AMERICA/BOLIVIA - The priority for the Auxiliary Bishop of Reyes: "Working to be a single Christian community"

Thursday, 2 October 2014

Rome (Agenzia Fides) - "Creating a sense of belonging, to work to be a single Christian community" is the main challenge for His Exc. Mgr. Waldo Rubén Barrinuevo Ramírez, C.Ss.R., Auxiliary Bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Reyes (Bolivia), who Fides Agency met in Rome, where he participated in the Seminar organized by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
"The Apostolic Vicariate of Reyes should be understood as an Amazon region of Bolivia - says Mgr. Barrinuevo Ramírez -: There are indigenous and nomadic communities. Communities that live off of cattle alone and have been there for a long time. There are also small populations in higher areas and places, so the area is denoted by a situation of pluralism. The territory now attracts many people due to the prospects of economic development it offers, at the same time they begin to see the dangers that different activities can destroy the environment".
Describing the population that inhabits the Apostolic Vicariate, Mgr. Barrinuevo Ramírez points out that "people are very close to the Church, I am very hopeful for the future, always thought of as a blessing from God". Even in the face of natural disasters, no one thinks they are a punishment from God, but all are busy to overcome the difficulties. "The calendar is ruled by religious festivities - says the Apostolic Vicar -. Almost the whole life of society depends on the religious calendar. Another feature is solidarity. When we had floods, and all the connections were blocked, we looked for alternative ways of communication and this sparked solidarity among peoples. So we received aid from different parts of Bolivia and also from distant places, even from Bolivians living abroad".
The goal for the Apostolic Vicar in its mission is to strengthen the "sense of belonging, because previously there were only divided groups of indigenous peoples in the area, later migrant groups in Bolivia arrived and now a new group of workers. In addition, people live in 2 departments divided politically, while the Apostolic Vicariate is one, and I think it is a great challenge to think of working to be a single Christian community". (CE) (Agenzia Fides 02/10/2014)


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