In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Roman Catholic Bishops of the Antilles Episcopal Conference applied the communication strategy of their own Pastoral Letter: “A New Way of Being Church in the Digital Milieu.” The 64th Annual Plenary Meeting initially planned for the diocese of St John’s-Basseterre, Antigua was conducted via the online platform ZOOM.

The meeting began with a spiritual and a study day facilitated by Fr Laurence Freeman, OSB, director of the World Community of Christian Meditation, from his Benedictine monastery in Bonnevaux, France. He spoke on the theme, Feed my sheep and care for yourself (Jn 21:15). Emphasizing that “The Church is a school of prayer,” he exhorted the bishops to go to the depth and root of prayer—contemplative prayer—and lead people to that depth. In face of the turbulence of the pandemic crisis, the bishops came away with a deeper appreciation of contemplative prayer as an interior stabilizing force for their ministry.

The bishops also engaged in a day of theological and pastoral reflections on the impact of the pandemic on themselves and the Church. Arising from personal testimonies and the testimonies of the people, the bishops identified four pastoral priorities to guide the work of the Conference and the Church in the post-COVID era. These priorities are:

1) The Evangelization of the Domestic Church

2) Pastoral Care for the Unemployed especially through COVID 19

3) Pastoral care and Evangelization of Youth and Young Adults

4) Education on the Care for the Earth, our common home

The planning process towards a Pan AEC Synod was a major initiative the bishops conceived to guide the mission of the Church in the years to come. Bishop Clyde Harvey was appointed to lead a regional team to design and implement a process towards this event. It is hoped that this synod will foster deeper regional identity amongst the whole People of God.

A comprehensive report on the Synod of the Amazon was presented by the four bishops—Alleyne Francis (Guyana), Karel Choennie (Suriname), Emmanuel Lafont (French Guyana) and Gabriel Malzaire (President) who attended the one-month-long synod in October 2019. In the report, the bishops called upon the regional Church to develop a consciousness of the link between natural ecology, respect for nature, and human ecology. This connection is especially true because of our region’s proximity to the Amazon region. Other concerns necessary for promotion are the rights of the poor and indigenous peoples, safeguarding the dignity of the vulnerable, and preserving their distinctive rich culture.

There were other matters arising from the meeting.  These include the following:

• The consecration of the dioceses of the Antilles to the protection of Our Blessed Mother, Mary, Mother of the Church and Help of the Sick, on May 10, 2020, Mother’s Day
• An update on the post-election impasse in Guyana and the subsequent political stability
• Election of Officers: Bishop Gabriel Malzaire, Archbishop Jason Gordon, and Bishop Gerard County were re-elected as President, Vice-President, and Treasurer respectively. Fr Donald Chambers was confirmed in the post of the General Secretary for the Conference for a three-year term.
• The following regional events were postponed

1. The Antilles Episcopal Conference Youth Assembly 2021
2. Conference on Family Life 2021
3. Canon Law Society 2021
4. Caribbean Association of Diocesan Finance Officers 2021
5. The International Eucharistic Congress 2021

Arising from the fruitfulness of the meeting, the bishop will be delivering ‘A Message of Hope’ to the people of the Caribbean especially considering the challenges the Church faces in the current pandemic.