AMERICA/BOLIVIA - The Church in the TIPNIS, "a missionary presence committed to human promotion"

Wednesday, 17 April 2013

Cochabamba (Agenzia Fides) - "The missionary presence of the Church, in the course of several decades, has contributed to the social, cultural and religious configuration of these communities, which today manifest their religious identity and their traditions with dignity and in freedom," according to a statement published by a commission of XCV General Assembly of the Bishops' Conference of Bolivia, where the Bishops underline the commitment of the Church in favor of the inhabitants of the TIPNIS (Indigenous Territory and Isiboro Secure National Park, see Fides 29/11/2012) .
In a statement sent to Fides Agency, the Bishops stress that they aim to clarify their position as a result of statements made by a government authority, which criticized the Church's presence in the TIPNIS. "Given the statements made by a member of the government, we must reaffirm that fundamental truth, since reliable data and documents presented by the Church to prove the value of their claims have not been taken into consideration." The Church had prepared a report on the situation of the TIPNIS, presented the Permanent Assembly of Human Rights, which had been prepared at the request of indigenous organizations in the area (see Fides 06/12/2012).
"The Catholic Church expresses her deep desire to continue to work in the service of the people and communities in need, poverty and social exclusion, and reaffirms the desire to do so in a spirit of sincere cooperation and harmony with other public and private organizations " the statement concluded. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 17/04/2013)


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