Cardinal  Felipe Arizmendi , Bishop Emeritus of San Cristóbal de Las Casas and responsible for the Doctrine of the Faith at the  Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM) , offers Exaudi readers his weekly article.

FACTS

The government should certainly do more to curb the destructive power of armed groups, prevent illegal logging, and promote more equitable development for our people, but not everything depends on the government. For example, every weekend, now that I’m no longer in Chiapas, I usually travel from Toluca to my hometown of Chiltepec to spend time with my family and community. Passing  Raíces,  before climbing the Nevado de Toluca volcano, there’s a lot of trash along the roadside, left there by people. Is that the government’s fault? Certainly, the local farmers could organize themselves to remove the trash, which would benefit them as it would encourage tourism; but the responsibility lies with those who pass through and don’t hesitate to leave their waste.

About two years ago, the two main streets in my town, which are paved with cobblestones for the convenience of the residents themselves, had potholes. We asked the municipal authorities to address them, but nothing was done. Some neighbors and I got together and filled them ourselves, using our own resources. Eventually, the government did a great job repairing those streets, replacing the cobblestones, but not everything depends on the government. Sometimes, the authorities don’t fix many problems because there isn’t enough money, or because it wouldn’t win them votes. It’s the community that can and should take care of these issues, as long as it doesn’t exceed their means.

Faced with the abuses of criminal groups that extort and murder farmers and merchants, and kidnap young people for their nefarious purposes, some communities have armed themselves in self-defense. This is certainly not the most advisable course of action, given all the repercussions it has for the citizens themselves, but they have done so because the government neither attends to nor protects them. We do not recommend it, but these are desperate measures taken by the residents. Despite our repeated calls for government officials to do much more to protect citizens, the people feel defenseless. However, no matter how many soldiers and police officers the government sends, if families are fractured, if men leave children scattered throughout the country and fail to provide them with a well-rounded education, if young people do not feel their homes are like a family, they are vulnerable to being recruited into criminal groups that offer them money, drugs, weapons, and pleasure. Without strong, harmonious families, no matter what the government does, the problems will not be solved.

LIGHTNING

The Mexican episcopate, on February 15, 2009, issued an important document, which remains relevant today, entitled  “That in Christ, our peace, Mexico may have a dignified life.”  Since then, it has listed many situations that have now worsened, especially due to organized crime, extortion, and disappearances. While continuing to denounce the shortcomings of the government, it warns:

“In concluding this approach to the reality of insecurity and violence experienced in Mexico, we realize that we are facing a complex problem and that the responsibility to respond to the challenges it represents belongs to all Mexicans. We waste time when we look for culprits or passively wait for the government alone to solve problems that affect us all. We must act now, each of us within our own sphere of competence. The authorities, with the resources provided by the rule of law for the exercise of their duties; civil society, responsibly assuming the task of active citizenship, becoming subjects of social life; believers, acting in fidelity to our conscience, in which we hear the voice of God, who expects us to respond to the gift of his love with our commitment to building peace, for the dignified life of the people of Mexico”  (106).

“We call upon the citizens of Mexico to constitute themselves as a responsible civil society. We live in a country that does not deserve to live under fear, nor under the threat of a few who want to destroy its youth, its men and women, creating a culture of terror and death. Society is responsible for participating by monitoring and verifying that the authorities fully assume the commitment they have to the people, addressing the factors that contribute to insecurity and violence in social, economic, political, and cultural life. Without the collaboration of a responsible society, governments do not have sufficient capacity to reduce the violence caused by criminals who organize to harm the community”  (246).

“We live in difficult times, but we have the certainty that Christ conquered death and in Him we have placed our trust. The history of our people has not been easy, but it has always had the nobility of its men and women. Today cannot be different, but we must reconcile, we must reconstitute national unity in the richness of the plurality of its cultures and society. We must unite in the construction of peace and in the promotion of the integral and solidarity-based human development of each Mexican and of all Mexicans”  (257).

ACTIONS

Each of us can do something for our country, instead of waiting for the government to do everything. We can organize ourselves to fill potholes, pick up trash and stop littering, plant trees, help each other as neighbors, inform the authorities about situations that require their attention and urge them to find solutions, and so on. Let’s each do what we can for our street, our neighborhood, our town.