In a message to Colombia's bishops, Pope Benedict said government
leaders should not manipulate or exploit indigenous people in the
country but rather protect the communities and their land.
The Pope sent his message on the occasion of the National Meeting of
Indigenous Priests, Religious and Catechists that took place last week
in Colombia.
“I implore the Almighty that above all the sacred nature of their lives
be protected,” the Pope wrote. “That their existence never be limited,
for God does not desire the death of anyone and orders us to fraternally
love one another.”
The meeting in Colombia coincided with the commemoration of the 100th
anniversary of Pope St. Pius X’s encyclical “Lacrimabili statu indorum.”
“The present-day situation is providential so that, with purity of
intention and configured to Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth and the
Life for all mankind, the desire among pastors and the faithful to
safeguard the dignity and the rights of indigenous peoples will
increase, and these latter will in turn be more willing to carry out
their duties, in harmony with the ancestral traditions,” Pope Benedict
added.
He also noted that St. Pius X's encyclical “pointed to the need to more
diligently work for the evangelization of indigenous peoples and for
the constant promotion of their dignity and progress.”