Peruvian president consecrates nation to Sacred Heart, Immaculate Heart

Lima, Peru, Oct 25, 2016 / 06:35 am (CNA/EWTN News).- At the National Prayer Breakfast in Lima, Peru on Friday, the nation’s president, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, consecrated the country, his family and himself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Taking part in the National Day of Prayer at the Swissôtel in Lima, Kuczynski in his capacity as president offered the prayer of consecration, written by the Mission for the Love of God in the Whole World.

“By the authority vested in me, I make an act of consecration of myself, my family and the Republic of Peru, to the love and protection of Almighty God through the intercession of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary,” the president said.

Participating in the event were important business and political leaders in the country, including the President of Congress, Luz Salgado, who also offered a prayer asking God for his help and protection.

Of the 21 prayer breakfasts that have been held in Peru, this is the first time a president has attended. The theme chosen for this year was “the Mercy of the Love of God” in accordance with the Year of Mercy called for by Pope Francis.

Event organizer Aldo Bertello Costa said that the intent of the breakfast is to pray for the leaders as well as to “bring to all Peruvians a message of optimism and reconciliation. Everyone united together for our beloved country.”

During the ceremony, President Kuczynski entrusted to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary “my government with all its workers and citizens who are under my responsibility. I offer to Almighty God my thoughts and decisions as president so that he may use them for the good of our country and always bearing in mind the Ten Commandments in governing it.”

He asked God’s forgiveness “for all the transgressions I may have committed in the past, all those committed by the Republic in the past, and for all those decisions that may have been made contrary to his commandments and I ask for his help in changing everything that separates us from Him.”

The consecration received a mixed reaction on social media. Some celebrated the gesture, while others noted that some members of Kuczynski’s party have recently promoted initiatives to decriminalize abortion, homosexual unions and gender ideology in the schools.

Days earlier, Congressman Alberto de Belaúnde, a member of Kuczynski’s party, told RPPTV that “it is absolutely irrelevant” where the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations stand on a bill that he is co-sponsoring to decriminalize abortion in cases of rape.