Within the framework of this videoconference on the subject on non-ordained believers, I have been requested to refer to the letter by John Paul II that in paragraph no. 14 states: "Through their participation in the prophetic mission of Christ, "who proclaimed the kingdom of his Father by the testimony of his life and by the power of his world"(24), the lay faithful are given the ability and responsibility to accept the gospel in faith and to proclaim it in word and deed, without hesitating to courageously identify and denounce evil".

Within the large doctrinal framework of this Apostolic Exhortation of the labourers invited to work in the Lord’s vineyard, and also observing the supreme dignity of the non-ordained faithful in their incorporation in Christ, who with Him participate in His priestly, prophetic and kingly order, in this section of no. 14, what clearly stands out is the courage needed by the non-ordained believers to denounce all that does not conform with the dignity of human beings and within the perspective of Christians, all that does not correspond to their identity as children of God faith.

This "courage" refers us to the "parresia" that the faithful "followers of the path" in the Acts of the Apostles had for bearing witness to Jesus Christ in their own environment, and that non-ordained believers are called upon to provide within the perspective of today’s world and within the Latin-American context.

In fact in a continent besieged by injustice, by the political-administrative corruption of the States, by the daily violence of poverty and the destructive forces of social imbalances, by the lack of opportunities that emphasises a lack of respect for human dignity, those who are baptised, in their radical commitment to render present the Gospel as the good news of redemption, are called upon to incarnate - within the social, political, economic and religious institutions - a behaviour allowing their testimony of life to be a strong means of contrast, emphasising all that cannot be blamed on the commitment of citizens inspired by goodness.

However, in addition to this fundamental testimony, they must at a personal and communitarian level be prepared, both through Catholic Organisations and through other kinds of civilian national or international organisations, to assume the difficult and often dangerous task of reporting and bringing to light situations that represent an attack against human beings and that, from the faith’s point of view seriously offend God, whether these are homicides, spreading wars, kidnappings, the exploitation of social or political positions and that are addressed at excluding or robbing public goods. It is with good reason that John Paul II has repeatedly appealed to non-ordained believers, asking them to assume with responsibility and a sense of sacrifice, appointments in the political field, to encourage this brave battle against those without scruples who use politics to inflict unjust situations that should be addressed as social sins, on their people.