Letter to CEPS on 30th Anniversary, May 26, 1998

May 26, 1998 

Most Reverend Jacinto Guerrero Torres
Coadjutor Bishop of Tlaxcala
President, Bishops' Committee for Social Ministry
Casa Juan Pablo II
San Juan de los Lagos, Jalisco
MEXICO 

Dear Don Jacinto, 

On the occasion of the 1998 National Assembly of Social Ministry of the Church in Mexico, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Bishops' Committee for Social Ministry over which you so ably preside, I am delighted to send greetings to you and all the participants in the Assembly from the United States Catholic Conference. 

Our Conference values highly the close ties of cooperation and solidarity that have bound us together especially in these recent years. Our Department of Social Development and World Peace (SDWP) and the CEPS/Caritas Secretariat have worked together on numerous issues of mutual concern, and we look forward to deepening that collaboration in the future. I truly regret that scheduling conflicts here have prevented me and our SDWP staff from joining with you at this important Assembly, but I assure you that we are very much with you in spirit. 

I congratulate the organizers of the Assembly for creating such a rich program, combining ecclesial reflection, social analysis and exchange of experiences, all under the theme of "Participation for the building up of justice, development and the peace of Mexico." I am sure the week will be a time of enrichment and renewal for all, and a stimulus for the Church's social ministry in Mexico in the days ahead. 

With all best personal wishes, and asking God's blessing on the Assembly, I remain 

Fraternally yours in Christ, 

Most Reverend Theodore E. McCarrick
Archbishop of Newark
Chairman, USCC Committee on International Policy