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4 Thursday, May 26, 1988 Courier-Journal UPt-Rautor/NC Nam Pope John Paul II is greeted by Trinitario Indians, one bedecked in a feather headdress, during a May 14 visit to Trinidad, Bolivia, one of the centers of South American cocaine trafficking. The pontiff compared the illegal drug trade to slavery. Pope preaches liberation from injustice By Agostino Bono Asuncion, Paraguay (NO— Almost 500 years after missionaries brought Christianity to Latin America, Pope John Paul II cut a path through four countries preaching Christian values and \liberation from sin and the in- justices that accompany it!' His ninth trip to the region, which encom- passes 41 percent of the world's Catholic popu- lation, was a call for Latin Americans to unite behind their Christian values to surmount ma- terial and spiritual problems. \Resist the temptation of those who want you to forget your inalienable right to be Chris- tian,\ the pope said. His trip-took him to Uru- guay, Bolivia, Peru and Paraguay, in the heart of South America. During his May 7-18 stay the pope strongly sided with Latin American countries in their struggles with the developed world and extend- ed this to include sympathy for the entire Third World, which he called the world's hope and future. The pope warned Third World countries to avoid the pitfalls of liberal capitalism and Marxism, but he spent most of his time criticiz- ing capitalism—the historically dominant eco- nomic factor in Latin America. He always added, however, that criticism is not enough. Latin Americans must control their destiny, uniting in power blocs as a way of challenging the developed world, he said. Pope John Paul also rejected accusations that Christianity is. responsible for many of Latin America's socio-economic, cultural and political problems, because it went hand in hand with the Spanish conquerors as they re- pressed peoples and cultures in establishing the basis of contemporary Latin American life. Instead, he scaled Andean peaks and strode across tropical lowlands preaching that Chris- tian missionaries came to evangelize, not col- onize the region's native populations and cultures. \Those missionaries and their assistants brought you the possibilities of bettering your life!' he said. The pope said the missionaries created In- dian alphabets, taught farming to nomads, in- troduced literacy programs, developed artistic talents and helped protect Indians from abuses by European masters. At the same time, he reaffirmed that Indi- ans who become Christians must change their traditions that conflict with Church teachings, and specifically criticized Andean forms of marriage. Criticisms of the Church's missionary efforts come from people co-opted by the \close materialisms\ of liberal capitalism and Marxist collectivism, he said, noting that liberal capital- ism is of an 'individualistic cut\ that does not \overcome the unjust distribution of riches\ and sees accumulation of earthly goods as man's goal. Conversely, Marxism negates the spiritual vocation of peoples, the pope said. Christianity, however, offers \the values of personal dignity and fraternal solidarity!' he added. Through a strong sacramental life, Latin Americans can build on these values to find solutions to their contemporary social (problems, he said. Regarding the huge foreign debts that hob- 0C10UK W-1SH Acclaimed as Rochester's finest four island tour. Fully escorted from Rochester and featuring our EXCLUSIVE man in Hawaii, Mr. Ed Kahale. Convenient Weekend Departure Operated by DiMaria Travel ONLY! For information or reservations call 271-0100 D0NT DELAY - LIMITED GROUP SIZE ni*»»fll' otr»««i«c*; •=.».! •> *. ble the development efforts of most Latin American countries, the pope asked for a re- structuring of loan conditions. But he also criticized Latin American countries for not carefully examining loan terms before getting involved in the foreign loan system. For the fu- ture he advised them to examine \your true pri- orities, what is the financial and human cost of the loan!' Also considered should be 'the direct and indirect consequences of a delay or stopping of payments',' he said. \Otherwise the mechan- isms of credits and loans can become a bur- den and an unsupportable weight.