"Contribute to the development of lines of pastoral action that would respond to the needs of the new evangelization in the field of pastoral family ministry, in Latin America and the Caribbean"—this was the aim was of the family pastoral workers from the Caribbean who gathered in St. John Vianney House for Priests, in Havana, from 9 to 13 November, in the aftermath of and on the same theme as the 1st Latin American Congress of family pastoral workers (COLPAFA) in Panama: "My family and I Serve the Lord."
Among the participants, there were representatives from Cuba, Curacao, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, including Msgr. Juan García Rodríguez, Archbishop of Camagüey and president of the Episcopal Commission for the Family of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba, and Msgr. Luis A. Secco, Bishop of Willemstad, Curacao and head of the Latin American Episcopal Conference's (CELAM) Department family, life and youth for the Caribbean region.
The working document used was the result of the conclusions of the first COLPAFA, which touched on five aspects: family and education; family and communication; family and life (public policy); the family and the economy; and the family and the new evangelization. The participants met in small groups to reflect on the lights and shadows, the challenges and lines of action for the family, family ministry and family pastoral workers in the regions. The presentations addressed the following topics "Lights and Shadows of the Family," "God's Plan for the Family" and "Challenges of the Family Today in the New Evangelization."
