Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi, bishop emeritus of San Cristóbal de Las Casas and responsible for the Doctrine of Faith at the Conference of the Mexican Episcopate (CEM), offers Exaudi readers his weekly article titled “National Commitment to Peace.”
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LOOK
Those who preside over our Episcopal Conference presented the two presidential candidates and the candidate with some proposals to seek peace in the country. There are other problems, such as poverty, migration, and social inequality, but insecurity and violence have spread like a pandemic and are affecting everything, even the electoral process we are experiencing. The three candidates attended the meeting and signed the document upon receipt. Two expressed their availability to take it on; One said she agreed to work and dialogue for peace, but expressed her disagreement with some statements made about reality, describing them as pessimistic, and did not accept some proposals either. His sincerity is recognized by saying it clearly; Deep down, perhaps because she agrees with official positions, out of personal conviction, or out of electoral strategy.
What are the central points of the proposal that was presented to you?
The document is titled Commitment to Peace. Public Policy Strategies for Peace. It is 38 pages long and is the result of what thousands of people said about this issue. It is the result of hundreds of conversations, academic forums and listening to various specific sectors throughout the national territory; The final writing was done by specialists. Likewise, it is not partisan, nor propaganda in favor of a candidate; It is a contribution to the fight to live in peace, since we cannot remain only criticizing the system and lamenting against the government in power.
It is structured into seven axes: social fabric, security, justice, prisons, adolescents, governance and human rights. 117 specific proposals are made for these axes. Its complete content can be consulted on the CEM website: www.cem.org.mx or directly at www.dialogonacionalporlapaz.org.mx Of course, it is not a document only for presidential candidates, but for the entire society.
DISCERN
The Mexican bishops, in a message addressed two years ago to all the Mexican people, expressed our “deep concern for the growing violence suffered by our beloved Country and with great sadness for the loss of thousands of innocent lives that fill families with mourning.” whole. Crime has spread everywhere, disrupting the daily life of the entire society, affecting productive activities in cities and in the countryside, exerting pressure with extortion on those who work honestly in the markets, in schools, in small and medium-sized businesses, and large companies; They have taken over the streets, neighborhoods and entire towns, as well as roads, highways and highways and, most seriously, they have come to manifest themselves with levels of inhuman cruelty in executions and massacres that have made our country one of the most unsafe and violent places in the world.
We recognize that as a Church we have not done enough in the evangelization of people and that it is necessary to redouble our efforts. There remains much to do in the reconstruction of the social fabric, from the pastoral work that is our own. We reaffirm our commitment expressed in our first transversal axis of the Pastoral Project 2031-2034: Peace building.
We want to join the thousands of voices of citizens of good will who ask that this situation be stopped. Stop! We cannot be indifferent or oblivious to what is affecting us all.
Given the seriousness of the events, we call on the Federal Government and the different levels of authorities, in line with the statement made by the Senate of the Republic: it is time to review the security strategies that are failing. It is time to listen to the citizens, to the voices of thousands of relatives of the victims, of those murdered and missing, to the police forces mistreated by crime. It is time to listen to academics and researchers, to the complaints of the media, to all political forces, to civil society and to religious associations. We believe that it is not useful to deny reality nor to blame past times for what we have to solve now. Listening to each other does not make anyone weak, on the contrary, it strengthens us as a Nation.
We are all Mexicans, we all need to live in peace and harmony. It is the responsibility of the rulers to apply the law fairly to eradicate impunity, respecting human rights, but ensuring the security of citizens and social peace. As Mexican bishops in unity with the People of Mexico, of which we are also a part, we respectfully call on our political authorities to convene a national dialogue to undertake intelligent and comprehensive actions in order to achieve peace through joint participation. We believe that peace is possible, that it has to be possible. In this task, all citizens of good will, can be allies. Let’s not miss this opportunity!“” (VI-23-2022).
ACT
Let us be builders of peace. One way is to know the document of the Mexican episcopate and spread it as much as possible in your family, in your group, with your friends, in the community, and also with the current rulers and the candidates competing for a position in the next elections. June 2nd.
