AMERICA/BOLIVIA - Bishops once again call on authorities to use just treatment and not to involve the Church nor her Hierarchy in pre-election political propaganda

La Paz (Agenzia Fides) – The Bolivian Bishops' Conference (CEB) has expressed “its surprise and concern for the constant attacks and disqualifications that the highest authority in the country has made against the person of our Cardinal Julio Terrazas,” in a public statement. “We refer to the allusions and insults that do not correspond to his person and that seek to undermine the moral authority of a representative of the Catholic Church,” the text says.
The Catholic Church mentions that his participation over the course of the Constitutional process has always been of public recognition, through documents, reflections, and convenient exhortations. Among them, the Bishops recall the recent document which “begins by pointing out 10 positive aspects of the constitutional text that the government authorities do not take into account...” (see Fides 16/1/2009).
The CEB also shows its concern for the fact that “while the Catholic Church offers simple, objective, and respectful analyses amidst a peaceful, critical, and responsible electoral climate, several government authorities recur to insult and disqualification.” In this situation, they make an appeal “not to use the Church nor its authorities in pre-election political propaganda.”
The Bishops conclude their statement with an appeal to all citizens, asking that they “vote in a conscientious, free and responsible manner” and they reaffirm their “closeness and solidarity with the President of the Bolivian Bishops' Conference,” asking that the government authorities implement “just and respectful treatment,” “In these days that are so decisive in our future, we ask the faithful to join in praying for the common good and the unity of all Bolivians,” they conclude. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 23/1/2009)