Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi, bishop emeritus of San Cristóbal de Las Casas and head of the Doctrine of Faith at the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM), offers readers of Exaudi his weekly article.
FACTS
There are people who no longer want to watch the news because there are too many red notes and they do not want to become more depressed. Indeed, the media reports murders, disappearances, robberies, kidnappings, burning of businesses, drug trafficking, extortion, clandestine graves, accidents, fights, femicide, felling of trees, wars, and similar things. However, that is our reality and we cannot close our eyes. What could be the cause of so much social decomposition? Governments have their responsibility and should fight crime more effectively so that they are not accused of being allied with criminal groups; but there are many other causes of violence; I will only comment on the following.
In most cases, the root is in families broken down by domestic violence, by absent, violent or alcoholic parents, by not educating children in moral values and by seeking success without honest work. The separation of parents causes terrible and unpredictable damage. Although there are cases in which it is justifiable, the bad seed has already been sown. On the other hand, hard-working, responsible, demanding, but fair and kind, close and communicative parents, as most are, are foundations for not being contaminated by bad friendships and a violent environment. I know the case of a local criminal leader, whose parents are very good and instilled Christian principles in him; but he immigrated to the United States and there he joined criminal gangs who taught him various tricks; He is now part of La Maña; he is seduced by the money that he now has in abundance by extorting his own countrymen. He was expelled from there several times for being drunk and drugged. His parents disowned him, because they never taught him that way. Despite coming from a good family, the environment damaged him. I have spoken with him, inviting him to change his life, but he tells me that he cannot, because of the chains he has committed himself to.
Is poverty the cause of violent people? Is it solved by giving money to the poor, offering them work and study opportunities? Certainly, this helps, but poverty is not the most outstanding cause. I know thousands of poor people who are hard-working, honest, supportive, peaceful and good citizens. It is very good that the government offers them work and study with scholarships, but many are not interested in that; what they seek is to get money at any cost. The causes of violence must be addressed and remedied with government programs, but also criminal gangs must be subdued. We all know who their leaders are and where they live, but no one denounces them for fear of reprisals. The government must continue to seek ways to control and prevent their domination among us, not because of Donald Trump’s threats, but because of its obligation to care for social peace.
One of the deepest causes of violent and murderous people is that they have distanced themselves from God; their god is money, pleasure and power through weapons. Although most of them declare themselves believers, their faith in God is very weak. If they accepted God in their hearts, their lives would be totally different. And a good religious education begins with the family, with the close support of their parish.
ENLIGHTENMENT
The Mexican bishops, in the Global Pastoral Project 2031+2033, state other possible causes and offer Jesus’ way to lead another life:
“The social panorama has been gradually darkened by the alarming strengthening of organized crime, which has multiple branches and an international environment that feeds and strengthens it, corrupting the minds and hearts of people and authorities. The introduction of a narco-culture in our Mexican society, of getting money quickly, easily and in any way, has come to deeply damage the minds of many people, who do not care about killing, stealing, extorting, kidnapping or doing anything to achieve their goals. Sadly, these facts are exalted every day as media material by the media. There are many causes that feed this bonfire and keep this flame of pain burning: the loss of values, family disintegration, lack of opportunities, poorly paid jobs, rampant corruption at all levels, ungovernability, impunity, etc. This society, which should offer all citizens the necessary conditions to live with dignity, is damaged, and it is necessary that all of us as members of it become aware of this reality and take responsibility, so that it can serve as a space of dignified life for all its members” (PGP 57).
“For God there are no lost causes, he does not give up, where men can see only darkness and emptiness. The Risen One is the Crucified One, his human history was not annulled with the resurrection; on the contrary, the humanity of Jesus Christ has been incorporated into the eternal embrace of the community of Trinitarian love. In the glorified humanity of the Risen Jesus Christ is also ours. This is the root of our hope; to celebrate his Easter is to vibrate with the mystery of his resurrection” (PGP 126).
ACTIONS
May our families be distinguished by their harmony, their mutual respect, their honest work, their solidarity with relatives and neighbors, their tolerance and fidelity in crises, their faith in God and their experience of fraternal love. Let us be builders of family and social peace.
