Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi, bishop emeritus of San Cristóbal de Las Casas and responsible for the Doctrine of Faith at the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM), offers Exaudi readers his weekly article.
LOOK
We are approaching Christmas, which is the visible and sensible presence of God among us, with his initial message in Bethlehem bringing us peace. It is the peace that we try to build together.
The President of our country, Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum, organized a meeting with all the governors of the country, from different political parties, to ask them to work together for national security, which is one of the most delicate problems we have. When she was with us bishops, in our assembly last November, she expressed her willingness to collaborate on the issues that require attention in the country, each one from our competence. For her part, the Secretary of the Interior, Lic. Rosa Icela Rodríguez, has called on the different political forces to unite against the economic and migratory threats of the next President of the United States.
During the recent electoral campaign, our Episcopal Conference called on candidates for public office as well as businessmen and other social forces to unite in order to seek paths to social peace. The current President presented some reservations about our vision of reality, but this is prevailing in her review of the strategy against organized crime, which some call authorized crime. The strategy of her predecessor brought a lot of freedom of action to these groups, and we are trying to reverse this reality.
Since 1992, the then bishops of Chiapas, together with leaders of other Christian denominations, organized the Interreligious Council, not to discuss doctrinal issues, but to work together for the good of the community. Their statutes say that we propose, among other things: “To collaborate in the process of pacification of Chiapas and to contribute solidarity actions for the solution of the problems of Chiapas and the Nation.”
DISCERN
Pope Francis, in a world meeting on human fraternity, expressed: “The feeling of fraternity that unites us is stronger than hatred and violence; in fact, it unites us all in the same pain. It is from here that we start and start again, from the meaning of feeling together, a spark that can rekindle the light to stop the night of conflicts. When men and societies choose fraternity, politics also change: the person prevails again over profit. Peace needs fraternity and fraternity needs encounter” (June 10, 2023).
In a speech to Latin American businessmen, he said: “In order to face the sea of the world and the storms that arise, they must be united, creating networks, helping each other. The service they provide is not abstract, but to each person and to each people, and that is why it is necessary to act together, without stepping on anyone and without leaving anyone behind. A rather complex challenge” (1-VI-2023).
In another message, he said: “I consider it important that our gaze is not fixed so much on what each one of us, with the best of intentions, could propose, but on the absolute need to sit down and listen to others. It is urgent to build bridges that can help us find viable solutions together that do not exclude anyone. All from dialogue and with the broad horizon of universal brotherhood. It is together, in brotherhood and solidarity, that we can build peace, guarantee justice and overcome the most painful events. This is the key to regaining balance, because only together can we face the various moral, social, political and economic crises that we are experiencing and that are all interconnected” (20-I-2023).
Regarding this joint construction of peace, the Mexican bishops stated: “The urgent need to build a firm and lasting peace in our country demands that the Church be able to sit at the table with many other guests: citizen organizations, religious denominations, civil authorities, educational entities, political sectors and the media, among others, so that together, and contributing what is proper to each one, we can rebuild the social fabric of our country. We believe that it is urgent to work for peace in our peoples and to reach concrete commitments. As a Mexican society, it is necessary to combat all those situations of corruption, impunity and illegality that generate violence and to reestablish the conditions of justice, equality and solidarity that build peace” (PGP 175). To this end, we committed ourselves to “dialogue and collaborate with civil society and with national and international organizations to build peace” (PGP 176 c).
ACT
Do we want there to be a true Christmas, in families, in our towns and in the country? Each of us can contribute not only good ideas, nor only criticisms of the system, but above all some actions that help rebuild social harmony. It is the Angel’s announcement to the shepherds: Glory to God in heaven, and peace on earth. With the help of God and the Virgin Mary, it is possible to have a country in social peace. Let us do as much as we can. The Christmas holiday also depends on us.
