LCWR Home Page About LCWR   Programs/Resources Social Justice Press Releases/Public Statements          
PublicationsLCWR AssemblyPress InformationLCWR RegionsFrequently Asked QuestionsContact UsLinks to Resources

InterAmerican Network

One of the results of the renewal of religious life called for by the Second Vatican Council was the deepening and growth of interrelationships among congregations of religious. In the Americas, this was a time of strengthening national religious conferences, encouraging inter-congregational experiences, and increasing the numbers of religious serving in countries other than their own.

As a result of these changes, the conferences of religious of the whole continent decided to begin meeting together, beginning in 1971. These meetings have continued over the years and have involved LCWR, the Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM), the Canadian Religious Conference (CRC) and the Confederation of Latin American Religious (CLAR) -- the confederation of national conferences of religious of Latin America and the Caribbean. The InterAmerican Committee, made up of the presidents and executive directors/secretaries of each of these four entities have meet annually. Periodically, InterAmerican Assemblies have been held in which delegates from all the conferences of the continent participate. These assemblies have helped religious throughout the continent know one another and the situations in which they minister. The assemblies have dealt with topics of common interest to religious life in the Americas. These assemblies have taken place in various countries so that the participants can experience the local situations where religious minister.

1971 -- Mexico City, Mexico
1974 -- Bogota, Colombia
1977 -- Quebec, Canada
1980 -- Santiago, Chile
1985 -- Marriotsville, Maryland
1994 -- Dominican Republic
1999 -- Toronto, Canada
2005 -- Itaici, Brazil

InterAmerican Committee Meeting
March 2006
Bogota, Colombia

Participants are the March 2006 InterAmerican Committee meeting included:
(top row) Nueza Botelho Dos Santos, the translator, Carole Shinnick, Paul Linninger, DINA MARIA ORELLANA Dina Maria Orellana, (bottom) Dominic Izzo, Vilma Esperanza Q. Moran, Margaret Toner, Christine Vladimiroff, Alain Ambeaul and Michael McNulty

Additional photos of the InterAmerican Committee Meeting

InterAmerican Assembly
May 2005
Itaici, Brazil

Nearly 60 delegates from LCWR, the Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM), the Canadian Religious Conference (CRC) and the Confederation of Latin American Religious (CLAR) met in May in Itaici, Brazil to explore ways of strengthening the bonds among women and men religious of the Americas. After discussing the social, political, economic and cultural issues affecting all of the nations represented, the group wrote mission and vision statements, as well as an action plan for the next five years that look to strengthening the ways in which the leadership conferences can work together and support one another.

The Mission Statement of the InterAmerican Network
Approved on May 8, 2005

We are a network of organizations of men and women religious leaders of the Americas , attentive to the call of God that speaks to us through the world in which we live.

We unite to strengthen our bonds, to make our communications more effective and to deepen the collaboration among the women and men religious from the North to the South of the Americas .

In fidelity to our mystical-prophetic vocation of religious life, we commit ourselves to hearing and living the Word of God - a catalyst for conversion and social/ecclesial transformation.

We are confident that a different world is possible, and we commit to joint actions that favor the creation of just, equitable, and nonviolent relationships.


 

The LCWR delegation members were: (left to right) Christine Vladimiroff, OSB; Jeanne Bessette, OSF; Dorothy Jean Beyer, OSB; Beatrice Eichten, OSF; Constance Phelps, SCL; Carole Shinnick, SSND; Marie Lucey, OSF; Mary Catherine Rabbitt, SL; and Annmarie Sanders, IHM.

Additional photos of the InterAmerican Conference

Visit the websites of the
Canadian Religious Conference
Confederation of Latin American Religious
Conference of Major Superiors of Men

 

Back to Programs and Resources

©Copyright 2007
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
8808 Cameron Street -- Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Phone: 301-588-4955 | Fax: 301-587-4575 | webdirector@lcwr.org