POPE-SOUTH AMERICA/COCA LEAVES Vatican says Pope Francis may eat coca leaves during visit to Bolivia

Record ID: 149047

  • Title: POPE-SOUTH AMERICA/COCA LEAVES Vatican says Pope Francis may eat coca leaves during visit to Bolivia
  • Date: 30th June 2015
  • Summary: VATICAN CITY (JUNE 30, 2015) (REUTERS) VATICAN SPOKESMAN FATHER FEDERICO LOMBARDI TAKE SEAT AHEAD OF NEWS CONFERENCE LOMBARDI ADJUSTING PAPERS JOURNALIST TYPING (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) VATICAN SPOKESMAN FATHER FEDERICO LOMBARDI SAYING: "The pope will do that which he thinks is right. I understand there is a popular use, in order to help you against mountain sickness and high
  • Embargoed: 15th July 2015 13:00
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  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAAAGWMAVXCMNZFJY1TV798U2PM
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The Vatican said on Tuesday (June 30) Pope Francis may eat coca leaves during his visit to Bolivia -- but added that "we will have to wait and see".
    In his second official visit to Latin America since his 2013 election, the Argentine pope is set to be in Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay between July 6 and 12.
    A Bolivian minister said on Sunday (June 29) the pope had specifically requested to chew coca leaves when he visited Bolivia.
    But speaking at a news conference at the Vatican on Tuesday, spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said he knew nothing about any specific request on the subject.
    "The pope will do that which he thinks is right," Lombardi said.
    "I understand there is a popular use, in order to help you against mountain sickness and high altitude, some people drink a kind of Mate' [Argentinean tea] and others chew coca leaves. What the pope will do we will have to wait and see. He hasn't told me how he has decided to confront this situation, maybe he will get involved in these local customs which are often quite efficient," he added.
    Situated at around 3,650 meters (11,975 ft) above sea level, La Paz is one of the world's highest capital cities and for centuries local people have chewed coca leaves to ward off the effects of altitude.
    Although it is the key ingredient in cocaine, the unprocessed leaf is legal to use and still widely chewed in Bolivia and other Andean countries. Many indigenous people, including Bolivian President Evo Morales, defend its use and consider it a sacred plant.
    Asked whether the 78-year-old pope is worried about the affects of altitude when he arrives at the Bolivian airport El Alto, the highest international airport in the world at an altitude of 4,061.5 metres (13,325 feet) and the travels to La Paz, Lombardi said that the pontiff "has not had the slightest insecurity" despite the trip being know to be "tough".
    "He wanted to go to El Alto and La Paz, to make this segment, therefore he is doing it with complete tranquillity and conviction that he can handle this tough moment well," Lombardi said.
    Pope Francis is scheduled to leave on Sunday (July 5) for his seven-day visit.
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