Is Argentina going overboard in honoring native son Pope Francis?
| Autor | Gaudin, Andres |
Since March 13, when Jesuit Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio was elected to be the Catholic Church's 266th successor to the throne of St. Peter (NotiSur, May 3, 2013), many formal changes have taken place in his native country. Streets and avenues in the principal cities have been given his name, as have several large, medium-sized, and small plazas throughout the country. Proposals were made to rename the northern city of Salta, founded by Spanish conquistadors in 1582, Papa Francisco; to mint a commemorative coin to mark his accession; and to issue a postage stamp with his image. Schools and public offices throughout the country declared holidays, and 38 bills were introduced in Congress with a wide array of unique proposals for honoring the new pope.
The city of Buenos Aires' installation of a gigantic 88 meter by 44 meter image of Pope Francis, covering the entire facade of the major government office building in the city, a Vatican flag in the city's Plaza de la Republica, where the national flag is normally flown, and a tour, organized by the city government, which, for US$35 per person, takes visitors to the places in the city that have some connection to the pope's childhood, youth, or adulthood round out the sudden religiosity of the Buenos Aires government. Bergoglio's election caused all this and more. And, what is worse for Catholic Church interests, it has set off a resurgence of organizations to defend the secular state.
"It got out of hand, in a totalitarian attitude that the pope surely rejects. They are stomping on the rights not only of those who practice other religions but also those of all citizens who don't agree with using state resources to support the Catholic religion," said Fernando Lozada, an activist with the Coalicion Argentina por un Estado Laico (CAEL).
Critics say name changes insensitive to history Lozada, along with others, not only complains that they have replaced the national flag and want to change the name of one of the oldest cities in the country, he says a "wave of dangerous fanaticism" has been unleashed, and he criticizes other ideas thrown out recently.
One suggests replacing Avenida Carabobo and the Carabobo metro station in the capital with the name Papa Francisco. Whoever suggested the change is surely ignoring the historic significance of the name, which refers to the June 24, 1821, battle in which Simon Bolivar defeated the troops of the Spanish crown and began the final phase in the...
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