Pope Francis is on his way to Bolivia after three days in Ecuador, where he celebrated Masses, met with clergy and lay groups and spoke about the need to protect the environment.
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In Bolivia, the poorest country in South America, the first Latin American pope is expected to speak again about his new passion – his defense of “Mother Earth”.
La Paz airport sits at 4,000m above sea level and for health reasons the Argentinian pope will be in the city for about four hours only.
The gifts Pope Francis received while visiting Bolivia Wednesday included a strange crucifix featuring Jesus nailed to a communist hammer and sickle.
Speaking directly to the pilgrims who came from many different areas and villages to participate in the Mass, Francis said they are living numerous same situations as those who came to hear Christ.
Aboard the plane, the pope drank a tea made of a mix of coca leaves, chamomile and anise seeds to ward off illness, a flight attendant said.
Evo Morales, the 1st indigenous president of Bolivia and other indigenous people defended the use of a coca leaves and was considered as a sacred plant.
Francis flew into Bolivia from Quito, Ecuador, where he showed his sense of humour during the last few hours of his trip to that country, where he drew crowds totalling almost 2 million people.
“We welcome you as the chief representative of the Catholic Church coming to support the liberation of our Bolivian peoples”. But until Francis’ election to the papacy in 2013 – and even today to a lesser degree – Morales’ government has had rocky relations with the Catholic Church.
In a bid to counter the trend and return the Catholic Church to its evangelizing origins, Francis has called for the church to return to being a missionary church that looks out particularly for society’s poorest and most marginalized. The development of the nation and the shaping of its culture owe much to the church.
A Vatican spokesman said, however, that the Argentine pontiff would decide for himself.
“Take care not to fall ill, an illness that is very dangerous for those of us whom God freely chose to follow and serve him”.
Strong families, he said, help build strong individuals and strong societies. He was tortured and killed by paramilitary thugs during Bolivia’s dictatorship in 1980. “And so they eliminated him”, the pope said.
With a vast crowd and a temporary altar, Pope Francis needed someplace to change before saying Mass. The closest place at hand was a Burger King.
“Prosperity understood only in terms of material wealth has a tendency to become selfish, to defend private interests, to be unconcerned about others, and to give free rein to consumerism”.
“I stopped here, to greet everyone, and above all to pay a tribute”. It is of the type commonly used to hold coca leaves, which are chewed by people in the Andes to alleviate altitude sickness. “Faith”, he said, “is a light which does not blind or confuse, but one which illuminates and respectfully guides the consciences and history of every person and society”.
The pope’s call to action on global warming is unleashing a new wave of shareholder activism by Roman Catholic investors.
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The pope was traveling next to Santa Cruz de la Sierra before departing for Asunción in Paraguay on Friday.
