Panama City (Agenzia Fides) - In an analysis of the current situation in the country, the Archbishop of Panama, Mgr. José Domingo Ulloa, names abortion and corruption among the most serious problems. "If we are citizens of the Kingdom of Christ, we cannot pretend to follow and share attitudes and behaviors that violate the evangelical values of our faith, such as abortion, same-sex marriage, theft, dishonesty and corruption", said Mgr. Ulloa in his homily on Sunday 22 November, on the feast of Christ the King.
The Archbishop emphasizes that such behavior is accepted "because one succumbs to pressure and power groups, trying to avoid being judged as anachronistic, obsolete and far from modern mentality", but all this means "to be inconsistent with our faith". Then he added that "the Gospel is not a passing fashion that is used today and thrown away tomorrow, it is the Word of God, today, tomorrow and forever".
Panama is currently experiencing a socio-economic crisis of unprecedented proportions, which is why President Laurentino Cortizo is calling on all sectors of society to participate in the "National Dialogue" that is to take place in the coming days. Political parties, entrepreneurs, indigenous groups and trade unions, among others, will take part on a specially created Agora platform, and an Internet platform has been specially created for hearing suggestions from Panamanian citizens themselves.
This first phase of the process was called "Panama Proposes". The dialogue will open today, November 26th, and should last two months. Citizens and churches are calling for solutions to improve public education, introduce constitutional changes, combat inequality and analyze the future of the Social Security Fund (CSS). As a result of the pandemic, the need to find a way out of the serious economic crisis that the country is going through is also part of the debate. (CE) (Agenzia Fides, 26/11/2020)