Catholic theology
Catholic belief holds that the church exists both on earth and in heaven simultaneously, and thus the Virgin Mary and the saints are alive and part of the living church. Prayers and devotions to Mary and the saints are common practices in Catholic life. These devotions are not worship, since only God is worshiped. The church teaches that the saints "do not cease to intercede with the Father for us. ... So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped."
Evo Morales and the Roman Catholic Church
The socialist administration of Bolivian President Evo Morales maintains a strained relationship with the Bolivian hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. This has posed a problem for Morales as polls taken in the early 2000s indicate that 77% of the Bolivian population say they are Catholic, meaning that about seven million of the nine million Bolivians follow the Roman Catholic faith.