Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Lima (Agenzia Fides) – One week out from the 2011 elections, to be held on 10 April, when Peruvians will elect their next President and Members of Congress for the Republic, the Bishops of Peru wish to remind the faithful of their invitation to the candidates during the Episcopal Conference's 97th Ordinary General Meeting, inviting them to promote integral human development and respect for human dignity, marriage and family.
The message by the Bishops calls on the presidential candidates to consider that social development “should be based on respect for and promotion of human rights, access to basic health services, nutrition, water, education, housing and public safety, particularly for the poorest.” The Bishops also noted that the exercise of democracy “must respect the ethical and moral principles associated with promoting the common good.”
Another point highlighted is the phenomenon of corruption, that this plague “continues to undermine the social and political development of our people,” they write. “A strong will and commitment by our authorities is missing.... The electoral process is an opportunity to ask to see programs that will courageously oppose all forms of corruption, both by members of the Government and in areas of public and private activity.”
The Bishops have also asked the faithful to “be wary of proposals that violate the natural law, respect for human dignity, truth and justice in practice,” because “to go against these principles is to ignore our natural reality. Trying to change these principles will lead to serious consequences for society, and the losers are always the weakest. Therefore, the respect and defence of life from the moment of conception until natural death must be present in every and any proposal. We absolutely can not agree on abortion, euthanasia, or genetic manipulation.”
The five candidates who maintain preference by the people are: Toledo, Kuczynski, Castañeda, Humala and Kiko Fujimori. (CE) (Agenzia Fides, 04/04/2011)
