AMERICA/ECUADOR - "We also want to be missionaries" says the indigenous representative to the Pope

Wednesday, 8 July 2015

Quito (Agenzia Fides) - "Pope Francis, the Montubio people want to answer the call for a new evangelization, in order to become a Church that goes out. From our experience of working in the countryside, in contact with nature, contemplating the beauty of creation, guided by the words of our Pastors and supported by the sacraments of the Church, we also want to be missionaries!".
This is what Imelda Caicedo Vega said, a representative of the Montubio people, one of the ethnic groups of Ecuador, during the meeting with the Pope. Yesterday, in Quito, the Holy Father met the civil society of Ecuador, gathered in the church of San Francisco, the oldest Catholic building in Latin America (see Fides 07/07/2015).
Before his speech, according to the note sent to Fides from a local source, the Pope listened to some witnesses, including Imelda, 85, a catechist for 60 years, of the province of Los Ríos.
"We open the doors of our homes to allow the light of Christ to enter and illuminate our family situation – said Imelda to the Pope - often marked by violence, poverty, sexism, lack of resources for education, labor exploitation and little knowledge of faith. For many years, when we had no priests, the Catholic faith remained in our villages, thanks to the devotion to the Virgin Mary, which is why we say she is the great missionary of the Montubio people".
She continued: "We want to take an active part in the life of the Church and society. We believe that a good Christian must be a leader of great change, because social changes will become reality if we all assume our responsibilities and are guided by the criteria of Christ. Only then we will know how to deal with those who want to manipulate and use the poor to carry out projects and perverse ideologies that go against life and the family, that destroy man and his dignity. Holy Father, You can count on the closeness and the prayers our people". (CE) (Agenzia Fides 08/07/2015)


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