La Paz, Bolivia, Jun 13, 2005 / 22:00 pm
The Archbishop of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, Cardinal Julio Terrazas Sandoval, exhorted Bolivians this week to tear down “the walls of separation” that prevent them from building an authentic peace, but he added that justice, which is one of its requirements, is not achieved by only “repeating nice words.”
During Sunday Mass, the cardinal recalled the difficult moments facing Bolivia and noted that unless “we put God at the center of our lives,” the country cannot move forward and rebuild.
He warned that with the ascension to power of a new president, the work of peace in the country is still yet to be completed, as the problems facing Bolivia “require more profound work that will lead to true reconciliation.”
Only by building “bridges of unity,” the cardinal continued, will Bolivians be able to truly live as “the people of God” and not as “islands separated by towering walls that prevent us from seeing each other and knowing each other as brothers and sisters.” He also thanked those who have been praying for Bolivia, especially the Bishops of Chile, and he invited the faithful to pray for their neighboring country.