Morales calls Pope Francis’ teachings ‘socialist’

Since his election in 2013, the first pope from Latin America has often spoken out in defense of the poor and against unbridled capitalism but the speech in this Bolivian city was the most comprehensive to date on the issues he has championed.

The Pope’s approach seems to have earned him at least one prominent fan. Pope Francis was scheduled to visit the prison July 10. He also held children in his arms, and kissed them, too.

Some leaders “continually scold others … tell them to be quiet”, he said.

“The man standing before you is a man who has experienced forgiveness”.

“That is who I am”.

Each reaction was expanded on the by the pope, who said the story “is still very current”.

“You are social poets: creators of work, builders of housing, producers of food, above all for people left behind by the world market”, he told a crowd of Bolivian indigenous workers, farmers, and social activists. An estimated 30 percent of the inmates are accused of rape. He visited Ecuador July 5-8 and will spend a few days in Bolivia before heading to Paraguay on July 10 to finish his visit. The prison houses 500 female inmates, many of whom are detained on drug charges. Some are as young as six.

Papal well-wishers lined a muddy road to the prison, where families of the inmates say they have to pay for everything on the inside – including food and places to sleep. He has met with prisoners to offer them encouragement, and as pope continued to call a group of Argentine inmates he ministered to when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires.

Paraguay’s economy has grown at a steady clip in recent years because of energy exports and soy prices but the Church and the opposition say more resources should be used to help those on the margins of society.

Nuns participate in entertainment before Pope Francis’ arrival for a meeting with priests, religious men and women, and seminarians in the Don Bosco school in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, July 9. Pope Francis on Thursday urged the downtrodden to change the world economic order, denouncing a “new colonialism” by agencies that impose austerity programs and calling for the poor to have the “sacred rights” of labor, lodging and land.

Pope Francis urged prisoners to shun rivalry and seek “genuine fraternity”.

Bolivia’s president also said Friday he thinks that what Pope Francis preaches amounts to socialism.

According to Nicole Winfield of the Associated Press, the pope asked for forgiveness for what happened against the native peoples of Latin America during colonial times.

Most of Palmasola’s inmates have not been convicted of any crime. She said Bolivia’s criminal justice system is based on lies, deceit and abuse of power. Without money, though, life is tough, and many prisoners sleep on the floor.

The Guardian reports: “The gift from the leftwing leader [Evo Morales] caused an immediate stir among conservative Catholics who said the pontiff was being manipulated for ideological reasons”.

“To pass by without hearing the pain of our people, without sinking roots into their lives and into their world is like listening to the word of God without letting it take root and bear fruit in our hearts”, he said. Benedict XVI drew heated criticism when, during a 2007 visit to Brazil, he defended the church’s campaign to Christianize indigenous peoples.

“We were proud to provide one of our restaurants. Whenever they do so, we see the rise of new forms of colonialism which seriously prejudice the possibility of peace and justice”, he said.

And in a historic gesture of reconciliation, he asked Bolivia’s mostly indigenous population for forgiveness from crimes committed centuries ago in the name of the Catholic Church.