Referencing other conferences, Puebla in 1979 and Snato Domingo in 1992:
526. The Third General Conference of Latin American bishops already proposed to “put fresh vigor into its work of evangelizing the culture of our peoples and the various ethnic groups,” so as to see “the faith of the Gospel, source of our communion, projected into forms of just integration in each nationality, of a great Latin American homeland.”(Puebla Document 428) The Fourth Conference in Santo Domingo again proposed “the ongoing rejuvenation of the ideal of our founders for a Great Homeland.” The Fifth Conference in Aparecida expresses its firm intention to pursue this commitment.
Evangelization was a “thing” for Pope Paul VI in the mid-70s with his document Evangelii Nuntiandi. It wasn’t new to St John Paul II. But let’s explore that idea of a Great Homeland before signing off today. Catholicism provides a significant factor for unity:
527. There is certainly no other region that has so many factors of unity as Latin America, one of which is the fact that the Catholic tradition is the foundation on which it is built.
Religion is not enough to overcome the inbred corruption that’s a part of so many agencies of secular authority. And with recent revelations in Chile, the hierarchy as well. Sad:
However, it is a unity torn apart because it is permeated by deep dominations and contradictions, still incapable of bringing together into itself “all the races” and overcoming the gap of tremendous inequality and marginalization. It is our great homeland, but it will be really “great” only when it is so for everyone, with greater justice. Indeed, it is a painful contradiction that the continent with the largest number of Catholics is also the one with the greatest social inequity.
We Catholics have many painful contradictions. It is part of the human condition. Often shameful, but there is always potential to be realized.
For deeper examination, check an English translation of the 2007 document from the Aparecida Conference.
Catholic Sensibility 