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🇧🇴 Bolivia /Culture & Society

“Let us become builders of dialogue,” Bishop Gualberti urges

From El Deber · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Bishop Sergio Gualberti said the Church is not engaging in partisan politics but bringing the Gospel into public life.
  • In his homily, he urged Catholics to promote dialogue, harmony and peace, beginning in their own homes.
  • He cited the Church's role in mediating recent social and armed conflicts and called it a conscience for society.

“Let us all become builders of dialogue, harmony and peace.” That was the appeal from Bishop Sergio Gualberti during his Sunday homily at the Basilica Menor de San Lorenzo.

Gualberti addressed the question of whether the Church should speak about politics with a firm distinction. “The Church is not doing politics. The Church is making the Gospel present,” he said. He recalled the role the Church had played in recent social and armed conflicts to help restore peace, then called on Catholic faithful to take responsibility for building a more peaceful society.

The Church is not doing politics. The Church is making the Gospel present.

· Sergio GualbertiThe bishop distinguished the Church's public mission from partisan politics.

The bishop began with the Gospel reading for the first Sunday of September and asked worshippers to examine their own conduct: “Are we people who unite, or are we people who divide?” He emphasized the Christian duty to be “witnesses of people who live Christ’s commandment of love.”

Let us all become builders of dialogue, harmony and peace.

· Sergio GualbertiHe urged Catholics to promote peace through their everyday responsibilities.

He said the Church also has a prophetic mission in society, acting as a sentinel that warns against anything opposed to the rule of God and human life. To explain that role, he recalled a phrase attributed to Martin Luther King: “The Church is neither the owner nor the servant of the State, but its conscience.”

Gualberti said the Church in Bolivia had repeatedly tried, with humility, love and fraternity, to act as a conscience during national and global crises. He referred to Pope Leo's calls over the wars in the Holy Land and between Russia and Ukraine, as well as appeals from Bolivia's bishops during a 53-day strike. Those appeals, he said, urged dialogue and an end to measures that created tension and problems.

Are we people who unite, or are we people who divide?

· Sergio GualbertiHe posed the question during a reflection on the Sunday Gospel.

The bishop presented the Church's mediation and intervention as a call for Catholics to participate in building society, each according to their responsibilities and within the areas where they can act, starting at home.

The Church is neither the owner nor the servant of the State, but its conscience.

· Martin Luther King, quoted by Sergio GualbertiGualberti used the phrase to describe the Church's role in society.
About this summary

Originally published by El Deber in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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