Colombia: Cardinal Rueda asks that the 2025 pre-electoral year be one of responsibility and not division

The Archbishop of Bogotá, Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio, asked that the pre-electoral year 2025 be a time in which relationships of responsibility and respect, and not division, are built in Colombia.

“I believe that this pre-electoral year in Colombia is a year of responsibility and it is a year of fraternity. I say responsibility because politics must involve all of us, young people, adults, no one feels indifferent,” said the cardinal in his message for the end of the year.

The words of the Archbishop of Bogotá come when the names of possible presidential candidates who will seek to win the general elections of May 2026 are already beginning to be announced.

“Politics is the service of the common good, as taught by the social doctrine of the Church. And good politics, says Pope Francis in his encyclical Brothers allleads us to be able to listen to those who think differently and to find common paths,” he noted.

For this reason, Cardinal Rueda reiterated that the pre-electoral year that will begin in the coming days “must be a year to weave relationships of respect, to weave relationships of responsibility and not to fracture us, not to divide us.”

“Future generations need democracy,” he stated, “consolidated institutions and a Colombian people working all for peace, for life, for reconciliation and for the comprehensive development of all regions. God is with us. “He accompanies our history.”

Look for signs of hope

In his message, the Archbishop of Bogotá said that although difficulties have been experienced during the past year, with international wars and internal conflicts, we must also look at “the signs of the Kingdom of God, the signs of hope that encourage us to continue.” walking”.

“We had a very important social event in Colombia, which was COP 16, which led us to look at our country and the common home with all the biodiversity it has, and the great responsibility we have in caring for all species, plants, animals and above all, take care of ourselves as human beings,” he recalled.

Likewise, “at the ecclesial level we had a wonderful event: we had the second session of the Assembly of the Synod of Bishops with the topic of synodality.”

“Now we have one path left, we have to take everything that the synod has offered us and implement it,” he indicated.

Cardinal Rueda recalled that Christ promised to remain with his disciples “every day until the end of the world.” For this reason, he pointed out, “we must be promoters and announcers with our words and with our attitudes of that hope that fills us with joy.”

In that sense, he highlighted that the year 2025 begins with the Jubilee of Hope called by Pope Francis, an opportunity “to renew ourselves as people, as families, as society, as humanity.”

“I wish all of you to be able to take stock of the year by realistically looking at what has happened, the signs of suffering and the signs of hope and that together we walk as the people of God serving humanity,” the cardinal concluded.