Taking the Catholic Pulse
Latest
Pope Francis visits sick children, baptizes infant in hospital
  • John Allen Jr.
    • John Allen Jr.
    • Charles Collins
    • Elise Ann Allen
    • John Lavenburg
    • Fr. Jeff Kirby
    • Nirmala Carvalho
    • Charles Camosy
    • Eduardo Campos Lima
    • Paulina Guzik
    • Claire Page
    • Vatican
    • U.S.
    • UK and Ireland
    • Middle East
    • Americas
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Oceania
    • Interviews
    • Videos
    • Podcast
    • Last Week in the Church
  • Support Us
  • About Us
    • Contact Details
    • Advertising
    • Email Updates

  

    

       

    

Crux
© 2023 Crux Catholic Media, Inc.
Privacy and Cookie Policy
CruxTaking the Catholic Pulse
  • About Crux
  • Contact Us
  • Advertising
  • Videos
  • Support Us
Podcast:
  • Apple Podcasts
  • Spotify
  • Stitcher
  • Amazon Music
  • Google Podcasts
  • TuneIn
  • Quick Links

  • Currents News
  • The Tablet
  • DeSales Media Group in the Diocese of Brooklyn
  • Angelus News
  • The Catholic Channel on Sirius XM
  • Catholic Standard
  • Catholic TV

Peru Church leaders warn against ‘authoritarianism’

By Inés San Martín
Aug 27, 2021
|Crux
Share
Peru Church leaders warn against ‘authoritarianism’

Peru’s President Pedro Castillo and his wife Lilia Paredes wave as they leave the Foreign Ministry to go to Congress for his swearing-in ceremony on his Inauguration Day in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, July 28, 2021. (Credit: Guadalupe Pardo/AP.)

ROME – At the end of their general assembly, the bishops of Peru released a statement calling on the political class to avoid “every kind of authoritarianism.”

The statement came as recently elected left-wing President Pedro Castillo waited to see if the opposition-led Congress would green light or reject his cabinet.

Castillo came to office after a deeply divisive election against right-wing rival Keiko Fujimori. He won the June 6 election by a margin of just 44,000 votes.

Though he has described himself as a Catholic and a devotee of the Virgin Mary, his party, “Perú Libre” (“Free Peru”) is Marxist. This is the first time that the former school teacher holds public office.

“In the search for the common good and democracy, it does not help to use the political mechanisms of exasperating, exacerbating and polarizing, but on the contrary to use those mechanisms provided for in our Constitution and the legal system in force, to achieve the aforementioned ends,” the bishops wrote in a statement published Wednesday afternoon.

“Let us direct democracy towards freedom, avoiding all authoritarianism. Towards equality, combating all forms of discrimination and poverty.”

The statement has 12 points, in which the Peruvian prelates give an overview of the situation of the country, opening with their deep concern for the uncertainty created by the “extreme political polarization” that affects all social areas, and in particular the lives of the poorest and most marginalized.

They called for reconciliation in the country, which they pointed out is suffering due to an increase in the “historical neglect of the state of thousands of compatriots in the peripheries of the country.” They warn that this situation “accentuates the great social inequalities and produces pain and resentment.”

“Intolerance, indifference and discrimination should not continue to prevail in our coexistence,” the bishops said.

RELATED: Bishops defend democracy as Peru inaugurates Marxist president

The bishops also spoke about the COVID-19 pandemic, with the looming threat of a third wave in Peru, and which has killed over 198,000 people. They urge Castillo to provide the country with a greater quantity of vaccines, so that they reach the entire population.

“We urge the government to provide the necessary vaccines for all, and at the same time we call on all Peruvians to get vaccinated, as an expression of responsibility to themselves and to others,” the bishops said.

They also spoke about other aspects of the crisis, including how the closing of schools is affecting the population.

“Parents, who are primarily responsible for their children’s education, continue to be concerned that virtual education has not achieved many of their learning objectives. Many students in extreme poverty have not been able to access digital classes,” the bishops’ statement says.

The bishops also “reiterate” their availability to dialogue with government authorities, since “to build a Peru of all bloods, we must love and serve our Fatherland more than our own ideas.”

“For this, we appeal to the responsible commitment of all citizens and particularly governmental authorities to work together for the common good through dialogue.”

The bishops of Peru held their 119th Plenary Assembly from Aug. 17 to 20, holding both face-to-face and virtual meetings. They dedicated the first day to synodality, discussing among other things the Synodal Assembly that the Church in Latin American is currently preparing.

Follow Inés San Martín on Twitter: @inesanma

Share

Latest Stories

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Related Stories

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most Popular

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Last Week in the Church
Last Week in the Church
Keep Crux Independent
Keep Crux Independent

For the cost of a cup of coffee at Starbucks, you can help keep the lights on at Crux.

Support Us
Crux
Last Week in the Church with John Allen Jr.

Tuesdays on

Tuesdays on YouTube
Tuesdays on YouTube
  • Apple PodcastsApple Podcasts
  • Spotify
  • StitcherStitcher
  • Amazon MusicAmazon Music
  • Google PodcastsGoogle Podcasts
  • TuneIn

Crux. Anytime. Anywhere.

Today’s top stories delivered straight into your inbox.

Vatican’s rejection of Discovery Doctrine praised as key new step

  • Mar 31
  • Elise Ann Allen

Brazilian church denounce violence against rural communities

  • Mar 29
  • Eduardo Campos Lima

Deadly fire at Juárez detention center shows ‘urgency’ of addressing migrant crisis, El Paso bishop says

  • Mar 29
  • John Lavenburg

Brazil to establish national pastoral ministry for country’s slums

  • Mar 23
  • Eduardo Campos Lima

Pope Francis visits sick children, baptizes infant in hospital

  • Mar 31
  • Elise Ann Allen
Maria Consuelo Palapa weaves a palm frond in a traditional Mexican design with help from her son Omar, 7, at the Church of the Incarnation in Minneapolis on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. The parishioner at this Catholic church, where the palms will be sold as a fundraiser and blessed at Palm Sunday services this weekend, said she joined the volunteer workshop “to first help the church, and to teach the child my traditions.” (Credit: Giovanna Dell’Orto/AP.)

Palm weaving workshops join faith, culture for Palm Sunday

  • Mar 31
  • Giovanna Dell'Orto

Kansas moves to help survivors pursue child sex abuse claims

  • Mar 31
  • John Hanna

Members of exiled Chinese church detained in Thailand

  • Mar 31
  • Tian Macleod Ji, 
    David Rising

Vatican disowns, but does not rescind, ‘Doctrine of Discovery’

  • Mar 30
  • Elise Ann Allen

New pro-Latin Mass posters build on a long Roman tradition

  • Mar 29
  • John L. Allen Jr.

Defection from anti-abuse panel raises questions of principle, turf wars

  • Mar 30
  • John L. Allen Jr.

Will disowning ‘Doctrine of Discovery’ reopen a theological can of worms?

  • Mar 31
  • John L. Allen Jr.