The 35th National Assembly of the Franciscan Movement of Justice and Peace was held at San José de Tarata Convent, near the city of Cochabamba. The Meeting brought together 52 people from the JPIC departments of La Paz, Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, Sucre, Oruro, Trinidad, Potosí and Tarija. The theme of the Meeting was “Faith and Politics,” given the upcoming presidential elections that will take place in Bolivia this October.
During the first day of the Meeting, the participants gave accounts of activities of the JPIC departments highlighting the national projects of “educations for children and young promoters of justice and peace,” “Faith and Politics,” “promotion of the integral ecology” and “the message of Laudato si’.”
During the second day, Dr. Ronald del Barco intervened, a master in political science and a professor at the Universidad Mayor de San Simón. His presentation helped the participants to understand the bases of the policy at a general level and also gave some light on the current policy in the country. I had the opportunity to share with the audience the ecclesial and Franciscan perspective of Politics in the afternoon, encouraging them to take an interest in it and participate in it to become aware that we cannot remain indifferent, which means the awareness that is required to our indifference to this social phenomenon.
Besides, the participants had the opportunity to work with the recent JPIC International Council document “Jerusalem Statement.” All the points of the ICJPIC were reviewed, including the lines of action proposed by PCO 2018. The JPIC departmental groups began to work identifying the lines of action that are already present in their projects as well as those that will be prioritized for the coming years.
Br. Jaime Campos F., OFM
JPIC Office, General Curia – Rome