In a message broadcast at the end of his 235 assembly, presided over by Cardinal Adalberto Martínez, the bishops referred to education, land and national elections, among other issues.
The bishops pointed out that the situation of the land and territories of indigenous peoples and peasant settlements “it hurts and anger”.
“It is not possible to continue allowing the accumulation of so many extensions of land in the hands of a few and deprive the vast majority of the possibility of dreaming and developing a decent life on legally secured land,” they warn.
In the Episcopate’s opinion, the country cannot “continue witnessing the continuous evictions of the indigenous communities”, like the one suffered by the indigenous population on “January 15” in the department of Caaguazú.
Specifically, they criticized “the speed with which they move and the violence with which the State institutions act for said evictions.”
“Why do some get the state apparatus to always be at their service, trampling on the lives of others and innocents, and why are so many others never heard in their urgent demands for justice,” they stressed.
The bishops asked the state to take “a firm and coherent position with the indigenous peoples”, that they considered has the right and the demand “to be cared for primarily in their dignity”.
They also referred to the general elections next April and the internal party elections in December when appealing “to the free and responsible exercise of the right and duty to vote” already a debate “healthy and constructive about the future” from the country.
“Now is the time to elect the right people, with proven track records of honesty and service to the community and country. It is also time to have a critical judgment on the rain of promises and on the shady deals that often plague our elections”, added the bishops, who also asked for prayers for the kidnapped and disappeared.
With respect to National Plan for Educational Transformation, They called for the application of the “inalienable values” of the Constitution, including “the family, life and dignity of every person.” EFE
The entrance Paraguayan bishops, hurt by evictions of indigenous people and peasants was first published in diary TODAY.
