Chilean bishops meet to discuss sexual abuse scandal

Managua, Nicaragua, May 1, 2019 / 05:03 pm (CNA).- The Nicaraguan bishops lamented Wednesday that “the Nicaraguan family continues to suffer,” and called for no more “repressive actions and persecution.”

Anti-government protests in Nicaragua began in April 2018. They resulted in more than 300 deaths, and the country’s bishops mediated on-again, off-again peace talks until they broke down in June. A new round of dialogue began in February.

In a May 1 message, the Nicaraguan bishops said that “our faith in Jesus Christ who died and rose again for our salvation does not allow us to remain on the sidelines of world events, and for us, the cultural, political, economic, familial and social situation in the country.”

“To selfishly close yourself up in your own comfort and still worse to stoke up feelings of hatred between brothers, is not the way of the Gospel,”  they added.

The bishops’ conference said that “the sufferings of the Nicaraguan family” are seen in “the political prisoners, the lack of respect for constitutional rights, those exiled, the refugees, those living in asylum, poverty, unemployment, lack of public safety, conflicts over land and their corresponding consequences, families from the western part of the country moving into the Caribbean coastal area, invading the fertile lands that the indigenous people have historically possessed.”

This problem, they noted, makes evident “that without the presence of God … we have no future.”

The bishops called on Nicaraguans to build a country “where we can be capable of achieving a vision of change that leads to a qualitative transformation.”

“We are called to build an integral concept of peace and, in that sense, to build up a society where peace will be lasting, just and consistent with the interests of all,” they said.

“The peace that comes down from the Crucified and Risen One who remains despite the ravages of time and is not the object of short-tern arrangements,” they added.

It is also necessary to work for “a Nicaragua where the centrality of the human person and his dignity as a child of God is upheld.”

“The exercise of freedom and the dignity of the human person are prior to the state. A state that is modern and functional, ethical and moral, has the obligation to protect, respect, promote and defend these rights, which are also prior any social accord,” they pointed out.

“It is then an imperative that in a society there not be any repressive actions or persecution, making possible a climate of unhindered freedom and trust.”

The bishops’ conference then said that “democracy and its institutional dimension”  must be respected and strengthened in Nicaragua, since “the life of a human being has meaning in the framework of democratic values, principles and institutions.”

“We must not forget that respect for a democracy must be inspired by the idea of strengthening the institutions and principles that the rule of law is founded on: the supremacy of the law, the separation of powers and respect for human rights.”

The bishops also said that “a Nicaragua where the freedom of expression is exercised without restrictions” must be built.

“Every principle of the freedom of expression has its origin in the maximum expression of God who freely expressed his love for humanity through the Incarnate Word,” they stated.

Peace must be “the fruit of justice,” they added. “In this time of crisis we Nicaraguans are called to establish accords in the matter of justice that will be lasting and that are respected.”

“In such a way that  we support every initiative to dialogue made with good will and particularly the effort that the Holy See has been making through the several messages that Pope Francis has sent us, and the presence of the nuncio as a witness and international observer.”

The bishops stressed that “this is not a matter of looking for ways to evade the current situation but to face it stemming from communion with Christ. In the same way that the Resurrection is rooted in the night of the Cross so does the energy and joy of the Christian spring from communion with the sufferings of his Lord.”

“May the Queen of Heaven, who rejoiced at the resurrection of her Son, by participating in his sorrowful Passion, intercede for us and make us to to share in her joy,” they concluded.

Nicaragua’s crisis began last year after president Daniel Ortega announced social security and pension reforms. The changes were soon abandoned in the face of widespread, vocal opposition, but protests only intensified after more than 40 protestors were killed by security forces.

The pension reforms which triggered the unrest were modest, but protests quickly turned to Ortega’s authoritarian bent.

Ortega has been president of Nicaragua since 2007, and oversaw the abolition of presidential term limits in 2014.

The Church had suggested that elections, which are not scheduled until 2021, be held this year, but Ortega has ruled this out.

Ortega was a leader in the Sandinista National Liberation Front, which had ousted the Somoza dictatorship in 1979 and fought US-backed right-wing counterrevolutionaries during the 1980s. Ortega was also leader of Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990.

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CNA Staff, Oct 28, 2020 / 05:00 pm (CNA).-  

After remarks in a newly-released documentary from Pope Francis on civil unions, the archbishop emeritus of La Plata, Argentina, has offered his recollection of a 2010 debate on civil unions which took place within the Argentine bishops’ conference, while the country’s legislature was preparing to approve a same-sex marriage bill.

In comments sent to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Archbishop Héctor Aguer noted that “the recent statement by the Supreme Pontiff promoting civil unions between people of the same sex caused a stir, in the Church and outside of it; i.e., proposing that they be granted a legal framework.”

The archbishop referred to comments published in “Francesco,” a documentary that premiered in Rome last week, in which Pope Francis was seen to call for civil unions legislation. The pope’s previously unpublished remarks were found to have come from a 2019 interview conducted by Mexican television network Televisa.

It has since been widely reported that Pope Francis supported the idea of civil unions legislation while he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, as a compromise during the 2010 debate in Argentina over same-sex marriage.

Last week, Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez, the current Archbishop of La Plata, posted on Facebook that “What the pope has said on this subject is what he also maintained when he was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires.”

