The days for peace, the bishop and the revenge of God
To Dr. Argelia López Luna,
for his sensitive scholarly work
and professional, on the UAZ.
It is evident that given the scenario of violence that plagues the national society, it is imminent to build a new architecture for positive peace in Mexico and Zacatecas.
In our State, Bishop Sigifredo Noriega Barceló has already contributed, for now, an element of discussion on the subject. But the fundamental thing is to recover the plural and fruitful dialogue between the various social actors, to face this crucial problem in unity.
What is undeniable is that, in Zacatecas, the head of the Executive Power, David Monreal, all the churches (of course, the head of the Catholics, Sigifredo Noriega), civil society in general, the different political forces and, among them, the business chambers , must march together in favor of the construction of a renewed climate of peace and for the recovery of social harmony.
The national Catholic hierarchy, through the Conference of the Mexican Episcopate (CEM), summoned bishops, priests, thousands of nuns and millions of faithful, organized around more than 7,700 temples in the country, to begin this Sunday the 10th of July, the mobilization of the Days of Prayer for Peace.
The purpose of this movement (as argued) is to reduce and combat the violence that plagues the country and to confront the barbarism of the sound of bullets, shrapnel and the culture of death, violent acts that have led the country to the “Hell” route and unique scenarios similar to those described by Dante Alighieri in his monumental literary works.
The world days for peace of the Catholic Church have a 54-year tradition and were initiated in 1968, in the pontificate of Paul VI, in the context of the Vietnam War, and three paths were proposed to achieve their objective:
1).-Promote dialogue between churches, nations, groups and generations; 2).-Strengthen education in values as a factor of freedom, responsibility and development; and 3).-Generate decent work as a full realization of human beings. Without these ingredients, the construction of the peace project will fail in Zacatecas and Mexico.
Education in values is constituted not only as the main support to make the culture of peace a reality, but also for integral human development.
Specialists on the subject of peace have classified it as negative and positive. The first refers to that which allows a social climate absent of violence; the second refers us to processes that make possible societies with high levels of development, justice and equality.
Social peace, moreover, is a gift and a collective good, the result of absolutely everyone’s efforts.
Zacatecas has a society monolithically united by religious values. It is in percentage terms, according to the 2020 population census, the most Catholic state in the Republic, even above Guanajuato, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Michoacán and/or Querétaro.
This gives the bishop of the diocese of Zacatecas, Sigifredo Noriega Barceló, a surprising and unusual force, not only to be present with his proposals, but also to be taken into consideration as a central protagonist of respect in Zacatecan life.
In net numbers, the entities with the largest number of Catholics are the following: State of Mexico, 13 million 336 thousand; Jalisco 7.5 million; Mexico City 6.9 million; Veracruz 6.5 million and Guanajuato 5.6 million.
In the Mexican Republic, according to the latest census figures (2020), 77.8% of its population declared themselves Catholic, which is equivalent to 98 million people.
Zacatecas is an entity with a strong tradition of religious spirituality, which has made it a strength to build positive things for collective well-being.
God’s revenge
140 years ago the phrase “God is dead, does not exist” was coined, a theme included in the works The Gay Science (1882) and Thus Spake Zarathustra (1883), by the exceptional German philosopher Federico Nietzsche, epigraphs that provoked a profound revolution of consciences at that time.
Today, everything seems to indicate that in the face of the deep and heartbreaking existential crisis that humanity is suffering, the only stronghold of shelter for men and women of all ages is located in their religious spirituality. We meet again in front of the unquestionable “Revenge of God”.
in his book God’s Revenge (1991), a monumental academic research work on religious movements, the French sociologist Gilles Kepel states that “contemporary society cannot be built, rationalized or understood apart from the great monotheistic religions.”
With the work of Kepel, the historical cycle initiated by Nietzsche was closed, when he affirmed “God does not exist”. Philosophical mega/trends refute it.
Zacatecas, values and religion
In Zacatecas, religion has been an impressive source of formation in values for society. Today your strength is required to build a new horizon of peace.