Uruguayan bishops call Catholics to integrity in public and private life

Montevideo, Uruguay, Oct 26, 2004 / 22:00 pm

With national elections just days away, the Permanent Council of the Uruguayan Bishops Conference issued a statement calling on Catholics to vote in the coming elections “without divorcing private and public life” and with a “strong sense of solidarity.”

In a message entitled, “Creating a Governable Country Together,” the bishops recalled that achieving national goals requires “deep ethical roots: without a divorce between public and private life, with a strong sense of solidarity—capable of overcoming growing fractures in society—and which promotes participation.”

“Catholics, in light of the coming elections, have the responsibility to cast their vote in conformity with the living and inspiring pages of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; because no commitment in the life of a Christian can be exempt from the yeast of the Gospel, which is capable of giving flavor even to the troubles and disappointments of life,” they said.

Likewise, the bishops stated that the common good is a “necessary condition for the development of society and individuals.  This ‘common good’ does not consist of a mathematical equilibrium or of some far off well being once the cup begins to overflow.”

The bishops added, “The person cannot be reduced to a simple consumer to be manipulated by the market, nor to a set of bar codes for State records, but rather he is an individual with dignity imprinted on his conscience and intellect, and enjoys a freedom capable of acting with responsibility and solidarity.”

The bishops call on Uruguayans to pray for the country this Sunday, October 31, “with faith that God our Father will continue blessing this land and all her sons and daughters and leaders.”