Building Bridges is an initiative of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (PCAL) that promotes encounters for synodal dialogue oriented toward action.
Its purpose is to accompany the work of grassroots organizations as they address the main structural challenges facing the region: social exclusion, cultural fragmentation, and the lack of opportunities for new generations.
In mid-2021, a group of theologians from Loyola University Chicago—Peter Jones, Michael Murphy, Miguel Díaz, and Felipe Legarreta—proposed the creation of the Building Bridges Initiative to His Holiness Francis, through the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (PCAL).
The proposal sought to contribute to a new geopolitics of care (cf. Laudate Deum), inspired by a “way of life shaped by the Gospel” (cf. Fratelli Tutti), so that our peoples may enjoy “life, and life in abundance” (cf. Aparecida Document; Jn 10:10).
His Holiness Francis welcomed the initiative and entrusted the PCAL with actively accompanying the process—not only to walk together, but also to build a concrete reality of bridges: bridges of inclusion, reconciliation, and fraternity.
Cardinal Robert Prevost, then President of the PCAL, received and supported the initiative. Pope Leo XIV begins his pontificate by expressing his commitment to building bridges.
Building Bridges aims to promote fraternal dialogue among diverse social, ecclesial, and cultural actors in Latin America and the Caribbean, in harmony with the four dreams expressed in Querida Amazonia: social, cultural, ecological, and ecclesial.
Inspired by the Social Doctrine of the Church, this initiative seeks to foster a shared community consciousness that promotes inclusion, reconciliation, and fraternity among peoples and cultures.
From Latin America and the Caribbean, these actions seek to reach out, connect, and communicate among the three Americas, and with other continents as well.
