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Dear Friends of the Missions, Dear Fellow-brothers,
Everybody gives what they have
I am sure that mass media have shown you pictures of the turbulent incidents in Bolivia. When I was at the airport in Santa Cruz (where I was brought by Br Tarcisio) during my trip to the Bishops' Conference in Cochabamba, I saw the first pictures of the bloody incidents in the streets of Santa Cruz. When I arrived to Cochabamba in the afternoon our convent was still closed. I came to the door of the St Francis church, sat at the bench, took the breviary and said the liturgical readings coinciding with that time. While I was saying the prayers a woman with a child came closer. In her eyes I could see a lot concern and even pain. She asked me when the church would be opened because she wanted to enter it and pray. Because it was not the right time yet, I asked her about her troubles. She started talking about her worries which had started in her childhood and last till today. During our conversation the gates of the church were opened so we went in and she continued her story, her Way of the Cross. I tried to listen, ask and lighten her life with the Word of God and, among of all, show her that everything has sense if you discover in it the passion and suffering of Jesus Christ who rose from the dead and wants to be resurrected in her life. We have been talking for quite a long time and I believe that both of us parted strengthened by the presence of Jesus Christ. The meeting was not accidental. It was caused by the Divine Providence which never leaves us. The fellow-brothers received me with joy. I celebrated the Holy Mass in which I enclosed the live of the earlier mentioned woman. In the evening I went to the second convent to visit Fr Sigmund Skrzydło. We were sitting in the recreational room and we were astonished by the barbarity in the streets of Santa Cruz shown in the evening news. Riots also started in other cities like Tarija, Trinidad and Cobija. I noticed that most of the participants of these clashes were young people. Their shouts showed that they support the autonomous movement and were in the government opposition.
Today, after the last referendum, Bolivia is divided into two blocks: one which supports the project of the new constitution and the second which is in favour of the autonomous government in five departments (especially in the southern part joined by the Sucre department). It is worth mentioning that the project of the new constitution is not supported by the majority of the Bolivian Parliament. It is favoured by the socialist party called here Movimento al Socializmo (MAS). This project has a positive side because it takes into consideration the ethnic groups (36 different ethnic groups) which have been treated badly for many years by local governments. Their culture and the area of their lives were enhanced but the matter of work and national insurance was focused on. However, this Constitution leaves many unanswered questions and ambiguities. The vague issues concern human life from the moment of conception to natural death; the role of parents in children's upbringing and Christian education at schools. The Bishops' Conference expressed their opinion in a special pastoral letter concerning the project of the new constitution. Unfortunately, our observations have not been taken into consideration. The second bloc which favours the autonomous movement also has good and bad sides. The good points are greater responsibility as far as governments are concerned, decentralization of the educational system, health service, social benefits, greater society participation in goods management. But the issue of big terrestrial estates and ethnic groups, as well as natural deposits at these terrains are unclear.
In this simplified way have I presented the problems of Bolivian people.
When I came back to the convent I noticed many young people at the church. They were Franciscan teenagers preparing "Transitius" commemorating the death of St Francis on October, 3rd. I came across the scene in which St Francis asks for inhuming him in bare ground so that he could bless the land of Assisi. And this provokes reflection. In Bolivia and all over the world there are young people fascinated by the example left by St Francis. These young people will not go in the streets to destroy, set fire or harm people but to bless the earth, and the fruits of the blessing will be a new blessing in the form of all good and peace (1P 3,8-9).
The bishops came to the meeting on the next day. We gathered to acquaint ourselves better with the situation in the country and to appeal to the people of good will to stop the violence and cruelty and enter the way of reconciliation. Let me quote one keynote from the letter which appeared on September 11th. Then it was already known that three people had died in a skirmish in the north of Bolivia. In the afternoon this number increased to nine. Today 14 people died and hundreds are injured. This situation forces us to deep reflection and action for peace grounded on social justice, on our faith in Jesus Christ who gave his own body to destroy our hatred for each other and united us as though we were one person (Eph 2,14-18).
I would like to tell you a story. A man wanted to hurt his friend. On the day of his birthday he sent him a parcel with a humiliating content: a wrapped chopping board with rubbish on it. The friend accepted the gift, opened it and, without saying a word, put it in the waste bin, washed the board and put fresh flowers on it. He wrapped it in a beautiful, golden paper and delivered it to his friend. Inside he put a postcard with the following message: "Everybody gives what they have". The Gospel of St Luke reminds us that good people do good things because of the good in their hearts and bad people do bad things because of the evil in theirs (Luke 6,43-45).
I would also like to quote one thought from our pastoral call: "In the name of God do we call you, brothers and sisters, to stop the violence among you. We call everybody to direct our steps towards the real good and reconciliation, as we are divine resemblance, redeemed by Jesus Christ. We encourage everybody to pray for Peace. Let Friday, the 19th September, be the day of Christians' prayers in the whole Bolivia. Let the Holy Mother, the Queen of Peace, intercede for us with her Son, the giver of real Life and Peace so that we could direct our steps to the road of reconciliation, common good, dignity and freedom".
Will we accept this invitation to common prayers? Let me return once again to my meeting with the suffering woman at the door of the St Francis church in Cochabamba. She opened her heart to me when she saw me praying. This woman may be the symbol of today's Bolivia which has suffered a lot for many years. The peace in Bolivia and all over the world is not only the result of changes of social structures but, most of all, is caused by changes of our hearts. The real Peace is born inside, it comes from human heart. And this transformation is the result of our meeting Christ at the prayer. How can we help Bolivia today? It is possible only through personal and social conversion to Jesus Christ who comes to us everyday so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest (John 10,10). The woman whose name is Bolivia will find praying people, capable of listening, asking and sympathizing with those who suffer.
Thank you, Dear Fellow-brothers and Benefactors of the Missions for accompanying us with your prayers and offerings so that we would be able to stick to Jesus Christ and make an effort to meet those who suffer in Bolivia today and lead them to Christ, the Source of Peace and Justice. I send best regards, also in the name of my Fellow-brothers working here in Bolivia.
God bless you.
Your fellow-brother, Bp Anthony Boniface Reimann, OFM
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