Part of the task of accompanying excluded people mentioned in paragraph 402 is the advocacy for justice through political action:
403. In this task, concrete actions should be designed with pastoral creativity to influence governments to enact social and economic policies to deal with the varied needs of the population and lead toward sustainable development. With the aid of different ad hoc bodies and organizations the Church can engage in ongoing Christian interpretation and a pastoral approach to the reality of our continent, utilizing the rich legacy of the Church’s social doctrine. It will thereby have concrete bases for demanding that those who are responsible for designing and enacting the policies that affect our peoples will do so in keeping with ethics, solidarity, and genuine humanism. In doing so, lay men and women play a fundamental role, undertaking important tasks in society.
It is not inappropriate for clergy and religious to have some involvement, and to be sure, some have offered heroic if not martyred witness. But the bishops are right: primarily and fundamentally, it is the role of lay women and men. Pope John Paul II was insistent on this, some thought for political reasons, but I think the approach was correct.
For deeper examination, an English translation of the 2007 document from the Aparecida Conference.
Catholic Sensibility 