Archbishop exhorts Peruvians to unite after polarizing election

Lima, Peru, Jun 8, 2011 / 11:48 am

Archbishop Jose Antonio Eguren of Piura and Tumbes, Peru called on the country to come together “as one nation under one flag – the red and white,” after Peru's June 5 elections.

The archbishop urged Peruvians not to give in “to the same old sins” of deception, revenge, insults and violence.

Ollanta Humala defeated Keiko Fujimori by a small margin of 51.4 percent to 48.6 percent after a ruthless campaign characterized by physical and verbal attacks between supporters of the opposing camps.

The archbishop's words came in a message marking the 131st anniversary of the Battle of Arica, which took place June 7, 1880 during the War of the Pacific. He urged his fellow countrymen to follow the example of the battle's heroes.

“Their heroism is for us a permanent motivation to unselfish love for Peru, and by their sacrifice they teach us that the country is not a pedestal for personal show or hunger for power, but rather the altar for serving and sacrificing for her.”

The Church will continue to work for the unity and common good of Peru based on the Gospel and the social teachings of the Church, “through the formation of consciences and by helping to open minds and wills to the demands of the truth and the good,” he said. 

For this reason, the Church “will always defend the truth of the human person, his dignity and vocation, from conception to natural death. She will promote the family as the primary and vital cell of society, because the issue of man is inseparable from the family. And she will continue to proclaim that development must be comprehensive and not just economic in order for it to be authentic,” the archbishop said.