.- The new secretary general of the Bishops’ Conference of Colombia, Bishop Juan Vicente Cordoba Villota, said the Church in that country has no plans to adopt an official position in favor or against the re-election of President Alvaro Uribe and that each bishop who decides to express an opinion does so on his own.
Speaking on Caracol Radio, Bishop Cordoba said the bishops meeting in Bogota for their 87th Plenary Assembly agreed that “we cannot make decisions and that if any bishop does so it will be motu propio” (on his own).
“In a democracy, the ideal is that there is rotation and participation,” he said, referring to the possibility that President Uribe is seeking a third term.
The bishop went on to explain that during their meeting the prelates noted “there are two ways to be involved in politics: the politics of the common good and partisan politics.” The former is about calling attention to “justice, peace and love,” while the latter “does not fall to us because we are universal pastors of all and by being partisan we are choosing one side over another,” they said.
