Venezuelan bishops to address country's situation during plenary assembly

Caracas, Venezuela, Jul 7, 2021 / 16:19 pm (CNA).

The Venezuelan bishops’ plenary assembly, being held July 7-9, will address the country’s situation, as well as pastoral concerns.

Among topics of discussion are the second national pastoral assembly; the listening process of the Ecclesial Assembly of Latin America and the Caribbean; the conclusions on the first and second Joint Virtual Meeting of Bishops and Priests; the Synod on Synodality to be held in Rome in 2022; and the restructuring of the Permanent Secretariat of the Venezuelan bishops.

In addition, the bishops will address “the current situation in the country” regarding pastoral care for Venezuelan migrants, the pandemic, and vaccination.

In the previous plenary assembly, held in January, Archbishop Jose Luis Azuaje Ayala of Maracaibo, president of the conference, encouraged the faithful not to lose hope amid the country’s ongoing crisis, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Archbishop Azuaje stressed, “it is necessary to forge and create an economy with a human face, with solidarity, that puts the human being at the center and not exploitation, corruption and waste.”

Under the socialist administration of Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela has been marred by violence, political and social upheaval, with severe shortages of food and medicine, high unemployment, power outages, and hyperinflation. Over four million Venezuelans have emigrated since 2015.