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

FACTS

We celebrated our national holidays on the anniversary of the beginning of the independence process. It’s a cause for celebration; however, it’s also a cause for reflection. Some people make the life and development of the nation too dependent on federal, state, and municipal authorities, as if we weren’t all responsible actors in many aspects of our homeland. No one denies the importance of these bodies and that many factors in our lives depend on them, but we are all also responsible, at least in the most immediate aspects.

The deep-rooted nature of the crime of extortion is undeniable, having invaded us from all sides, and the authorities have been unable to prevent it. Laws are being amended to allow legal action against this crime, but the phenomenon has also grown because many families are broken, and adolescents and young people grow up without social and moral education. Therefore, extortion can be ended if the authorities are more effective in combating this crime, but also if families remain united, if domestic violence is prevented, if parents are closer to their children and are positive role models for them, if everyone draws closer to God so that they may spread love for others. And that depends on us, not on the government.

It’s also undeniable that there is alcohol and drug abuse, corruption at many levels of society, the contamination of politics by selfish interests, the proliferation of common crime, the lack of ethics in the use of social media, the degeneration of sexual morality, and other aspects of daily life, which depend not so much on the authorities but on us, ordinary citizens. Not everything depends on the government! Nor can the government solve everything! We each have our responsibilities, and each of us can and should do everything we can to have a more just and fraternal homeland, for the good of all.

LIGHTNING

The Mexican episcopate, in its  Global Pastoral Project 2031+2033,  states:

“It is necessary to recognize that, to varying degrees, all citizens are responsible for this situation we are experiencing. Mexicans, as a society as a whole, have failed to responsibly involve themselves in the destiny of our country and have often left the development of our nation in the hands of dishonest and unscrupulous people”  (PGP 54).

“The social landscape has gradually darkened due to the alarming strengthening of organized crime, which has multiple ramifications and an international environment that feeds and strengthens it, corrupting the minds and hearts of people and authorities. The introduction of a narco-culture into our Mexican society, of getting money quickly, easily, and by any means, has come to deeply damage the minds of many people, who do not mind killing, robbing, extorting, kidnapping, or doing anything to achieve their goals. These facts are sadly exaggerated every day as media fodder. There are many causes that fuel this fire and keep this flame of pain burning: the loss of values, family disintegration, lack of opportunities, low-paying 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 fulfill as a dignified living space for all its members”  (PGP 57).

“We are aware that it is essential to discover that, faced with this reality that challenges and questions us, we must all begin again with Christ. We must begin with this personal and transformative encounter of each believer with Jesus in their lives, which opens an authentic process of conversion, communion, and solidarity. This moment of encounter with the Son of God is fundamental in the life of every Christian”  (PGP 85).

ACTIONS

Our government authorities must continue to seek ways to eliminate impunity and corruption; but let’s each ask ourselves what I can do to make my family, my town, my neighborhood, my neighborhood, my subdivision, my country better for everyone.