Prayer can and must be done without politics, but it is not good for political and social life to be without believing people - because that would take away the strength and quality of political processes, said the priest of the Metropolis of Montenegro and the Littoral (MVP) Gojko Perović.
On the MCP website, it was announced that in a statement to Radio Svetigora, Perović spoke about the attitude of the Church towards the upcoming elections and the participation of people of faith in them.
It is stated that in response to the dilemmas of believers regarding the need for their participation in this political process, Perović presented the position of the Church that the salvation of the soul is not conditioned by political life and that it does not depend on it, and that the spiritual life of Christians can take place even beyond the political processes that surround them. .
"The Church in this world exists in order to direct people to the importance of spiritual life and to confirm the existence of "unseen things" in the words of the Apostle Paul. Both in terms of church and state organization, the task of the Church in this world is not its involvement in party and parliamentary life, nor its participation in one of the branches of earthly government. All this suggests a distance between the Church and the people in it, in relation to politics," Perović pointed out.
He added that, however, on the other hand, even though the Church does not motivate them in that direction, the Church does not forbid believers to actively participate in political life, in the way prescribed by the state Constitution, which is to vote and be elected.
"That would be one of the ways to fulfill the Lord's commandment that a man should give "to God what is God's, and to the emperor what is king's". on the contrary, it is recommended to all those who want to take responsibility before God and people, for their own lives and those of their neighbors. The history of the Church is full of examples of pious rulers, examples of prayer, feats and fasting in the course of earthly and political life," said Perović.
He said that Christians should not be attached to any of the individual parties and even less to any leader, and to deify them, in the sense of some unconditional loyalty, fascination and disappointment.
"Nor should politicians be expected to be sinless or omnipotent, because such expectations often result in an unrealistic attitude of people towards politics. On the contrary, before every election, civil and politically emancipated Christians should consider which of the policies/lists and political figures offered satisfy their human, spiritual, civil, economic views and needs," he said.
Perović said that he believes that the citizens cannot betray or betray the parties, because these parties were created and declared themselves as those that will serve the interests of the citizens.
"However, parties can betray citizens if they do not fulfill their pre-election promises, on the basis of which they received the trust to exercise power and enjoy benefits in connection with it. Mature civil societies, especially secular ones, ask citizens, including believers, to as much as possible, get involved in the building of institutions, to vote, to run for office, re-examining their previous position each time, in order to increase the level of responsibility of the politicians and parties themselves," said Perović.
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