Salta, Argentina, Feb 6, 2020 / 14:27 pm
The head of an indigenous ministry team in Argentina has called on Catholics not to be indifferent to the plight of suffering indigenous people, but to make an effort at outreach, encounter, and prayer.
"The indigenous reality is alien and distant, especially for those who live in the big cities, due to the great diversity and expanse of the national territory," said Deacon Eduardo Bertea, a member of the indigenous pastoral team for the Diocese of Orán in Salta, Argentina.
Bertea spoke to ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish language news partner, after local media outlet Infobae reported last week the deaths of six children from the Wichí ethnic community due to poverty and malnutrition. The Wichí are an indigenous group in the Salta province in the country's north.
Responding to the news, Salta governor Gustavo Adolfo Ruberto Sáenz declared a "social and health emergency" for six months, to prioritize initiatives in the areas of comprehensive health, identifying emergency cases, and undertaking actions to reverse this situation, according to local reports.