NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      MEXICO CITY (CWNews.com) - The Catholic Church in Mexico expects to welcome at least three thousand priests from all over the world to the Third International Meeting of Priests to take place at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Archdiocese of Mexico City announced on Wednesday.

      The event, sponsored by the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy, will be held at the Marian Shrine from July 7-12 and will consider the priest's mission at the start of the Third Millennium. The list of keynote speakers include Colombian Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, Archbishop Cipriano Calderon, Vice-President of the Pontifical Council for Latin America, Cardinal John O'Connor from New York, and several other cardinals and Archbishops from Europe and Asia.

      The speakers will each address one of the meditations on the cross during a massive Via Crucis (Way of the Cross). Cardinal Augusto Vargas Alzamora of Lima, Peru and Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver are among the confirmed participants at the Via Crucis. The archdiocese added that each meeting day will have a special theme, such us "Be converted in order to convert," "In communion to foster communion" and "With the blessed Mother, for the mission."

      The other three days are named "Pastoral day," "Cultural day," and "Closing day," the last one including the celebration of the Mass with Sacred Ordinations to the priesthood for the Church in Mexico.