Catholic bishops dream of a strife-free post-Covid Bolivia

Catholic bishops in Bolivia have set up a list of priorities in the light of the Gospel to rebuild the country swamped by health, social and political problems.   

“Dream of a country, a common home where everyone is recognized as citizens with their rights, responds with their duties and enjoys a life worthy of being the children of God in a united, fraternal, just and supportive society,” the bishops said in their message "of hope and peace" published at the end of their plenary assembly.

 “Only this commitment will give us a future; instead, opting for violence and confrontation will bring poverty, suffering and more control and limitation of freedom", they said.                    

Among the first of the priorities was the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to cause "suffering and mourning to the Bolivian family, puts us to the test and requires us to respond with responsibility and solidarity", the bishops said.

As of November 18, there were 1,119 new cases and 13 new deaths in Bolivia, taking the total coronavirus figures to 526,306 infected and 19,043 dead, according to the Health Ministry.

Authorities are anticipating a new wave in November as Bolivia recorded for the fourth consecutive week an increase in COVID-19 infections. 

The bishops then mentioned "the promulgation of projects and laws of dubious constitutionality, made without adequate study, consensus and socialization, as it should be in a state of law and full democracy". 

Some sectors have mobilized to repeal these rules, "perceived as a violation of freedoms and fundamental rights", which would pave the way for an autocratic state. 

The bishops called for constructive dialogue and warned that the confrontation in the street, in which brothers confront brothers, "cannot be an answer, it generates pain, wounds and death, in addition to hatred and resentment that will take years to be overcome".

Daily protests had continued in Bolivia as part of an indefinite strike until parliament fulfilled President Luis Arce’s promise to repeal a controversial law to combat illicit profits and the financing of extremism that many considered negated their civil liberties.

Sectors related to and opposed to the Government of Luis Arce mobilized in several Bolivian cities to launch mutual warnings after the controversial law that caused a partial strike for nine days.  

"Another worrying problem, which awaits a consensual and fair response is the subjugation of violent groups to parks, protected reserves, community and private lands, violating the human rights of groups and individuals, facts that remain in impunity," they pointed out. 

The bishops said that "the absence of the State increases the risk of irregular groups with possible links to drug trafficking" and that many families, in all regions of Bolivia, need to be able to have land, "without distinction and without discrimination", Fides reported. 

Other acts that concerned the bishops were those affecting individuals and communities in defense of life, such as rape, abuse of minors and women, femicide, abandonment and abuse of minors, abortion, crime and violence.

"These crimes, contrary to human and Christian values, are even more reprehensible because they are perpetrated against innocent lives in the face of the indifference or complicity of those called to defend them," they said. 

According to official 2020 figures, 39,999 pregnancies of girls under age 18 were reported in Bolivia. This meant that 104 minors become pregnant each day in Bolivia, of whom an average of eight are under 15 years of age.

Having listed issues that concerned "Bolivian reality," the bishops said "it is time to fulfill the promises to govern by truly listening to all sectors of the people; in particular, those who are affected, establishing a serious, transparent and open dialogue that generates just and consensual responses in relevant instances.”  

This requires concrete and practicable signs of goodwill on the part of the authorities established in response to the clamor of the sectors involved", they said.