AMERICA/PARAGUAY - The Bishops' Conference asks to "put a stop to corruption"

Caacupé (Agenzia Fides) - Widespread corruption has meant that "narco politicians" manage to infiltrate easily at all levels, pointed out His Exc. Mgr. Catalino Claudio Giménez Medina, Bishop of Caacupé and President of the Episcopal Conference of Paraguay (CEP), speaking yesterday at the end of Sunday Mass celebrated at the Shrine of Our Lady of Caacupé, Patroness of the nation.
Mgr. Giménez defined the murder of journalist Pablo Medina (on October 16) "very serious" and even more serious is the fact that the authorities are involved in this crime. These declarations complete the analysis of the situation by the Episcopal Conference of Paraguay during its recent plenary Assembly, which was held from November 3 to 7.
The text sent to Agenzia Fides, which documents the work of the Assembly, gathered to mainly address the situation in the country and the Year of the Consecrated Life, states: "The state of corruption, already denounced by the Bishops in their pastoral letter in June 1979 ("El saneamiento moral de la Nación"), is still present today, with the worsening of the exponential growth of the drug trade (with disastrous consequences for public health) that infects all the powers of government and the scope of which is yet to be verified".
The Bishops managed to meet various national authorities during the Assembly: the Minister of Education, and talked about education 2013-2018; the Minister of Justice to discuss security and the situation in prisons; the President of the Republic of Paraguay, Horacio Cartes, accompanied by the Minister of the Interior, Francisco de Vargas, to whom the Bishops expressed their strong concern about the violence and the slow development of the country. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 10/11/2014)