The archbishop added that before he became pope, then-Cardinal Bergoglio “always recognized that, without calling it ‘marriage,’ in fact there are very close unions between people of the same sex, which do not in themselves imply sexual relations, but a very intense and stable alliance.”

“This can be contemplated in the law and is called ‘civil union’ [unión civil] or ‘law of civil coexistence’ [ley de convivencia civil], not marriage,” Fernandez wrote.

Archbishop Aguer, who led the Archdiocese of La Plata from 2000 to 2018, recalled the 2010 debate about civil unions.

“Cardinal Bergoglio, then being the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, proposed in a plenary assembly of the Argentine bishops’ conference to support the legality of civil unions of homosexual persons by the state, as a possible alternative to what was called – and is called – ‘marriage equality.’”

“At that time, the argument against him was that it was not a merely political or sociological question, but that it involved a moral judgment; consequently, the sanction of civil laws contrary to the natural order cannot be promoted. It was also noted that this teaching has been repeatedly stated in the documents of the Second Vatican Council. The plenary of the Argentine bishops rejected that proposal and voted against it,” Aguer said.

The archbishop added that “in 2003 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith declared that ‘respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behavior or to legal recognition of homosexual unions.’ It’s not unreasonable to think that such unions, to which it is proposed to grant legal recognition, are not ‘platonic’; therefore, it would be implicitly approving the coverage of homosexual activity in the law.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that those who identify as LGBT “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.”

The Catechism elaborates that homosexual inclinations are “objectively disordered,” homosexual acts are “contrary to the natural law,” and those who identify as lesbian and gay, like all people, are called to the virtue of chastity, and called to holiness.

The archbishop said that in his view, the Catechism proposes “a path of spiritual improvement oriented towards the achievement of chastity, through the practice of ‘the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom,’ prayer and sacramental grace.”

For Aguer, “the ecclesiastical approval of ‘civil unions’ would bring on the de-Christianization and dehumanization of society.”

The archbishop affirmed his respect for the pope, but said that in his view, the pope’s remarks in a documentary “do not have a magisterial character.”

“I compare it with the conversations that the popes have during their trips with journalists in the plane’s passageway; They may be interesting, but they lack the specifications that are proper to a magisterial genre; although issued by a relevant personality, they are no more than private opinions.”

In addition, Aguer said, “in the case of a matter on which there is certain Catholic teaching, if the Holy Father had the intention of introducing a change, the reasonable thing is to maintain that he would expressly state it with authority and good arguments.”

The archbishop warned against a tendency he called “Pope-olatry,” among some Catholics, saying it “is not healthy behavior.” He noted that “the initial repercussions” to the pope’s words “already caused contrasting reactions, which raises fears of a widening of divisions among the faithful, a deepening of the ecclesial ‘rift’ which undeniably exists.”

“I hope that theologians, cardinals and bishops with greater wisdom and authority than I, will bring some light to these dark moments,” he said.

For Aguer, “it’s very painful to think of the spiritual damage the faithful who suffer due to their disorderly inclination will suffer if the Church should back the recognition of civil unions, sanctioned by the state as a right to have a family; this would place an obstacle to the possible healing process described in the Catechism.”

“Because the mercy of the truth is owed to these persons,” he said.

The archbishop urged Catholics to prayer, and urged them to “hope, which lights up suns in our night.”

A version of this story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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Guadalajara, Mexico, Apr 10, 2018 / 03:27 pm (ACI Prensa).- Facing violence, poverty and corruption, Mexico should be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, said Archbishop Emeritus Juan Sandoval Íñiguez of Guadalajara.

“In face of the tribulations our country is currently going through, and the need we have for a good government, a suggestion occurs to me: that our bishops of Mexico consecrate the country on May 13, the date of the first apparition of Our Lady of Fatima, to the Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary; and that each bishop do the same in his own diocese,” he said in a recent video released by El Universal.

He recalled that the Virgin Mary had requested the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart, in her apparitions to the shepherd children at Fatima.

“A few years later, without violence, without the shedding of blood, the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain fell that divided Europe. The Blessed Virgin of Fatima foresaw future times and told us that the remedy was prayer and to make Christ reign in the world and in society along with her Immaculate Heart,” the cardinal said.

Saint John Paul II sent a letter in December 1983 to the world’s bishops, including the Orthodox bishops, in which he expressed his intention to consecrate Russia to the Heart of Mary.

At that time, Russia was part of the Soviet Union, which had imposed communism on a number of countries especially in Eastern Europe, and a great number of Christians were martyred.

On March 25, 1984, the Feast of the Annunciation, in Saint Peter’s Square, Pope John Paul II consecrated Russia, along with all of humanity, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. and in communion with all the bishops of the world.

Sister Lucia, one of the three Fatima visionaries, affirmed that his consecration “has been done as Our Lady had requested.”

In 1989 the Berlin Wall fell. Over the next two years, the USSR collapsed. On Dec. 8, 1991 – the Feast of the Immaculate Conception –  Soviet leaders declared that the Soviet Union was to be dismantled and replaced by the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Reflecting on this, Cardinal Sandoval said, “it seems to me that this suggestion is pertinent; hopefully our bishops can carefully consider it, because in this time of tribulation, the voice of our bishops in guiding the people is needed. They are the religious leaders of Mexico, and the people, the people of God, hope for a word from us bishops.”

He emphasized that in consecrating Mexico to the Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, “we will be doing a service to our homeland, and I believe that God will take that into account for us.”

This article was originally published by our sister agency, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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