AMERICA/PERU - Ahead of the presidential election: Bishops comment on “difficult moments”

Lima (Agenzia Fides) - According to Peruvian custom, the Peruvian Bishops' Conference has invited the two candidates in the run-off election for the presidency to a "fraternal meeting" on June 6th. The meeting with Keiko Fujimori from the “Fuerza Popular” party took place on Monday, May 24th, while the bishops are still waiting for a response from Pedro Castillo from the “Peru Libre” party. In their pastoral letter at Pentecost, the bishops commented on the "difficult moments" the country is currently experiencing in the run-up to the second round of the presidential elections. The Bishops recall that "it is the duty of a citizen to vote and vote responsibly, reflecting on the present and the future of the country". Therefore, the bishops pray for wisdom for the voters to "recognize and choose the best candidate for the nation, to lead the country to overcome the social, political, economic, educational, health crisis and corruption that affects everyone, especially the weakest and most vulnerable".
The Church invites citizens to vote "in a freely and well-informed way". In the context of the celebrations of the bicentenary of national independence, "these elections must be an opportunity to strengthen the basic values of the nation".
"Respect for International Treaties". Moreover, through these elections we must "reaffirm the great ethical, moral and religious values on which our nation was founded from the beginning" and which "constitute the great moral reserve of the country". The pastoral letter reminds us that the Church rejects communism, since it reduces people to the economic sphere and limits their fundamental freedoms, and also condemns unlimited capitalism. "The Church has the Gospel as the source of her teaching and proclaims it in conjunction with the Papal Magisterium and the Magisterium of the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean", based on human dignity, the common good, the preferred option for the poor, and the promotion of fraternity , supportive society and an inclusive economy". In conclusion, the text emphasizes that "strengthening democracy requires an active and vigilant citizenship", which ensures that the democratic order is preserved before any attempt to break it. It is necessary to "restore trust between us" because "only together can we build a truly fraternal, supportive and peaceful Peru". (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 26/5/2021)

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