Mexico: Catholic Church calls to pray for elected leaders and the unity of the country

The Catholic Church in Mexico called on all parishes and lay movements to ask God “for the elected rulers and for the unity of our country” during the Eucharistic celebrations next Sunday, June 16.

This call comes shortly after the National Electoral Institute (INE) made official the results of the elections, held on Sunday, June 2.

After the counting of the scrutiny minutes, it was confirmed that Claudia Sheinbaum, the candidate of the Let’s Keep Making History coalition (which includes the National Regeneration Movement – MORENA, the Labor Party – PT, and the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico – PVEM) , was the winner with 35.9 million votes, equivalent to 59.7% of the total.

Sheinbaum will succeed Andrés Manuel López Obrador, founder of MORENA, and will assume the presidency of Mexico on October 1, 2024.

In a message transmitted in a video On June 13, the Conference of the Mexican Episcopate (CEM) expressed its hope to see how citizens “embrace the values ​​of the common good”, after the election day where the Mexican people, “exercising their civil and political rights, went out to vote ”.

The prelates emphasized the importance of maintaining “this spirit” so that it continues to “encourage and inspire in the construction of a brighter future for the country.”

For this reason, they requested prayers so that “the common good is the star that guides the exercise of government of all those elected by popular vote.” Likewise, they asked the faithful to pray to God so that “the winners of this electoral contest govern all Mexicans with wisdom.”

“Let us implore God, our father and our most holy mother, the Virgin of Guadalupe, to enlighten and encourage us to continue building the peace in Mexico that we so long for,” the message concluded.

The monthly prayer days, which were born as a result of the murder of two Jesuit priests in June 2022, are part of the Catholic Church’s strategy to mitigate violence.

In addition to this initiative, the Church in Mexico carries out other projects to promote peace, including discussions on justice and security with various social, political and economic actors, where the needs of the country are pointed out.

From these meetings arose the CNational Pledge for Peace, signed by the candidates for the presidency of Mexico on March 11 in the country’s capital.

This initiative, proposed by the Catholic Church, seeks to address the growing violence in the nation and consists of seven key actions to improve security and strengthen the social fabric: social fabric, security, justice, prisons, adolescents, governance and human rights.

On that occasion, Claudia Sheinbaum signed the commitment “with the understanding that there is a joint vision of peacebuilding”, however, she indicated that “there are various statements and proposals with which I do not agree.”