French bishops’ conference reacts to presidential vote

April 25, 2017

The Bishops’ Conference of France has issued a statement following the first round of the presidential voting, which saw Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen emerge as the two candidates in the May 7 runoff election.

Msgr. Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, the conference’s secretary-general, said that the Church does not endorse candidates but offers principles based on her social teaching.

“The dignity of our society is recognized by the respect of the weakest of its members from the beginning of their life to their natural end,” he said, as he called for a society characterized by support for the family, solidarity for those in need, and reduced consumption for the sake of the environment.

Turning to migration, he wrote, “When some countries host millions of refugees, how could our country shrink from the prospect of welcoming and integrating tens of thousands of these victims?”

On the issue of European unity—on which the candidates differ sharply—the priest called for “genuine adherence of the peoples of Europe to the European project” but also called for a greater European respect for national identity, in accord with the principle of subsidiarity.

 

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Further information:

• Élections présidentielles : l’Église redit son rôle et rappelle ses fondamentaux (CEF)
• Macron vs. Le Pen: Opposing styles and visions for France (AP)