Santo Domingo Conference (CELAM IV)

Definition

The Fourth General Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops, or the Santo Domingo Conference, or CELAM IV, took place from October 12 to 28 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity to the Western Hemisphere (Saranyana 2002, p. 148; Castrillón 1994; Alliende 1993; Doig 1993). A total of 356 participants attended the conference. For the first time, all five national Caribbean bishops’ conferences were present. Pope John Paul II chaired the opening ceremony on October 12, 1992 (Saranyana 2002, p. 148; Alliende 1993; Doig 1993). The Roman Curia played a foremost role in this conference unlike previous ones, but many progressive bishops curtailed that role to some extent (Saranyana 2002, p. 147; Alliende 1993). Although the conference did not follow the theological/pastoral method “to see, to judge, to act” of previous conferences, the final document reaffirmed Christian base communities, structures...