Peruvian archbishop calls for end to protests and for more dialogue

Piura, Peru, Sep 25, 2008 / 18:20 pm

Archbishop Jose Antonio Eguren has called on Peruvians to set aside protests, conflicts and confrontations and to instead use dialogue and the search for truth as a means of resolving social ills and forging a more just society.

“Let us make dialogue, the search for truth, the common good, solidarity and social charity the way we live and the way we forge a more humane society, more worthy of the person, especially of our children, young people, the elderly, the infirm and the poor,” the archbishop said during a Mass in honor of Our Lady of Mercies.

He warned that the country and the region are dangerously becoming accustomed to confrontation.  “We live in a democracy and democracy is dialogue” between authorities and the people, “between the majority and the minority,” carried out always with respect, he said.

We need dialogue “that serves the truth and engenders hope for unity that helps us overcome obstacles and misfortunes. Social harmony is a duty for all.  The time has come to recover trust, to cultivate dialogue, to encourage solidarity,” he said.

Archbishop Eguren recalled that the Virgin Mary is “the victor over Satan, over sin and over evil,” and that with her example she teaches us “to keep hope alive, especially in times of difficulty and trial. She shows herself to be our permanent help in our all of our struggles and battles.”

He encouraged Catholics to foster Marian devotion in order to overcome pessimism, “one of the favorite weapons” of the devil and “one of the evils that has afflicted Peruvians throughout our history.  Pessimism turns challenges into defeats, it is an accomplice of what is evil and unjust and it leads us to self-destruction.”