Peruvian cardinal: Life and the family must be protected

Lima, Peru, Jul 26, 2011 / 12:07 pm

Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani of Lima, Peru has issued a special call to protect human life and the family from the threats of abortion and same-sex marriage.
 
He denounced the “foreign” agenda of abortion, euthanasia and gender ideology. “I don’t want that agenda to destroy the Peruvian family. I would like our agenda to be one that respects life from conception, one that respects the family consisting of a man and a woman, and the stability of the family. We should not be so concerned about these other side issues,” he said, during his radio program, Dialogue of Faith.
 
Cardinal Cipriani said families deserve to live in an atmosphere of respect for human dignity and that more attention should be paid to the formation of a moral conscience, as Peru’s President-elect, Ollanta Humala, prepares to take office on July 28.
 
“I am worried about the family, the education of children and morality,” the cardinal continued. “Salary increases, contract renewals and GDP growth are all fine, but the human being is not a consumption machine. He is a being that loves, and the great motivating factor for working is to provide for his family,” he stated.
 
“We can’t be turning out kids who get involved in drugs or gangs because of poor education, nor can we lead young people to think that everything is just fun and games, booze, careers and sex,” he said.
 
Cardinal Cipriani encouraged parents to provide a decent education for their children and to help them avoid falling into drugs and violence. “All these issues are linked,” he said.
 
The Peruvian cardinal also thanked outgoing President Alan Garcia for his five years of service to the country.
 
“Above and beyond the polls, I think an important era is coming to an end.  The relationship with the Church has been one of respect. The relationship with the country has been one of improvement and growth.” He added that there is always work to be done, but warned against focusing only on the negative.

Cardinal Cipriani also offered his best wishes to the new administration and his hopes that it would “promote unity, peace, order and moral growth.”
 
“My best wishes and prayers of thanksgiving to Dr. Alan Garcia and that the Lord enlighten and strengthen Mr. Ollanta Humala.  The Church never sides with any government, but at the same time she hopes that the Peruvian family will maintain its Christian roots and that development will take place in the area of morality as well,” he said.