Montevideo, Uruguay, Oct 19, 2009 / 20:46 pm
The John Paul II Archdiocesan Institute of Bioethics has called on Uruguayans to remember the importance of life and the family when casting their votes in the upcoming October 25 elections.
The institute issued a press release noting that these principles are not truths of the faith, although they are illuminated by them, but rather “they are inscribed in human nature itself and therefore are common among all humanity.”
“These principles are derived simply from an upright rational comprehension of what the human being is, and they are subscribed to and supported by a great number of people belonging to a wide range of philosophical positions, including atheists, agnostics and members of other faiths,” the institute said.
The Church pays special attention to these non-negotiable principles and publicly intervenes in their defense and promotion because they have to do with human dignity.
For this reason, the institute stated, “We exhort all Catholics, and in general all people concerned with ethically casting their vote, to take these rules as a guide, with the certainty that they are contributing to a better future for our country.”
Uruguayans must “critically judge concrete policies for the way in which they confront the global problem of human life in Uruguay,” the statement underscored, specifically pointing to the defense of the right to life from conception to natural death.
The institute also called for support of those proposals that defend the family “based on a stable marriage between one man and one woman and the coherence of these proposals with a consistent vision of human sexuality and its meaning,” as well as the freedom of parents to choose the kind of education their children receive.