Catholic bishops warn of instability in Portuguese-speaking countries

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Catholic bishops warn of instability in Portuguese-speaking countries

1:39 CAT | 30 Sep 2016

Noticias

Catholic leaders of seven Portuguese-speaking countries have expressed “concern about the social, political and economic instability in almost all [Lusophone] countries”.

In a joint press statement on Tuesday, the last of five days of the second Meeting of Bishops of Portuguese-speaking Countries in Aparecida in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, representatives warned that this instability would have “consequences in the lives of citizens, families and institutions”.

The document condemned the “corruption, the exploitation of the poor and human trafficking”, and pointed to the “need for dialogue” with politicians and governments, to defend “the core values related to human life and the common good, democracy and human rights”.

The representatives of Catholic Church dioceses also agreed on the need for greater cooperation among Lusophone churches and inter-religious dialogue “in the common pursuit of peace and tolerance, safety and well-being”.

The meeting also advocated the need for dialogue with other religions and with politicians and civil society on the subject of environmental protection on the basis of Pope Francis’s ecological encyclical, “Laudato Si”.

The leaders also reflected on another papal text concerning marriage and the family, proposing “the Gospel of the family and the pastoral care of the bond compared to other modes and concepts of family and in response to a throw-away culture and world breakdown”.

They argued that it was necessary to “receive, prepare and monitor the family at all stages and in all processes” and “address issues such as polygamy and inter-religious marriages”.

The meeting was attended by 14 representatives from Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and Sao Tome and Principe.

Source: Noticias