Honduras Bishops pledge to work for common good with new president

Dec 11, 2021

By Inés San Martín
Catholic bishops in Honduras are urging newly elected president Iris Xiomara Castro, 62, to work for the poor and to promote authentic development in the Central American country. Castro’s win in the November 28 election was confirmed on Dec 6.

“We hope that the next four years will represent for the Hondurans a time of new opportunities and enjoyment of their legitimate rights,” says the message from the bishops’ conference. The prelates also said that they have “the firm conviction that it must be a priority for the next Government to implement and strengthen the exercise of dialogue, reconciliation and action, because Honduras needs and demands it.” They also said they hope that elected officials will work for the common good and have the capacity to project Honduras towards a prosperous future.

When the first female president of Honduras takes office on January 27, 2022, she will face a number of daunting challenges: restoring the country’s battered democratic institutions, tackling widespread corruption, and recovering from the crises caused by COVID-19 and last year’s devastating hurricanes.

The democratic institutions of the country were shaken 12 years ago when a 2009 coup removed Castro’s husband, Manuel Zelaya, from office. Successive conservative governments have gutted social programmes, increased militarisation, and been accused of launching a systematic attack on human rights and the environment.

This has led to thousands of Hondurans fleeing their country for the United States in a bid to escape crushing poverty, violence, and natural disasters.

The task ahead would be daunting for any leader, but in her celebratory speech, Castro promised to “form a government of reconciliation” and to “guarantee a participatory and direct democracy.”

Her campaign platform was focused on fighting corruption and included a promise to end what she described as a “narco state.”

The bishops congratulated the president-elect for her victory, and expressed their hope that she would “exercise [a] public administration that promotes authentic development and growth of our country and of each Honduran family, seeking the good of the poorest and most excluded, in authentic respect for the dignity of the human person, the right to human life, from conception to natural death, as well as respect for the sacred institution of marriage and family.”

“Our hope is that this reconstruction of a developing Honduras will continue in peace, with respect for life and the dignity of the person,” the prelates said.

In their message, the bishops also expressed their “regret and sincere concern” at the “innumerable voices” which have alleged that “fraud has taken place” in the votes for local authorities and members of the national legislature.

“We call upon the responsible entities to pay due attention to these claims and to resolve them in an expeditious and lawful manner. For the good of our country, there can be no doubt about transparency in the vote count and respect for the decision of the voters,” the bishops wrote.

They also said that the Catholic Church has always supported the just development of the people, based on a solid respect for the fundamental human rights and Christian values of each person and society.

In this sense, they indicated that they are ready to cooperate with the president on many of the issues she has indicated as a priority, including the eradication of poverty, the fight against impunity, the creation of jobs, and the improvement of the health and education systems. -- Crux