Dom João Justino de Medeiros Silva opens Consep meeting

Dom João Justino de Medeiros Silva opened the meeting of the Pastoral Episcopal Council (Consep) of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) on Tuesday, September 22. The archbishop of Goiânia and first vice-president of the CNBB presided over the first day of the meeting because the president, Cardinal Jaime Spengler, attended the funeral of Dadeus Grings, the archbishop emeritus of Porto Alegre.

The meeting included bishops from the CNBB presidency, commission presidents, advisors, and representatives from various pastoral groups and Church institutions. Participants reviewed two situational analyses: one regarding sociocultural issues and artificial intelligence, and another regarding Church communion within plural environments.

During the opening, Dom João Justino shared a passage from a letter written by Pope Leo XIV to the bishops of Latin America. The letter, which marked the 300th anniversary of the canonization of Saint Toribio de Mogrovejo, discusses the vocation and ministry of bishops and highlights the lives of holy and blessed bishops in Latin America.