(ANS - Asunción) -  Archbishop Edmundo Valenzuela, SDB, of Asunción, was recently elected president of the Episcopal Conference of Paraguay. This is a country that was visited by the Holy Father only a few months ago and is already reaping the benefits of his visit. There are many challenges facing Archbishop Valenzuela in his new position. Here is an excerpt from an interview he gave to ZENIT.

You have recently been made President of the Episcopal Conference of Paraguay. How are you as you approach this new role?

My brother bishops thought that I could carry on my shoulders the heavy burden of the Presidency of the Conference and I told them, "As a missionary bishop, I am willing to serve the Church, with the help of God and the Blessed Virgin." I am ready to pray and let myself be helped, because whatever help I can give I will be able to give only through prayer and detachment from myself, in imitation of Jesus.

What are the biggest challenges today for the Church in Paraguay?

This new stage in my service of the Church will not be easy for me, because our Church is called by Pope Francis to a radical change, as he said during his visit in July. The challenge of "an outgoing Church" and a missionary church sounds good, and we all agree... but in reality there is a lot of resistance, because we are very accustomed to “the way we have always done things." At the social level, the Conference remains a bulwark in the service of life, truth, justice and peace. New ideologies, in particular gender ideology, are very strong, there are many dollars in support of them. Furthermore, the extreme poverty felt by 15% of the population keeps us always on the alert.

Now that there has been a little time to rest after the Holy Father's visit to Paraguay, how is the Pope's visit regarded in this country?

For us it was the greatest event in our history. We had a national gathering, a celebration of faith and of the Church marked by joy, by massive participation and expressions of simple religiosity and love for the person of the Pope. We remember his warm, humble presence, his wise words of guidance, his affection for the Paraguayan people and his respect for the Woman of Paraguay, "the most glorious in America", as he said himself.

What fruits are already visible?

There have been thousands of people taking part in the Sunday celebrations. His advice to young people to "make noise, get organized" has resulted in a series of demonstrations over the quality of school education and for transparency in the fight against corruption, in the National University and its branches.

Published 20/11/2015