AMERICA/GUATEMALA - Bishops appeal in view of elections on November 4: “May our country be ruled by Law and Justice, so we may walk towards sustainable and inclusive development to ensure everyone a more worthy life"

Guatemala City (Agenzia Fides) - "We encourage citizens to participate with responsibility. The legitimacy of the presidential elections will depend on the percentage of voters who exercise their right to vote”: this call was made by the Catholic Bishops of Guatemala in view of elections to elect a new president on 4 November. The Bishops urge candidates to the Presidency to "strive to uplift the level of the electoral campaign", and they affirm "biased exclusion, lies, personal attacks or through intermediates and facts of violence do not help to build a serious and responsible image of the candidates". The Bishop recall that authority is always a service for the common good in the framework of legality and moral responsibility.
The Bishops reaffirm that the Church does not say who should be voted because each citizen is free to decide in conscience, asking God to illuminate this decision. They ask God to illuminate minds and wills of the authorities already elected and the new President "that their activity and decisions may always aim to promote the common good, rather than particular or sector interests ". They recall that the opposition to the government are collaborators, "not to stop government initiatives but to guarantee that government policies are free of partial interests and are truly oriented towards the common good and the general interest of Guatemala". The Bishops conclude with a prayer to God that “law and justice may rule the country that we may walk to sustainable and inclusive development to ensure a worthy life for all". (RG) (Agenzia Fides 15/10/2007; righe 20, parole 283)