(ANS - Maracaibo) - On 30 November, the third day of the fourth American Missionary Congress and ninth Latin American Missionary Congress, the Salesian Fr Raul Biord – newly appointed bishop of La Guaira, Venezuela – urged participants to ask what is the scope of the mission and what is the relationship between New Evangelization and mission.

Quoting the theologian Moltmann, he said: "Some theologians have argued that it is not the Church that has a mission, but the mission that has a church. This statement may at first come as a surprise or even a shock.  However, it is not just a play on words. We are accustomed to thinking that the mission is the activity of the Church. We are so concerned about pastoral management, that it may be that we have drawn up our mission statement and vision a bit like the business card of an organization. So we need to have a Church portfolio that can compete among projects of different charitable institutions."

Fr Biord ended his speech by inviting those present to go out of themselves: "Go, go ... We need to get away from ourselves in this movement that starts from God and becomes Mission with a capital M: being sent, bringing the   Good News of the Gospel, of Life, Communion and Joy.  All the baptized as disciples and missionaries are called to proclaim Christ, to give our lives in pastoral activity in our Christian communities as part of the new evangelization and mission ad gentes."

Published 02/12/2013