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

In my priestly and episcopal ministry, I have made several pastoral visits to various prisons, both in the State of Mexico and in Chiapas. Speaking with inmates, many of them could be released, but they don’t have a lawyer or enough money to pay bail. Many others remain convicted for years and years, some of whom are guilty, others innocent. There are many injustices due to the incompetence of judges, the backlog of so many cases presented, and the prevailing corruption. Efforts have been made to make penitentiary centres more humane and streamline the administration of justice, but much remains to be done to make the entire process fairer and expeditious.

In our country, recently, in an exercise that has been highly questioned on several fronts, new judges, magistrates, and ministers were elected. Although high-ranking federal officials claim that the people elected them, it is undeniable that only a minority participated in those elections, many of them elderly people who were threatened with having their social benefits withdrawn if they did not vote; some did not even know how to proceed. These programs seem more like an electoral investment than an act of justice for the most vulnerable people.

The Jubilee of Those Who Work in the Administration of Justice was recently celebrated in Rome. Some 5,000 were expected, but nearly 15,000 attended, including judges, magistrates, and ministers of the Courts of Justice from many countries around the world, to reflect on their service. They are Catholics who desire to live their faith in the administration of justice, allowing themselves to be guided by the Word of God and the Magisterium of the Church. God desires justice, as the path to peace; where there is no justice, there is no peace.

LIGHTNING

At the corresponding jubilee audience, Pope Leo XIV, among other things, told them:

“Justice is indispensable both for the orderly development of society and as a cardinal virtue that inspires and guides the conscience of every man and woman. Justice, indeed, is called to fulfil a higher function in human coexistence, which cannot be reduced to the simple application of the law or the work of judges, nor be limited to procedural aspects.

Tradition teaches us that justice is, above all, a virtue; that is, a firm and stable disposition that guides our conduct according to reason and faith. The virtue of justice, in particular, consists in the constant and firm will to give God and one’s neighbour what is due to them. From this perspective, for the believer, justice disposes one to respect the rights of each individual and to establish in human relations the harmony that promotes equity with respect to persons and the common good, an objective that guarantees an order that defends the weak, those who demand justice because they are victims of oppression, exclusion, or indifference.

As we know, justice becomes concrete when it is directed toward others, when each person is given what corresponds to them, until equality in dignity and opportunity among human beings is achieved. We are aware, however, that true equality is not merely formal before the law. This equality, although indispensable for the proper exercise of justice, does not eliminate the fact that there is growing discrimination, the primary effect of which is precisely the lack of access to justice. True equality, on the other hand, is the possibility for everyone to realize their aspirations and be guaranteed the rights inherent to their dignity, supported by a system of common and shared values, capable of inspiring norms and laws that sustain the functioning of institutions.

Today, what challenges those who exercise justice is precisely the search for or recovery of forgotten values ​​in coexistence, their care, and respect. This is a necessary process, in the face of the expansion of behaviours and strategies that show contempt for human life from its inception, that deny fundamental rights for personal existence, and disrespect the conscience from which freedoms are born. Precisely through the values ​​that underlie social life, justice assumes its central role in the coexistence of persons and human communities. Aspiring toward justice requires loving it as a reality that can only be achieved through the union of constant attention, radical selflessness, and persevering discernment. Those who exercise justice place themselves at the service of the people, the people, and the state, with full and constant dedication. The greatness of justice is not diminished when it is applied in small matters, but always stands out when it is exercised with fidelity to the law and respect for the person, anywhere in the world.

Where there is no justice, there is no State. Justice is the virtue that gives to each person what is due. Always give your best in the exercise of justice, in the service of the people, with your eyes fixed on God, to fully respect justice, law, and the dignity of persons” (20-IX-2025).

ACTIONS

We expect lawyers, judges, magistrates, and ministers working in the administration of justice to be faithful to their vocation, serving with equity, truth, and love, guided not only by human laws but also by their Christian faith, by a merciful love for others, whether innocent or guilty.