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Catholic leaders aim to stop defections in Latin America
APARECIDA, Brazil (Reuters) - The Roman Catholic Church must work harder to reach Latin America's poor and people who have drifted away from the church, Catholic bishops said on Wednesday at the conclusion of their regional meeting.
"We must leave our churches and go after people instead of waiting for them to come to us," Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes, a senior aide to Pope Benedict, said at the Latin American bishops conference.
At a time when Protestant movements are sweeping the area, the Catholic bishops met to map out priorities for missionary work and social action in a region blighted by poverty, corruption and violence.
A summary of their final policy document, which is expected to be approved by the Vatican within two months, contained few specifics and mainly implored priests to proselytize more.
Pope Benedict kicked off the conference in early May on a five-day visit to Brazil, railing against premarital sex, drug traffickers, abortion rights, birth control and the rise of Pentecostalism in Latin America, home to nearly half of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics.
The 80-year-old Pope, who led a Vatican crackdown on the Liberation Theology movement of left-wing priests in the 1980s, also told the clergy to stay out of politics even as they fight for social justice.
Conservatives commended the Pope for restoring purity to the Church's principles, even if that means alienating potential newcomers, while his detractors said he was out of touch in a time of globalization, gay marriage and AIDS.
On Monday, weeks after the Pope returned to the Vatican, Brazil, the largest country in Latin America, said it would provide inexpensive birth control pills to poor women, complementing a program that distributes millions of condoms annually. Mexico City recently legalized abortion.
Catholic leaders know that governments in Latin America will implement programs that clash with church teachings, but say they will not soften their views on the right to life.
"If someone leaves the Church because of its values, then we will be very sorry. But the church cannot stop defending its beliefs," Hummes said.
