2024-04-12 23:26:21
By: AFP
The president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, presented Pope Francis with a peculiar crucifix carved in wood on the hammer and sickle, a symbol of communism, during a meeting that both held at the Government House.
The carving contained the image of a crucified Christ on the handle of the hammer, according to state television images.
Morales defines himself as a socialist and represents a regional current known as “21st Century Socialism,” which is also professed by the governments of Venezuela and Ecuador.
Along with that gift, the Bolivian president also gave the pontiff a copy of the “Book of the Sea”, published by the government of Bolivia, which contains a historical summary of the century-old lawsuit of the Andean country against Chile, which is being elucidated in the International Court. from The Hague.
Morales had already alluded to the maritime issue in his welcome speech to the Pope at the airport in the city of El Alto, on which occasion he also presented him with a ‘chuspa’, a small Andean fabric bag.
At the meeting at the Government House, Morales also presented Pope Francis with the Condor of the Andes, the country’s highest decoration.
In return, the Bishop of Rome gave Morales a reproduction of the “Salus Populi Romani” mosaic, an image of the Virgin with the child in her arms, which since 1611 has occupied the magnificent Pauline chapel of the Papal Basilica of Santa María Maggiore.