Defining a Church:
524. God’s Church in Latin America and the Caribbean is sacrament of communion of its peoples. It is dwelling of its peoples; it is house of God’s poor. It calls together and gathers all in its mystery of communion, with no discrimination or exclusion by reason of sex, race, social condition, or national identity.
This is a fine ideal. But noble as this statement is, in this life, it’s always a work in progress.
The more the Church reflects, lives, and communicates this gift of astonishing unity which finds its source, model, and destiny in trinitarian communion, the more meaningful and incisive is its action as agent of reconciliation and communion in the life of our peoples.
Divine grace: something of which to ask from God. But there’s also a reliance on the intercession of Mary:
The Blessed Virgin Mary is the indispensable and decisive motherly presence in the gestation of a people of children and siblings, of disciples and missionaries of her Son.
For deeper examination, check an English translation of the 2007 document from the Aparecida Conference.
