THE CHILEAN CHURCH AFTER VATICAN II IN THE LIGHT OF ITS PASTORAL ORIENTATION. MILESTONES IN THE ROAD FOLLOWED BY A SYNODAL CHURCH

Abstract

The local church is the visible face of the Church of Jesus Christ and takes its form through its insertion into a particular socio-cultural context. It is the protagonist of the evangelizing process by which the Church exists and makes her life and mission fruitful. The awareness of the missionary nature of its baptismal vocation allows it to open up in a caring and generous way to the universal mission of the Church, in support of the movement of the Spirit, and to seek with imagination and creativity all possible ways to respond faithfully to the mission given. In this sense, the Chilean Church, like any local church, has reacted creatively to the innovatory spirit of Vatican II, and with an existential synodal dynamism, it has sought to respond to the challen-ges of its own contexts. The Pastoral Orientations have been the clearest example of this spirit of communion working towards a fruitful pastoral mission.