Quoting from and explaining some of the principles in his encyclical letter on the environment, “Laudato Si'”, the pope said God created the world and everything in it not “so he could see himself reflected in it”, but in order to share it.
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Locals chew coca leaves and drink coca tea.
President Evo Morales has given Pope Francis some politically loaded presents during the traditional exchange of gifts between heads of state.
Morales has nationalized key industries such as oil and gas to finance welfare programs and distribute wealth. Then he launched into a half-hour lecture reminding religious officials to never forget that what they have received was a “gratuidad” – or free – and that God’s grace should be shared just as freely. Francis, though, seemed in fine form, bundled against the cold and wind by a white shawl that he donned for his popemobile ride into town past thousands of people who came to greet him, waving handkerchiefs and singing songs of welcome.
The pope was flying to high-altitude La Paz, Bolivia, where oxygen tanks are kept at the airport for arriving passengers who may struggle with the thin air.
“In many historic moments, the Church was used for domination, subjugation and oppression”.
Morales, for his part, recalled how the Catholic Church in the past was on the side of the oppressors of Bolivia’s people, three-quarters of whom are of indigenous origin.
Due to the tough climate, Francis will only stay in the capital for a few hours – for talks with government leaders and a visit to the city’s main cathedral – before heading to Santa Cruz, where he will say an open-air mass on Thursday. “The tapping of natural resources, which are so abundant in Ecuador, must not be concerned with short-term benefits”, he said.
Morales, an Aymara native and ex- coca grower, came to power in 2006 promising to govern in favor of the poor indigenous majority, marginalized by the ruling elite.
But Morales said things are different with this pope and the Bolivian people are greeting Francis as someone who is “helping in the liberation of our people”.
Archbishop Edmundo Abastoflor of La Paz also says the welcoming ceremony may be moved inside the airport to avoid chilling the 78-year-old pope.
Government ministers cite the pope’s concerns for the environment as a bridge to a deeper rapprochement.
Francis will visit Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, as well as the city of Santa Cruz before traveling to Paraguay on Friday, the final leg of his South American tour. But Morales has roiled the local church by taking a series of anti-clerical initiatives, including a new constitution that made the overwhelmingly Catholic nation a secular country.
Bolivia lost access to the coastline in a 19th century war with Chile and took its case to the worldwide Court of Justice.
Everything from Christ “comes for free”, Francis said.
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. In Ecuador he drew crowds totaling almost 2 million people.
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The Pope told them to “not lose the memory” of who they were and the places they came from; to not feel like they have been “given a promotion”. For example, he again warned the clergy against what he has called a “spiritual Alzheimer’s” that he said leads some to forget their original calling. Francis added in a totally improvised speech.
