In chapter 20 of the catechesis series “Thy Kingdom Come”, the bishop of Cuernavaca and president of the Mexican Episcopal Conference, Ramón Castro Castro, preached with special force on the urgency of being “seekers of truth” in a country wounded by lies and manipulation.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life,” the bishop recalled, quoting Jesus (Jn 14,6). Following Him, he affirmed, is the only way to draw near to the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom of truth and life that frees us from errors, deceptions, and manipulations. In a world that denies the very existence of truth and where fake news spreads with dizzying speed, Christ calls us to be brave witnesses.
Castro was unequivocal: when truth is neither sought nor appreciated, society ends up accepting “half-truths” or lies disguised as objective data. In Mexico, he said, we have suffered how information manipulation divides families, polarizes communities, and destroys the essential trust for coexistence. “This distancing from truth separates us from the good and from God,” he concluded.
The eighth commandment (“You shall not bear false witness or lie”) took on special prominence in his preaching. Lies, he emphasized, damage sincerity and corrode trust at all levels: personal, family, social, and political. A democracy without truth or transparency, he warned, quickly becomes authoritarian demagoguery, “whether evident or disguised.” Mexico, he added, has experienced how opacity corrodes the social fabric and opens the door to corruption and abuse of power.
In the face of today’s ideological pluralism, the bishop called for building bridges through dialogue that is rational and open to faith, avoiding closed-mindedness that disqualifies, excludes, and censors. “We need to agree on elementary, universal, and transcendent values regarding human dignity,” he insisted.
The Kingdom of Heaven, he explained, is not only eternal life after death, but begins here and now as a source of meaning for our earthly existence. It would be a mistake to disregard the present reality thinking that it suffices to “gain heaven,” but it would also be a mistake to try to transform society without building the Kingdom of God. The question of the rich young man (“What good must I do to obtain eternal life?”) received the eternal answer: keep the commandments.
Castro dwelt especially on the fifth commandment: “You shall not kill.” This mandate, he affirmed, obliges us to defend life from the mother’s womb until its natural end. In the Mexican context, it means raising a prophetic voice against feminicides, violence from organized crime, abortion, disappearances, clandestine graves, drug trafficking that devours our youth, and hatred that destroys communities. “It is an urgent denunciation for our time,” he exclaimed.
The bishop concluded with an ardent plea: that Jesus Christ reign in our hearts, families, parishes, schools, workplaces, media, public institutions, and businesses. May He reign in the entire Mexican society, transforming it from within with the power of truth and life that only He can give.
“Thy Kingdom Come,” the bishop of Cuernavaca repeated with emotion, inviting all Mexicans to become authentic seekers and witnesses of the Truth that is Christ.
The full catechesis can be viewed at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2do1LpM-00