Each statue is progressively degraded and broken, and less recognizable as a man. On the top step, there simply stands a pair of damaged feet: humanism has triumphed; humanity has been destroyed.
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.
Pope Francis decried what he called a genocide against Christians in the Middle East while speaking in Bolivia on Thursday. But he said Francis’ apology was particularly poignant given the setting.