Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia: Pope Francis ventured yesterday into a violent, overcrowded and gang-ridden Bolivian prison that even houses small children living with their parents, and urged inmates not to despair.
If other events on the pope’s three-nation tour of South America were joyous ones — million-strong crowds of worshippers singing and praising the pontiff — the trip to Bolivia’s most dangerous prison was arguably a humbling descent into hell.
It seemed a fitting stop on a tour that has centered largely on drawing attention to the plight of the poor and marginalised — one of the 78-year-old pope’s cherished themes.
The pontiff, who specifically requested the visit to the Palmasola prison, stood before a crowd of inmates and their families and said they were probably wondering who he was. With some, he exchanged kisses and hugs.
“The man standing before you is a man who has experienced forgiveness. A man who was, and is, saved from his many sins,” said the Argentine-born Francis, the first pope from Latin America.
“That is who I am. I don’t have much more to give you or to offer you, but I want to share with you what I do have and what I love. It is Jesus Christ,” the pope said.
The Palmasola prison is nearly 50 years old and was built to hold 600 prisoners but is now overflowing with nearly 5,000 men and women.
A gang war there in 2013 left more than 30 people dead. An estimated 30 percent of the inmates are accused of rape. The court system in Bolivia, the poorest country in South America, is so backlogged that the vast majority of the inmates have not even stood trial yet. The prison is home to 120 children living with their parents, even though this is illegal under Bolivian law. Some of them are as young as six years old.
AFP
