professor of Theology, Rio de Janeiro
Msgr. Ricardo Cuéllar Romo, Associate Secretary, Mexico
Father Padre Carlos Quintana Puente, General Treasurer, Puerto Rico.

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