Cardinal calls for pro-family policies in Peru

Lima, Peru, Feb 8, 2011 / 11:10 am

Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani called on the Peruvian government to implement policies that promote family stability.

In his Feb. 5 radio program, “Dialogue of Faith,” the cardinal noted that family stability “improves economic and social output, diminishes violence and establishes more stable democratic conduct.”

For this reason he urged the government to reform labor laws to allow parents more time with their children and to be more involved in their education. He also said stay-at-home mothers should be given tax-breaks and “some type of special privilege.” 

“If they devote a portion of the workday to caring for their families, they should receive financial recognition,” he added.

Cardinal Cipriani also called on presidential candidates to be consistent in their statements. “If what you say does not correspond with what you think, we have a big problem. I think it is telling that candidates are asked certain things and don’t give answers,” he said.

“The Church has the duty to call people to the moral order and to truthfulness. The lack of truth is a great tragedy in this country, and people have gotten used to be being told lies. We need to salvage the truth more and the debates need to go forward,” the cardinal continued.

He pointed to John Paul II as an example of living the truth consistently. “He went about the world with the truth, exciting young people because they saw him as believable,” the cardinal said.

John Paul II will be beatified May 1.