In their statement, the CEM noted that modern democratic states are configured at the service of “every human person, of every community, promoting the full exercise of their freedoms and not restricting them as authoritarian states do.”
The Mexican bishops stressed the importance of understanding the secular state in an open and collaborative manner, “which promotes the exercise of human rights and configures a type of integral, solidary, and sustainable human development without denying any possibility of social and community expression of religious beliefs.”
Especially in the case of the discussion that will take place in the Supreme Court on Nativity scenes, the bishops called on “the justices to ensure religious freedom, the secular state, plurality, and freedom of options.”
“They should resolve this according to this modern and inclusive vision and not an ideology of a secular state that impedes the human right to religious freedom,” the prelates urged.
The statement also recalled that the Mexican state “is at the service of each citizen, promoting their freedoms and social justice, in plurality and respect for all cultural expressions.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.