AMERICA/BOLIVIA - In New Year Message Catholic bishops urge all Bolivians of good will to work tirelessly to promote peace and to defend the human person and inalienable human rights

La Paz (Fides Service) - Pope Benedict XVI’s Message for World Day of Peace 2007 was the subject of a New Year Message addressed by the Catholic Bishops of Bolivia to all Bolivians. The Message was signed by the Bishops’ Conference secretary Bishop Jesús Juárez of the diocese of El Alto.
“The occasion and the theme proposed by the Pope could not be more opportune for our people who face concerning threats of conflict and division stemming from different visions and encouraged by political and economic interests contrary to the necessary and priority common good”.
The Bishops recall that the Holy Father places the human person, human dignity and fundamental human rights at the centre of the quest for peace and unity. There can be no peace without respect for the rights of each human person he recalls. The Bishops affirm that Holy Father wants "everyone to be concerned for (1)", and they recall that many times they too have denounced “contradictions lived by Bolivians which hamper the realisation of unity”. “Everyone want peace - the Bishops’ message continues - but we do not use the rights means to reach it; everyone calls for dialogue, but then we are distant in society; everyone says they want unity but each maintains its intransigent positions". This is why the Church reminds us "peace is a gift of God and it is our duty and responsibility to build it ". In this situation, the bishops say they hope the new year will be an opportunity "reaffirm the value of the freedom of the children of God... to sustain each other in the truth... to promise to live and practice justice... and to welcome and live the gift of love which is the force which transforms individuals and the world".
The Bishops conclude with best wishes for the new year for families and communities encouraging people to persevere and forge the future despite economic limits. They call on all people of good will to work tirelessly to promote peace and to defend the human person and the inalienable rights. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 8/1/2007 - righe 31, parole 422)