RELIGIOUS FERVOR Pope Francis rides in his popemobile to a stadium in Asuncion, Paraguay, to address religious pilgrims on Saturday. Francis lauded the strength and religious fervor of Paraguayan women while visiting the country’s most important pilgrimage site. AP
ASUNCION, Paraguay—Pope Francis decried the scourge of corruption as the “gangrene of a people” on Saturday in Paraguay, one of the poorest countries in South America and where graft is rampant.
The 78-year-old Pope—in Paraguay on the last stop of a three-nation tour of South America—also railed against ideologies and hammered home the central theme of his trip to his home continent: Equality.
Speaking to an enchanted crowd of 5,000 at a small stadium in the capital Asuncion, Francis drifted away from his scripted remarks, saying that “ideologies end badly, they do not work, they do not take into account the people.”
“Look what happened with ideologies in the last century … they ended in dictatorships, always,” he added, applause ringing out in response during the gathering attended by Paraguayan President Horacio Cortes.
In a question-and-answer session, he denounced corruption, which plagues several countries in South America. But perhaps to avoid offending his hosts, he stressed that it was a recurring problem “among all peoples of the world.”
As he had done on previous stops during his trip, first in Ecuador, and then Bolivia, Francis called for an end to poverty—also endemic in the region—and lamented today’s consumer society.
“Putting bread on the table, putting a roof over the heads of one’s children, giving them health and an education—these are essential for human dignity, and businessmen and women, politicians, economists, must feel challenged in this regard,” Francis told the gathering of business leaders, politicians, labor union leaders and other civil society groups.
Wealth creation should not be “only for the benefit of a few,” he said to more acclaim, and must be extended to “each citizen, without exclusion.” He urged political leaders not to “sacrifice human lives on the altar of money and profit.”
“In economics, in business and in politics, what counts first and foremost is the human person and the environment in which he or she lives,” he said.
Gay rights
In a rare occurrence, the leader of a gay rights group took part in the gathering at the invitation of local Catholic bishops.
“I left with the impression that the Pope really wants to change things,” Simon Cazal, director of SomosGay (We Are Gay), told Reuters after the meeting.
The Catholic Church teaches that homosexual tendencies are not sinful but homosexual acts are. Catholic gays have contested the Church’s ban on homosexual activity, saying it deprives them of the intimacy that is part of a loving relationship.
Saturday was believed to be the first time a gay rights activist was known to have been invited to attend an event during a papal trip. One theme of a major meeting of Catholic bishops at the Vatican in October will be how the Church can reach out to homosexual Catholics.
‘Glorious women’
Earlier in the day, while celebrating Mass on Saturday in Caacupe, Francis lauded the strength and religious fervor of Paraguayan women while visiting the country’s most important pilgrimage site.
“Being here with you makes me feel at home,” Francis said in his homily. He then spoke affectionately about the women of this tiny, poor and land-locked nation, praising them for rebuilding the country after a devastating war in the 1860s.
Paraguay was left reeling during the so-called War of the Triple Alliance against Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay fought from 1865 to 1870, with a large majority of its male population killed.
“Then and now, you found the strength not to let this land lose its bearings,” he said to wild cheers from the crowd. “God bless your perseverance. God bless and encourage your faith. God bless the women of Paraguay, the most glorious women of America.”
Thousands of people packed the main square and nearby streets in Caacupe, about 64 kilometers east of Asuncion. The pilgrimage site is not far from the border with the Pope’s native Argentina.
“It’s wonderful that the Pope really knows us,” said Raquel Amarilla, 39, who cried throughout the Mass and was accompanied by her 13-year-old daughter. “We are the ones in church every Sunday. We pray every day, much more than men.”
Affection for Mary
The gathering at the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Caacupe was evidence of Francis’ special affection for the revered image of the Virgin Mary. He declared the simple church, which houses a little wooden statue of the virgin, the world’s newest basilica.
When he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio frequently visited the Villa 21 slum where many Paraguayan immigrants live, joining them in their religious processions and celebrating baptisms at their church, Our Lady of Miracles of Caacupe.
In a deeply symbolic nod to the region’s indigenous people, Francis led the faithful in “The Lord’s Prayer” in Guarani, the language of the country’s indigenous people, spoken by
80 percent of the population.
His arms outstretched at the altar, Francis read along as the crowd intoned the prayer.
The vast crowds played guitar, shook maracas and sipped gourds of mate—the herbal drink beloved by many in the region.
Francis was apparently so moved by their singing that he was late to emerge from the basilica to say Mass, but the Vatican spokesperson, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, later dismissed any notion that the Pope was unwell.
“As you can see for yourselves, the Pontiff is fine, everything is OK,” Lombardi said.
Meeting with Argentines
Thousands of Argentines traveled across the border by bus—some on journeys lasting 50 hours—to welcome the Pope in a homecoming of sorts.
“The Pope has inexplicable powers of attraction, almost like a lover,” Graciela Sosa said, adding she had barely slept all night so she could get a prime viewing spot.
Francis also met with several family members and close friends who also came in from neighboring Argentina to see him.
At a children’s hospital in Asuncion, the Pope said: “We need to learn from your ability to fight, from your strength, from your remarkable endurance.”
He also made a quick surprise visit to a clinic for the terminally ill.
Visit to slum
Francis has spent much of the past week—and before that much of his pontificate—railing about the injustices of the global capitalist system that he says idolizes money over people, demanding instead a new economic model where the Earth’s resources are distributed equally among all.
On Sunday, the Pope will put into practice his insistence that the world’s poor not be left on the margins of society by visiting a slum outside Asuncion on the final day of his three-country South American tour.
In Banado Norte, Francis will see people living in shacks made of plywood and corrugated metal, and quite possibly pigs rummaging through garbage searching for leftovers.
Authorities estimate that about 15,000 families there live in extreme poverty, periodically exacerbated when heavy rains burst the banks of the nearby Paraguay River, turning dirt roads to impassable pools of mud.
For weeks, residents in the area and authorities have been preparing for the visit, doing everything from draining some of the roads to making rosaries to give the Pope as gifts.
Offer of solidarity
But Francis is expected to offer them his solidarity and encouragement, after having urged their leaders to do more to take their plight into account in making decisions about development and social welfare.
After touring Banado Norte, Francis will celebrate an open-air Mass to be attended by Argentine President Cristina Kirchner in a tropical field outside Asuncion. He will then meet with young people before returning to Rome.
Cuba in September
After visiting Ecuador and Bolivia, Francis arrived on Friday in Paraguay, where 90 percent of the population is Catholic, to begin the final leg of his eight-day tour.
Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay are predominantly Catholic and have been marked by a long history of poverty and inequality, especially afflicting indigenous populations.
The Pope will return to Latin America in September, when he travels to Cuba before heading to the United States.
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