Pope takes message of inclusion to Bolivia

I am happy to be in this country of singular beauty.

Pope Francis

LA PAZ: Pope Francis greeted Bolivians with a message of inclusion, a central theme of his three-nation tour to his home continent, as he arrived in South America’s poorest nation.

Landing in La Paz early in the evening, thousands of faithful – many of whom had spent a chilly night outdoors waiting for him – welcomed the pope as choirs sang in the indigenous Aymara language.

He was met by Evo Morales, a champion of Latin America’s radical left and Bolivia’s first indigenous president.

Francis’ trip to Bolivia follows a four-day visit to Ecuador, where he celebrated two massive outdoor masses and pleaded for “dialogue” in a country rocked by anti-government protests. Today he will travel to Paraguay.

The pope, the first from South America, arrived in the thin air of Bolivia’s El Alto airport, at more than 4,000m above sea level.

Concerned authorities had extra oxygen tanks on hand for the Argentine-born pope, who lost a lung during his youth.

Morales’ government said that Francis was expected to chew coca leaves to mitigate the ill effects of high altitude – a common practice in the country, where the leaf is an important part of life despite its other, illicit use to produce cocaine.

Francis welcomed the “important steps” Morales’ government had made “to include wide sectors in the country’s economic, social and political life”.

“I am happy to be in this country of singular beauty,” said the 78-yearold leader of the Roman Catholic Church, who visited the Andean nation at least twice in his youth.

“This is a land blessed by its people, with its cultural reality and diverse ethnicity, which make for a great richness and create a permanent call for mutual respect and dialogue,” he said, appealing for participation by all, “without excluding or rejecting anyone,” a central theme of his tour. — AFP