\ The pope was equally strong in warning Lat- in America not to seek solutions in Marxism. Liberal capitalism is the problem in Latin America, while elsewhere problems \appear as oppressive forms inspired by Marxist collec- tivism!' he said. Both \have their origin in ideologies of dom- inant cultures and are incompatible with your faith!' the pope added. Furthermore, the pope warned Latin Ameri- cans against political polarizations between right and left. \The solution to overcoming this right-left division must be found here in your human, social and Christian realities!' he said. The Church must act as a meeting place for reconciling political conflicts, he said, and must purge \erroneous forms of liberation the- ology\ that use the Marxist concept of class struggle and the violence this produces as a linchpin for social change. The pope called for a \new evangelization\ geared to contemporary Latin American real- ities, and said bishops should develop ap- propriate pastoral plans for such a program. These pastoral plans should resolve social problems and such spiritual problems as the lack of participation in the sacraments and the proliferation of fundamentalist sects, he said. The pope observed that sects are \sowing confusion among the people\ and diluting the Gospel. Catholics must shore up their faith so that they can defend themselves against evan- gelization by the sects, he added. \These sects, of a fundamentalist cut, are diluting the coherence and the unity of the evangelical message!' the pope said. Bishops, he added, must train their people to \act like faithful children of the Church in which they were baptized\ Many, he said, have \received baptism, but live on the margins of all Chris- tian life.\ Pope John Paul II pointed to 1992, the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in Latin America, as a rallying point for this new evangelization. Capsules First lady denies quote Washington (NC) — Through her press secretary, Elaine Crispen, first lady Nancy Reagan has denied former White House chief of Staff Donald T. Regan's allegation that she ever said, \I don't give a damn about the right-to-lifers\ Regan had attributed the quote to the first lady in his memoirs, For the Record- From Wall Street to Washington. In the book, Regan says that during a Janu- ary, 24, 1987, telephone conversation with him, Mrs. Reagan demanded that all men- tion of abortion be removed from the draft of the president's 1987 State of the Union message. Signature drive fails Sacramento, Calif. (NC) — Proponents of a measure to legalize physician-assisted sui- cide for the terminally ill fell 100,000 signa- tures short of the 372,128 needed to put the proposal on the state's November ballot. The measure would have allowed physicians to le- gally administer to a qualified patient a dose of prescription medication sufficient to in- duce immediate death. The campaign was spearheaded by Americans Against Human Suffering, the political arm of .the national Hemlock Society, and was opposed by the California Catholic Conference. Court upholds ruling Turin, Italy (NC) — According to reports in a Turin newspaper, Italy's Constitutional Court has upheld a ruling that officials of the Vatican bank are immune from prosecu- tion for their alleged role in an Italian bank- ing scandal. The newspaper La Stampa reported May 16 that the court decided that Italy's Court of Cassation was correct last year when it decided that U.S. Archbishop Paul Marcinkus and other Vatican bank offi- cials could not be tried in the Banco Ambro- siano case. Parents protest sex book Detroit (NC) — A group of parents in the Archdiocese of Detroit has mounted a me- dia blitz against the \New Creation\ sex- education series used in seven archdiocesan parishes. Concerned Catholic Parents, claim- ing 100 members, has spent $10,000. on bill- boards and newspaper advertisements against the books, and is asking people not to con- tribute to the archdiocese's annual fund drive in a protest against the series. Despite prob- lems in earlier versions of the book, the re- vised edition of \New Creation\ is in line with Church teachings, according to Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Moses B. Anderson. Priest, brother indicted New York (NC) — The priest-chaplain of a Marist-run boys' school and the Marist brother who was acting as the school's prin- cipal have been indicted on charges of sexu- ally molesting boys at the school, Mount St. Michael Academy in the Bronx. Following the May 13 indictments, the New York chap- ter of Dignity issued a statement defending the Irish priest, African Mission Father Bernard Lynch, who is chaplain for their organiza- tion. Dignity said it trusts in Father Lynch's innocence, and characterized the allegations as a \witch hunt!' The alleged abuse was reported by members of the school's staff. Pope opens homeless shelter Vatican City (NC) — Pope John Paul II officially opened a new Vatican shelter for the homeless people who live, in the shadow of St. Peter's Basilica. The shelter will be a \house of welcome for the most poor, here within the wall of that city which is the cen- ter of the Church!' the pope said: The cor- nerstone of the 80-bed hostel, a special project of the pope's, was laid less than a year ago. The facility will be staffed by the Mis- sionary-Sisters of Charity, whose, founder, Mother Teresa, attended tfte^ay 21 dedica- tion ceremony. '-+' A*J+.V**f-i*^.*-t.-'-W J „»,o tt * * J-» *»••»*«>•••
