Pope Francis stays calm after receiving shocking, outrageous gift from Bolivia president
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During Pope Francis' short trip in Bolivia, President Evo Morales gave him a crucifix of Jesus, nailed in the symbol of communism: hammer and sickle. The Pontiff maintained a neutral and diplomatic approach as he was handed the gift, which is a significant item in the Bolivian Christianity amid the political inclinations. Yet, most people saw that crucifix as politically-charged, with Daily Mail describing it as "unusual at best, blasphemous at worse."
Highlights
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)
7/13/2015 (1 decade ago)
Published in Americas
Keywords: Pope Francis, Bolivia, Visit, Evo Morales, Gift, Secular, Crucifix, Communist Symbol, Rev. Luis Espinal
MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - President Morales is known to be very critical of the Catholic Church, but greeted Pope Francis warmly as he arrived in the capital La Paz. His gift to the church leader was allegedly very much political, as Catholic Bolivia is trying to separate the Church from the state.
As soon as Morales came into office in 2006, the first indigenous person to do so, he took many anti-clerical activities, including the new constitution proposing that the country be secular. He removed the Bible and the crucifix from the presidential palace, while the former Catholic rites practiced were exchanged for Andean religious rituals during the official state ceremonies.
However, the gift's significance is traced to something identical to one Rev. Luis Espinal had in his possession. Rev. Espinal is known as the brave Jesuit priest who fought against the military regime, which ultimately led to his death in 1980. He was kidnapped and tortured by the right-wing regime of Bolivia, then his body was dumped on a La Paz highway. The Pontiff made sure his motorcade would stop there in Rev. Espinal's honor.
"Remember one of our brothers, a victim of interests that didn't want him to fight for Bolivia's freedom. Father Espinal preached the Gospel, the Gospel that bothered them, and because of this they got rid of him," he told the crowd as the Pope Mobile halted. The trip was short due to the worry that the Pope would get sick from high altitude with only one lung fully functioning.
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