The Vatican said this week the pope would decide for himself whether to chew the leaves in order to ward off altitude sickness when he lands at La Paz. “We hope the pope can be a positive example for the ultra conservative elements of the church here.”Ĭhewing coca would be a strong signal the pope appreciated Bolivia’s indigenous values, Cardenas said, referring to the widespread indigenous custom of chewing the leaves that are a mild stimulant, and the major ingredient of cocaine. “He seems like a Pope who wants to look after Mother Earth,” Cardenas said. However, he cited the pope’s concerns for the environment as a potential bridge. “We need a meeting of indigenous people and descendants of the Spanish colonialists, between races, between those in Bolivia and those who have had to leave for the lack of justice,” Fuentes said.įelix Cardenas, Bolivia’s vice-minister for decolonization and a supporter of the 2009 constitutional changes, acknowledged the reforms had damaged the government’s relations with conservative Catholic leaders. The pope’s tour is aimed at helping Bolivians overcome their differences, Fuentes said. He said the church respected local rites even if they had largely lost relevance when people converted to Christianity. A year later, Morales backed a constitutional referendum that stripped the Catholic Church of its official status and declared Bolivia a secular state.įather Jose Fuentes, who is helping organize the pope’s visit, said Morales had stirred animosity toward the Catholic Church. The former coca farmer called the Catholic Church “an instrument of domination which brings injustice and inequality” in 2008. Three in every four people in the country of 10.6 million are Catholic. The Argentina-born pontiff, the first Latin American pope, will seek to heal rifts between the country’s indigenous people and the descendants of its Spanish colonial conquerors, who brought the Catholic faith to Bolivia. “I hope he comes with good intentions and not with the same thinking as in times past,” said Luisa Quispe, 60, a self-described witch in El Alto, a satellite city perched above the capital La Paz.įrancis sets out on Sunday for Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, three of South America’s smallest and most impoverished nations, taking with him a message of solidarity for the downtrodden.Ĭhurch leaders in Bolivia are calling the visit “Reconciliation and Renewal”. The country’s first indigenous president, Evo Morales, has frequently clashed with the church. When Pope Francis visits Bolivia next week, he will discover a nation that cherishes animal sacrifices and pagan worship and where relations between indigenous communities and the Roman Catholic Church have been strained. A street vendor sells candies and cigarettes in the centre of La Paz, July 1, 2015.
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