The Catholic Church in Uruguay launched an urgent call to the new authorities after the victory in the elections of the formula headed by Yamandú Orsi, accompanied by Carolina Cosse as vice president. With abortion and marriage equality already established, bishops now face a crucial battle: stopping euthanasia.
In a country known for its secularism, the ecclesiastical hierarchy seeks to reinvent itself to influence a society that seems to move further and further away from traditional values. Laws regulating abortion and civil union between people of the same sex having been approved for years, the challenge for the Catholic Church will be to ensure that the legislation protects life until its natural end, in the face of a bill that seeks to regulate the practice of euthanasia.
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In one carta signed by the president of the Episcopal Conference of Uruguay (CEU), Mons. Arturo Fajardo; the vice president, Cardinal Daniel Sturla; and the general secretary, Mons. Heriberto Bodeant; The bishops wished the elected leaders “good management for the good of all our people.”
On behalf of the laity, consecrated persons, deacons, priests and bishops, they urged the political leaders who will assume their role on March 1, 2025 to “walk with our brothers and sisters, sharing challenges, working for their dignity and well-being, both in the material and spiritual plane and contribute to the construction of a more just and supportive society.”
Citing the letter published in April of this year and titled “Freedom, justice and compassion in the soul of our people,” they expressed: “In this political reality that is Uruguay, Christians are called to commitment and the first of them is to build bridges today so that society does not is fragmented politically and so that the brothers who live in situations that tend to marginalize them can live in a more integrated community.”
In dialogue with EWTN News, the secretary general of the Episcopal Conference, Mons. Heriberto Bodeant, highlighted the instance of dialogue prior to the elections carried out by the Catholic Church and the different candidates, where different concerns could be shared, especially of a social nature.
The prelate acknowledged that issues such as abortion are not currently being debated, which has been legalized for many years “and has very sad results” in “a country with a very low birth rate,” he noted.
“The last census showed that in 11 years the population had grown by 1.07%,” said Bishop Bodeant, “and it has grown more due to the migration received than due to births,” he indicated. He National Statistics Institute reported that the intercensal growth rate (2011-2023) was 1%.
Human dignity at the center of the debate
Although legislation linked to gender policies and abortion has been in force in Uruguay for years, the bishop pointed out that “the issue of euthanasia is still under debate, and so we try to be present through lay people who have training, who “They seek in this country – which is extremely secularized, where religion for many is not a reference at all – to go more from a philosophical perspective, arguments about human dignity, also about the limits of the actions of the State,” he explained.
Bishop Bodeant highlighted the willingness of the Catholic Church to “help build bridges.” Regarding the new rulers, he hopes that they can “negotiate, really seek an understanding”, especially with the large percentage of Uruguayans who did not vote for them: 47.92% who opted for the National Party.
“We want to take care of the soul of our people, we want to take care of those values, particularly that of compassion – with all that it means – with the care of life from its beginning in the mother’s womb, to its natural end, but also the of the life that grows, of the life that needs particular care,” he said.
The formula headed by Yamandú Orsi won this Sunday in the second electoral round with 52.1% of the votes over the National Party candidate, Álvaro Delgado.
A disciple of former president José “Pepe” Mujica, Orsi had won the October general elections, but without achieving the required majority (50%+1 of the votes).
Uruguay inaugurates a new stage of the Frente Amplio with the promise not to apply abrupt changes to the policies of President Luis Lacalle Pou but to exercise a moderate government, an exponent of a “modern left,” he told Reuters.
The Frente Amplio governed Uruguay from 2005 to 2020. In those years, civil unions between people of the same sex, the decriminalization of abortion up to the 12th week of gestation, and the cultivation, marketing and possession of marijuana were approved.
He also promoted, in July 2024, a motion in the Senate to treat with seriousness and urgency the bill to regulate Euthanasia. The motion was stopped by the representatives of the National Party.
Juliet Villar
I am a journalist, with a degree in communication from the National University of La Matanza in Argentina. I have work experience in non-governmental organizations. Since 2016 I have been dedicated to Catholic journalism, first at the Argentine Catholic Information Agency (AICA) and, since 2022, as ACI Prensa correspondent for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia.