Mexican bishops encourage “active and responsible” participation in coming elections

Mexico City, Mexico, Mar 1, 2005 / 22:00 pm

In a message entitled, “Voting, a Democratic Responsibility,” the bishops of Mexico are encouraging Catholics to actively participate in political life.  “We trust they will be capable of constructive and creative criticism appropriate of Christians,” they stated.

In view of the coming elections in Mexico, the bishops explained that “out of fidelity to our mission as pastors, we are avoiding any kind of public endorsement of particular parties, but we cannot elude our duty and responsibility to exhort our people so that everyone participates in the best way possible in the political life of our society.”

“We want to encourage all of the faithful to study the current political field;  we trust they will be capable of constructive and creative criticism appropriate of Christians, so that, from the perspective of the faith, they might discern the different situations that ensue in the political process,” the bishops stated.

The bishops underscored that “our mission of announcing the Gospel to all men and exhorting them to freely practice the values of Christ, in the political sphere as well, leads us to denounce the anti-human and anti-gospel aspects that manifest themselves in political structures and procedures which cause unjust harm on the people.  In politics, the good of the people is fundament and essential, and therefore all have the duty to avoid unjust and destructive policies.”

In the same sense, the message points out that “it is the mission of the Christian laity to commit themselves to the building and sanctification of the world and, therefore, to turn politics into a path to holiness.  They have the right and duty to intervene directly in politics and make the values of the Gospel present.”