Colombian bishops reaffirm need to defend life from conception to natural death

Bogotá, Colombia, May 7, 2006 / 22:00 pm

As the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for May 28 draw near, the bishops of Colombia issued a statement this weekend reaffirming the need to defend human life from conception to natural death.

In their statement, the bishops recalled the words of Pope Benedict XVI to a group of European lawmakers in which he laid out several “non-negotiable principles” such as the defense of life from conception to natural death, the recognition and promotion of the family, and the protection of the rights of parents to educate their children.

With regard to the family, the Pope noted in his address that this consists of “a union between a man and a woman founded upon marriage” and that it must be defended against efforts to make other radically different types of unions legally equivalent.

The bishops called on the presidential candidates to “respond to the multiple offenses that are committed against the truth of the human person and against justice.”  They exhorted the candidates to “use the final days of campaigning to spread truth, justice and peace among all Colombians.  Your campaigns should be a model of tolerance and reconciliation for all Colombians,” the bishops said.

The bishops also emphasized the importance of voting in the elections, saying “the time has come to express our love of country.  Let us all try to discern what the best option is for responding to the urgent needs of Colombia,” they said.