During Mass on Sunday, December 4, in the Basilica of Caacupé,
the Bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Pilcomayo, His Exc. Mgr. Lucio
Alfert, O.M.I. criticized the treatment given to the indigenous of
Paraguay.
He urged young people to be the hope for ethnic groups and
thus to put an end to injustice, inequality and rejection towards this
sector of the population.
"God created us all differently but with the
same dignity", said Mgr. Alfert during the homily, and added: "we are
called to live fraternally in a multiethnic and multicultural society".
According to information sent to Fides, the celebration was attended by
about 2,500 indigenous from different parts of the country, mostly from
Chaco. For this reason, a reading of the Mass and the prayers of the
faithful were read in Nivaclé, the native language of Paraguay.
The Bishop complained that "for society being different is wrong".
This
generates rejection, mockery and lack of respect for the fundamental
rights of the indigenous communities", he reiterated. "The real problem
of the Paraguayans is ignorance of different cultures. Among us, the
indigenous people are the ones who suffer indifference,
misunderstanding, are driven away from their land, their rights are not
respected", he said.
He therefore harshly condemned politicians and drug
traffickers who use ancestral lands for their particular purposes,
abusing those who live there.
"It will not be easy to dream a new home if there are people with too
much power; I just hope they listen to St. John the Baptist, who defines
these people as a brood of vipers" concluded the Bishop.