The Anglican Communion should be "less English" at international meetings, said Archbishop Glauco Soares de Lima of Brazil, at a meeting of Latin American bishops July 25-28 in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

"There is a need to overcome a type of cultural preconception," the archbishop said at a preparatory conference for the 1998 Lambeth Conference. He reminded the other bishops that of the world's 70 million Anglicans, more than 50 percent live in non-English-speaking countries.

The bishops emphasized the need for their voices to be heard at the Lambeth Conference, which includes bishops from all Anglican provinces. The archbishop noted that only about 30 Latin American bishops would be among the 850 to participate at Lambeth.

"Moreover, they do not speak the sacred language - English," he said.

He said the bishops gathered in Brazil wanted the Lambeth Conference to dedicate more time to silence, prayer and informal contact.

The Rt. Rev. Martinano Garcia-Montiel, Bishop Coadjutor of Cuernavaca, Mexico, said that when he attended the 1988 Lambeth Conference, he felt marginalized from other bishops.

"I had the impression that Latin America is, if not ignored, at least minimized in terms of its Anglican identity," he said. "The great majority of Latin American bishops who were in Lambeth felt marginalized."

Ecumenical News International contributed to this article.