San Juan Bautista highlights the legacy of Bishop Bogarín

The legacy of Bishop Ramón Pastor Bogarín Argaña remains relevant because of his emphasis on community participation, social justice and the organization of rural communities, researcher Luis Armando Galeano Romero said at a conference in San Juan Bautista.

The event marked the 50th anniversary of Bogarín’s death. He was the first bishop of the Diocese of San Juan Bautista de las Misiones, which covers the departments of Misiones and Ñeembucú. Bogarín was also elected president of the Paraguayan Episcopal Conference in 1969.

Galeano reviewed the bishop’s main pastoral and social contributions, recalling his belief that people and communities should participate in social, cultural, economic and educational life. “Bishop Bogarín gave central importance to the participation of people and communities in the social, cultural, economic and educational spheres. He believed that this participation should shape people’s destinies and promote a permanent process of transformation and change,” Galeano said.

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Bishop Bogarín gave central importance to the participation of people and communities in the social, cultural, economic and educational spheres. He believed that this participation should shape people’s destinies and promote a permanent process of transformation and change

A central part of the conference focused on Bogarín’s support for the Christian Agrarian Leagues. Galeano described the movement as one of the most important and consistent experiences of peasant organization in Paraguayan history. Its communities made decisions through participation and included rural women in community life and in defending their rights.

Galeano said Bogarín promoted a Church close to ordinary people. His approach encouraged rural communities to organize and take the lead in transforming their own circumstances. He also recalled meeting the bishop during the early years of Bogarín’s episcopate and said the conference aimed to recover both his ideas and the actions he promoted in Misiones and Ñeembucú.

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The Agrarian Leagues constituted one of the most consistent peasant movements in all of Paraguayan history because they were grounded in organized, dynamic and participatory communities