June 3, 2005

BOLIVIA – The inclusion of Bolivia's "indigenous peoples in social and political life" is one of the requisite steps "for the construction of meaningful and true democracy" in the country, the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia affirmed in a letter to the churches of Bolivia today, 3 June.

Referring to the ecumenical pastoral letter "Come to a common agreement," sent this week by the Catholic archbishop of La Paz together with the presidents and bishops of eleven Bolivian protestant and pentecostal churches, Kobia expressed "his pain at the suffering of the Bolivian people" but also his "joy at the confirmation that the churches have united to speak with a prophetic voice at this difficult time."

Kobia recalled the biblical mandate to "work for an inclusive society in which the most vulnerable and marginalised people, in biblical language the poor, deserve special attention." And, in conjunction with the message from the Bolivian Christian leaders, he emphasized that "the criteria which must guide future actions" must be "the defense of life in all its manifestations."

World Council of Churches