Pope Francis to Embrace Indigenous Customs in Mexico
Pope Francis to embrace indigenous customs on Mexico visit
Pontiff tells leaders to make country a land “where you don’t have to emigrate to dream”
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PABLO ORDAZ
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On the third day of his historic trip to Mexico, Pope Francis is scheduled to embrace the country’s indigenous minorities on a visit to one of its poorest states, Chiapas, where he will celebrate Mass according to local customs.
Monday’s visit to the cathedral in San Cristóbal de las Casas will be one of the highlights of the pope’s five-day Mexican tour. Francis is expected to visit the tomb of the late Bishop Samuel Ruiz (1924-2011), who once angered the Vatican by celebrating Mass according to local customs and in indigenous languages.
Thousands are expected to attend the pope’s Mass at a local sports arena. Afterward he will lunch with local bishops and representatives of Chiapas’ indigenous communities.
His visit to Ruiz’s tomb, a leftist bishop who demanded better treatment for Mexico’s poor indigenous peoples, is seen as an apology by the Catholic Church for its actions during the Spanish conquest of Latin America.
“Help make this blessed land of Mexico a land of opportunities, where there will be no need to emigrate in order to dream”
According to the Vatican, the pope will present a decree officially authorizing local Church officials to celebrate Masses in the different indigenous languages spoken in Chiapas: Tzeltal, Tzotzil and Chol.
Since the 1990s, Chiapas has been a hot-spot of leftist activity in Mexico. It was here in 1994 that Subcomandante Marcos and his Zapatista rebels organized an uprising to demand greater indigenous rights and better treatment.
During an open-air Mass held on Sunday in Ecatepec, one of Mexico City’s poorest and most dangerous suburbs, the pope asked political leaders to make Mexico a land of opportunity “where there will be no need to emigrate in order to dream.”
Jorge Mario Bergoglio also repeated his previous day’s condemnations of corruption and the “traffickers of death.”
“Help make this blessed land of Mexico a land of opportunities, where there will be no need to emigrate in order to dream, no need to be exploited in order to work,” the pontiff said.
“He told the bishops exactly what we think of them – that they need to leave their churches and come help us”
English version by Martin Delfín.
Taken from El Pais de Espana Newspaper
