At the end of its 38th Ordinary Assembly, the Bolivian Conference of the Diocesan clergy issued a declaration in which it reflects “deep shock” of the priests in the face of the situation that the country is going through, while sending a message of hope based on the message of Christ.
The Assembly, which had the motto “Diocesan priests, pilgrims of hope”, took place in the city of Oruro between June 30 and July 4, and was an opportunity for dialogue, prayer and joint work.
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It also included a pilgrimage through the streets of the city, accompanied by the bishops.
At the end of the encounter, the priests went to the people of God “deeply moved by the situation that our beloved Bolivia is going through.”
Among the “undeniable” current difficulties, they listed: “Food shortage, fuel, devaluation of our currency, an electoral environment marked by the dirty war and a scandalous judicial manipulation.”
All this, they regretted, is reflected “in a growing social tension manifested in strikes, marches and protests in general that have ended in mourning.”
Before the discouraging panorama, the presbytery raises how his voice “to proclaim with firm faith: we are not alone! God is in the middle of his people!”
“It fills us with hope the latest words of Jesus that collects the evangelist Saint Matthew ‘I am with you until the end of the world’ (Mt 28,20),” they express, advising: “We do not allow anguish, anguish, anger or fear to steal hope that the Lord has put in our hearts.”
“At times like these, we are vital we join more than ever in prayer, in solidarity and in a real commitment for justice and the common good,” they consider, inviting the Bolivians “to make each home an altar of hope; of each gesture of fraternal aid, a sign of the kingdom of God between us; and of each Mass celebrated, a plea entrusted by peace, reconciliation and reconciliation.”
“Our children, youth, parents and workers deserve a future where truth, justice and fraternity reign,” they say. “And although the world with its ideologies cannot give it to us, we will not stop looking for it with hope placed in the kingdom of God and its justice,” they argue.
“Let’s not be overcome by the dark, but we turn on with faith the light of the Lord who never goes out,” encourages the Bolivian clergy.
Given the current situation, they reaffirm your commitment: “We are among you as servers. Bishops, priests and deacons, in the example of Jesus Christ we have been consecrated to serve and not to be served, therefore you illegate with us!”, They encourage.
“We pray for you and ask you to pray for us. That this communion within the Church is testimony of dialogue and unity in this electoral environment that Bolivia lives,”
Finally, they ask for the intercession of the Virgin to “cover with her mantle our nation, which intercedes for all her children, especially for the poorest and afflicted and that helps us to be an instrument of comfort and hope”, while committing themselves “not Live, and in him, Bolivia has hope! ”
Julieta Villar
I am a journalist, a graduate in Communication from the National University of La Matanza in Argentina. I have work experience in non -governmental organizations. Since 2016 I dedicate myself to Catholic journalism, first in the Argentine Catholic Information Agency (AICA) and, since 2022, as a correspondent for ACI Press for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia.