Aparecida, Brazil, May 15, 2007 / 11:35 am
The president of the Department of Communications of the Latin American Bishops’ Council (CELAM), Archbishop Baltasar Porras, said this week the bishops meeting at CELAM’s general conference in Brazil have the authority to decide whether or not to issue a final document.
During a press conference on Monday, Archbishop Porras also said the CELAM conference “is not a secret meeting. If a document is approved, it will be sent to the Pope for recognition as is normally done.” The approval from the Holy Father will then take “less than one month” while he reviews it.
The president of CELAM, Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz, told reporters CELAM leaders would meet with Pope Benedict XVI on June 11 in order to review the document, if one is approved. He noted that a document would be “the teaching of the bishops and not the Pope,” although it would be subject to the Pope’s review.
“The Pope came and gave his discourse, but he still remains involved by reviewing the work of the bishops,” he said.