The Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (; ), better known as CELAM, is a

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

of the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

bishops in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

, created in 1955 in

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the sixth-most-populous city in the Americas. Founded in 1565 by the Portuguese, the city wa ...

. It is based in Bogotá, Colombia.

Early history

From July 25 to August 4,1955, bishops from all over Latin America met in

, for the first meeting of CELAM, with

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

formally approving the organization on November 2 of that year.Pius XII. Apostolic Letter ''Ad Ecclesiam Christi'', 29 June 1955 The bishops that met for the 1955 General Conference highlighted three main problems the church faced in Latin America: shortage of clergy, lack of organization, and pressing social issues - calling for an increase in social work by the Church. Concerns including the rise of

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...

, and

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

were also included in the plenary meeting. Overall, the organization was created to support the pastoral work of the bishops, and to respond to problems facing the Church in Latin America. Bishops with diverging politics, such as Hélder Câmara and Jaime de Barros Câmara, helped form the organization and its mission. CELAM expanded rapidly in the 60s and experienced a demographic change in the mid-60s. From 1959 to 1964, under

Miguel Darío Miranda y Gómez Miguel Darío Miranda y Gómez (December 19, 1895 – March 15, 1986) was a Mexican Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Mexico City from 1956 to 1977, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1969. Biography Migue ...

as president, the organization had two sub-departments -- Catechetics and the Committee on Faith. By 1965, with Manuel Larraín as president, the organization operated with nine: Education, Lay Apostolates, Liturgy, Pastoral of CELAM, Public Opinion, Semiñaries, University Pastoral, Vocations and Ministries, and Social Action. Four new institutes were also created by CELAM under the leadership of Manuel Larraín: the Institute of Pastoral Liturgy and the Pastoral Institute for Latin America in

Quito, Ecuador Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

, the Institute on Latin American Catechetics in

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, and the Institute on Latin American Catechetics in Manizales, Colombia. Progressive bishops and their staff quickly filled the newly created positions, making CELAM a successful vehicle for Liberation theology, as the organization provided necessary support and protection for the movement to grow. The

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

(1962-65) prompted the

Second Episcopal Conference of Latin America The Second Episcopal Conference of Latin America was a bishops' conference held in 1968 in Medellín, Colombia, as a follow-up to the Second Vatican Council which it adapted in a creative way to the Latin American context. It took as the theme for ...

, also referred to as the Medellín Conference or CELAM II, that took place in Medellín, Colombia, from August 24 to September 6, 1968. The meeting was convened to discuss the implications of Vatican II on the Latin American Church. The Conference included six preparatory meetings, with attendees such as

Gustavo Gutiérrez Gustavo Gutiérrez-Merino Díaz (8 June 1928 – 22 October 2024) was a Peruvian philosopher, Catholic theologian, and Dominican priest who was one of the founders of liberation theology in Latin America. His 1971 book '' A Theology of Lib ...

, Juan Luis Segundo, and José Comblin. Documents from the conference declare the Church committed to social change towards "authentic liberation", Latin America suffering under "neocolonialism" and "the international imperialism of money", and claim that the "growing distortion of international commerce s… a permanent menace against peace". The guidelines of Medellín contributed to the development of a more vigorous Church, committed explicitly to social justice, which was reflected in CELAM's propagation of Ecclesial Base Communities - local groups that reinterpreted the biblical message, giving it a clear political content to put it at the service of popular struggles - as well as in the organization's extensive educational work focused on social issues provided to clergy, laity, and congregants of the Church. The conference is credited for propelling the movement of Liberation theology forward, with "organizational strength" in the Latin American Church's progressive sector considered to be at an all time high from 1968 to 1972.

Conflict over liberation theology

CELAM support for liberation theology was frowned on by the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

and

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

, who tried to slow the movement after the 1962–1965 Council. Cardinal Antonio Samoré, in charge of relations between the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

and the CELAM as the leader of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, was ordered to put a term to this orientation. With Alfonso López Trujillo's election in 1972 as general secretary of CELAM, conservatives gained control of this organization, at much the same time as they were beginning to regain control of the Roman Curia. Considered a

papabile ( , , ; plural: ; ) is an unofficial Italian term coined by Vaticanologists and used internationally in many languages to describe a Catholic man—in practice, always a cardinal—who is thought of as a likely or possible candidate to be ...

at the 2005 Papal conclave, López Trujillo stayed CELAM's general secretary until 1984. However, at the 1979 CELAM Conference of Puebla, over three months after the election of Karol Wojtyla as

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

conservative reorientation of the CELAM was met by strong opposition from the progressive part of the clergy, which defined the concept of a "preferential option for the poor". However,

would go on to use the phrase in his 1987 encyclical '' Sollicitudo rei socialis''. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

, was charged of bringing back the Vatican's authority in the

Third World The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...

. In 1984 and 1986, the Holy See twice condemned elements of liberation theology, especially

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

elements. In his travel to

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

, John Paul II harshly condemned what he dubbed the "popular Church" (i.e. "base ecclesiastic communities" supported by the CELAM) and against Nicaraguan clergy's tendencies to support the Sandinistas, insisting on the Vatican's sole authority.

Present programs

CELAM currently supports programs like

AVAAZ Avaaz is a US-based nonprofit organization launched in 2007 that promotes global activism on issues such as climate change, human rights, animal rights, corruption, poverty, and conflict. The word ''avaaz'' means 'voice' in several Asian and E ...

and TECHO to help eliminate rights abuses and extreme poverty around the world. CELAM also supports a Christian radio station and television station. There are CELAM-sponsored child and youth programs to help young people in the church. CELAM has also been vocal in its support for peace in the

Colombian conflict The Colombian conflict () began on May 27, 1964, and is a low-intensity asymmetric war between the government of Colombia, far-right paramilitary groups, crime syndicates and far-left guerrilla groups fighting each other to increase their i ...

and a ceasefire between the government forces and the

FARC The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army (, FARC–EP or FARC) was a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict starting in 1964. The FARC-EP was officially founded in 1966 from peasan ...

. Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga ( Archbishop of Tegucigalpa) was CELAM's general secretary from 1995 to 1999, along with Cardinal Luis Aponte Martínez ( Archbishop of San Juan).

Present leadership

* President: Flag of Peru

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte (2019 - 2023), Metropolitan Archbishop of Trujillo,

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

* First Vice-President: Flag of Brazil

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Odilo Pedro Scherer (2019 - 2023), Metropolitan Archbishop of São Paulo,

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

* Second Vice-President: Flag of Nicaragua

Leopoldo José Brenes Solórzano (2019 - 2023), Metropolitan Archbishop of Managua,

* General Secretary: Flag of Colombia

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Juan Carlos Cárdenas Toro (2019 - 2023), Auxiliary Bishop of Cali,

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Past leadership

* President: Flag of Colombia

Rubén Salazar Gómez (2015 - 2019), Metropolitan Archbishop of Bogotá,

* First Vice-President: Flag of Uruguay

Carlos María Collazzi Irazábal (2015 - 2019), Bishop of Mercedes,

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

* Second Vice-President: Flag of Brazil

José Belisário da Silva (2015 – 2019), Metropolitan Archbishop of São Luís do Maranhão,

* General Secretary: Flag of Mexico

Juan Espinoza Jiménez (2015 - 2019), Auxiliary Bishop of Morelia,

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Member Conferences

References

External links

*
Biblioteca General

NCR The Lasting Legacy of Liberation Theology
{{Authority control

Culture of Latin America Organizations based in Latin America + + +