Paraguay: Pope Francis praises ‘most glorious women of America’

Later Saturday, the pope spoke to grass-roots organizations, continuing his message of inclusiveness and heeding the call of the poor. Cazal is legally married to an Argentine, Sergio Lopez, though their union isn’t recognized in Paraguay. He told the British newspaper the Guardian that he hoped the invitation would make Paraguayans more tolerant.

Pope Francis opposes gay marriage in line with church teaching, which says marriage is a union between a man and a woman. He has met with prisoners to offer them encouragement, and as pope continued to check in on a group of Argentine inmates he ministered to when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires. That event will bring to a close the pontiff’s eight-day tour of Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay.

“A more humane society is possible”, the Pope said, pointing to the experience of the Jesuit reductions.

“I immediately felt so much better that we didn’t go to the appointment”, she said.

He also made a quick surprise visit to a clinic for the terminally ill.

People wave to Pope Francis as he arrives to the Metropolitan Cathedral for evening prayers in Asuncion, Paraguay, Saturday, July 11, 2015. Their numbers are disputed.

While celebrating Mass on Saturday in Caacupe, Francis lauded the strength and religious fervor of Paraguayan women while visiting the country’s most important pilgrimage site.

The Catholic Church teaches that homosexual tendencies are not sinful but homosexual acts are. There are four major basilicas in Rome, and more than 1,600 minor basilicas throughout the world.

Beginning in the 1500s, Spanish conquerors, with the blessing of the Church, subjugated and enslaved indigenous peoples in the Americas, annihilating native cultures and forcing their conversion to Christianity. More than a fifth of all Paraguayans live in poverty.

In fact, the pope has displayed impressive energy at all his public events in South America, despite a busy schedule.

“I would like especially to mention you, the women, wives and mothers of Paraguay, who at great cost and sacrifice were able to lift up a country defeated, devastated and laid low by war”, he said.

“Then and now, you found the strength not to let this land lose its bearings”. “God bless your perseverance”.

“You are keepers of the memory, the lifeblood of those who rebuilt the life, faith and dignity of your people“.

Francis has sought to encourage the poorest and most marginal during his three-nation trip, and his stop in Paraguay will showcase life in the country’s flood-prone shantytowns alongside the simple popular faith of its people.

Among the Argentines who came to Paraguay to see their fellow countryman Pope Francis was 50-year-old Jose Demetrio Barrionuevo.

Barrionuevo said pride over Pope Francis is not just a matter of sharing a common homeland. “We are also proud of his humility, that he prefers to be with the poor and not the rich”. Elderly Paraguayans periodically kneeled on the cement to pray. While in Paraguay, Francis will celebrate two Masses, including one in Caacupe…

Standing on the corner of the plaza of the shrine of the Virgin of Caacupe was Santa Cristina Rodriguez.

Progress requires creating culture of encounter, he said, and that comes only from recognising that all people are children of God and, therefore, brothers and sisters to one another.

“This moved me very deeply”, said Gonzalez, 40, a social worker.

She said Paraguayans are hard-working, but there are no jobs. “Faith unites borders. And we wanted to unite the virgins”, she said of the Caacupe and Lujan virgins. Said Mesa: “By the grace of God, she survived and is now a healthy young girl”.

The gathering at the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Caacupe was evidence of Francis’ special affection for the revered image of the Virgin Mary.

Francis decided to skip Argentina on his South American pilgrimage, not wanting to get involved in the country’s upcoming presidential election.

Argentina’s blue and white national colors were ubiquitous at Caacupe on Saturday.

However, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi is quoted by the Guardian as saying that the pope “is more likely to have uttered “eso no saba bien’ (‘I didn’t know that’) in bemusement at the origins of the present””. While in Paraguay, Francis wil… His arms outstretched at the altar, Francis read along as the crowd intoned the prayer.