Pope denounces exploitation of Mexico's indigenous people

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Pope denounces exploitation of Mexico's indigenous people
Feb 15, 4:09 PM EST
By NICOLE WINFIELD and SONIA PEREZ D.
Associated Press

SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico (AP) -- Pope Francis denounced the centuries-old exploitation and social exclusion of Mexico's Indians on Monday, saying the world should instead ask their forgiveness and learn from their culture and appreciation of nature.

Francis celebrated the Indians during a visit to the southern state of Chiapas, a center of indigenous culture. He presided over a Mass in three native languages in a service that also featured a traditional dance of prayer and a celebration of married deacons in Chiapas, whose role has been revived under his papacy.

In his homily, history's first Latin American pope melded two of his core concerns: appreciation for indigenous cultures and the need to care for the environment.

"We can no longer remain silent before one of the greatest environmental crises in world history," he told the crowd of several thousand indigenous people, some in traditional dress, who gathered under clear blue skies at a sports complex in the mountain city of San Cristobal de las Casas.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_POPE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-02-15-16-09-34

[Judi Lynn]

1. In a Mass in Chiapas, Pope Francis denounces the exclusion of Mexico's native peoples

In a Mass in Chiapas, Pope Francis denounces the exclusion of Mexico's native peoples

By Patrick J. McDonnell and Tracy Wilkinson•Contact Reporters

February 15, 2016, 1:52 PM |Reporting from SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico

In a Mass sprinkled with indigenous languages and customs, Pope Francis on Monday gave recognition to the "misunderstood" and "excluded" native peoples long repressed by Mexican power.

Traveling to the heart of indigenous Mexico, the pope presided over a sun-drenched religious ceremony in San Cristobal de las Casas, in Chiapas state — Mexico's poorest, on its southern border with Guatemala.

"On many occasions, in a systematic and organized way, your people have been misunderstood and excluded from society," the pope said.

While the powers of the moment dismissed indigenous values as inferior, he said, they also stole or contaminated the lands belonging to the indigenous.

More:
http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-na-pope-mexico-20160215-story.html

[a la izquierda]

3. As an historian of indigenous peoples...

I say this means exactly fuck-all.

[MisterP]

4. after a century of anticlericalism from Barrios to Pena Niet,

churches have indeed been restricted to a moral and institutional role!

--another Latin historian!