Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
La Paz (Agenzia Fides) - The 92nd Bolivian Episcopate Assembly has been on since Thursday 10 November and has three important issues on its agenda: the permanent diaconate, the statutes of the Bolivian Episcopal Conference (BEC) and a letter on the environment. After having approved the document on the Permanent Diaconate, which signals the guidelines for this ministry, and the new statute of the BEC, the Bishops have now begun the debate on the project of a pastoral letter on Ecology and Environment, a document that aims to explain the Catholic position and provide a Christian perspective and guidance on these issues currently in debate, nationally and internationally, and on which there are various interpretations, especially on the theme of "Mother Earth".
In parallel to the topics examined by the Assembly, a commission of the BEC is working on the message for the people of God that will be issued at the end of the Assembly, on Tuesday, November 15, and according to tradition, will present reflections on the national political situation, economic and social development .
In his opening greeting, the President of BEC, the Archbishop of Santa Cruz, Cardinal Julio Terrazas, recalled the last conflict that occurred in the country, with the natives’ march for the Protection of Isiboro Secure National Park (Itnpis), which " awakened the awareness of environmental protection", and highlighted the urgency of a word that can "lead and motivate" on this issue (see Fides 20/09/2011, 25/10/2011). Because of the urgency of the matter, the Cardinal said, we want to "devote considerable time to explore this theme of ecology and environment, with the hope of gathering in a pastoral letter the result of our thoughts".
According to the Commission in charge of the first draft of the pastoral letter, the Christian view of nature and ecology of the environment leads to the creation of God, and certainly not to the concept of "Pachamama" or "Mother Earth", which has been given the character of divinity or, on the contrary, have been recognized rights as if it they were an individual. The Bishops of Bolivia have already addressed the issue in two documents: the pastoral letter in 2000 with "Tierra, madre fecunda para todos" and in 2003 with the letter "Agua, fuente de Vida para todos", and pointing towards a more moderate use and the care of natural resources. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 14/11/2011)
