AMERICA/BOLIVIA - The Church strongly rejects the use of the image of the Pope for political activities

Friday, 20 November 2015 politics   bishops   local churches  

La Paz (Agenzia Fides) - The Catholic Church condemns the use of the image of Pope Francis for political activities. The Bolivian Episcopal Conference (CEB) issued a statement, sent to Fides, in which "it deplores and condemns all forms of manipulation or use of relevant messages and images of the Catholic Church and, in particular, of its Head and Shepherd, Pope Francis". The text adds, "we ask for more respect towards the Holy Father, on behalf of the authorities and public administration. Messages must be read in its entirety, in the context in which they were delivered, avoiding partial readings and private interest" . In past days, Samuel Doria Medina, a leading opposition politician published a photograph of the Holy Father with the word "NO" painted on his right hand, referring to the re-election of President Morales and to a sentence of the Pope: "long leadership leads to tyranny".
4 months after the Pope's visit to this country, during which he had spoken in favor of political change and dialogue as key elements in the life of a country, the situation has become once again heavy because of the political campaign in favor of "yes" or "no" to the constitutional referendum of 21 February 2016, that intends to propose the candidacy for a fourth term, not provided for by the Constitution, of Evo Morales and Alvaro Garcia, President and Vice-President of Bolivia currently in office (see Fides 17/09/2015).
According to information sent to Fides, the same opposition has criticized the use of the image of the Pope by Doria Medina, as disrespect for the Catholic community in Bolivia, but also criticized President Morales for having put up posters in different places of the country with the phrases of the Pope in his favor, along with photos of his meeting with the Pope during his visit to Bolivia. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 20/11/2015)


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