AMERICA/GUATEMALA - The bishops invite "not to lose the illusion of building peace, seeking justice, defending life"

Thursday, 21 July 2022 episcopal conferences social situation politics

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GUATEMALA

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Guatemala de la Asuncion (Agenzia Fides) - "We invite the Guatemalans not to lose the illusion of building peace in our country. God calls us to seek justice to defend human life in all its moments and people, especially the most vulnerable. This is the exhortation of the Bishops of Guatemala, at the end of their July meeting, sharing their reading of "the signs of the times" to see the reality of our country in the light of faith. It is significant that his message is entitled "Hope does not disappoint..." (Rm 5,5). The time of transition that we live in, they write, is marked by the pandemic and other international events such as war, economic crisis, natural catastrophes... while hegemonies prevail in geopolitics that do not favor the common good or the minimum well-being of the people and their human dignity. "Guatemala continues to be in a bad situation and in many ways it is deteriorating" the bishops note, who continue: "The problem in our country is that the corruption, irresponsibility, interests and political short-sightedness of the officials in all the organs of the State have corrupted the system, they have abused it, and created a dysfunctional State incapable of fulfilling its function of creating the common good". The consequence is that Guatemala ranks last in Latin America in terms of human development, and although many of the problems are historical, aggravated by the current situation, the governments have made plans to solve them in the short term and for electoral purposes. "We still do not see great results in the fight against child malnutrition, since the rates of violence remain high and real and effective policies have not been promoted in favor of the indigenous population, but neither in favor of the transparent application of justice" the bishops denounce, emphasizing: "It is necessary to see this reality according to the faith, the evangelical values and the Social Doctrine of the Church. Followers of the Crucifix, hoping against hope (Rom 4:18), we want to be faithful to God's call to build his kingdom, whatever the circumstances." For this reason, the message of the Episcopal Conference underlines the hope that emerged from the Ecclesial Assembly of the Church of Latin America and the Caribbean last year, strengthened by the synodal path, for which they ask "believing citizens, whether or not they belong to a political organization of the State, to exercise their actions in the public sphere with a moral and ethical sense". They ask the private sector to fulfill its function with a moral sense of its conduct and citizens who do not practice any religion to become aware that "also the ethical and moral responsibility of their actions contribute to creating a prosperous and inclusive society" Therefore, it urges to carry out activities or civic days to promote citizen participation, political awareness and the election of suitable candidates with a social conscience, political projection, knowledge of the laws and human and Christian values.
Moving on to the ecclesial reality, the Bishops invite to live the communitarian dimension of the Church and of the Christian experience of the missionary disciple, which begins with the presence in the liturgical celebrations and continues in the participation in a community, pastoral, movement or parish group. They then exhort "to work for and with the young people and children of our parishes, who are the present and the future of society and the church and therefore need pastoral care". They propose organizing diocesan and parish awareness-raising, training, prayer activities, making use of social and digital media, and invite people to remember that "the true Christian faith is not only imploring the blessing of the true God, but it is also 'working for the justice and peace' " and finally insist that: "religious celebrations of any denomination, in the coming months, do not fall into the temptation to mix political propaganda with apparent prayer". (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 21/7/2022)