MEXICO CITY (CNS): The Argentine Bishops’ Conference expressed its opposition to the plans of the country’s president, Alberto Fernandez, to present legislation legalising abortion, saying the South American country had more pressing social concerns.
In a strongly worded homily at a special Mass celebrated on March 8— International Women’s Day— at the Basilica of Our Lady of Lujan, Bishop Oscar Ojea of San Isidro, conference president, also took issue with Fernandez referring to opponents of decriminalisation (of abortion) as “hypocrites.”
Bishop Ojea said, “Millions of Argentines, believers and nonbelievers, have the deep conviction that there is life from conception and that a person distinct from its mother is developing in her womb. It is unjust and painful to refer to them as being ‘anti-rights’ or ‘hypocrites.”
The Mass was attended by thousands and promoted with the slogan: Yes to women, yes to life.
“Disqualifications and stigmatisations (of pro-life people) do nothing more than deepen the divisions between Argentines,” Bishop Ojea said.
Politicians must “discern priorities and not select topics that don’t match up with ordinary citizens,” he added.
Fernandez took office on 10 December 2019, amid an economic crisis in Argentina, where inflation has soared, the currency has crashed and poverty and hunger are rife.
The bishops’ rebuke of the president’s comments came as Fernandez seeks Catholic support for stabilising the country, where many parishes—especially in poor neighbourhoods—operate soup kitchens and clothing banks, and provide services such as medical checkups and legal clinics.
On March 1, Fernandez promised to present a bill to legalise abortion to Congress within 10 days and accused opponents of “hypocrisy” on the issue.
Despite the strong words, some observers see the Church as still willing to work with Fernandez, especially as many of the bishops working with the poor opposed the austerity policies of Fernandez’s predecessor, Mauricio Macri.
“There hasn’t been a rupture or shift in support,” Mariano De Vedia, a political editor and religion writer at the newspaper La Nacion, said. “There has been an emphatic Church rejection of (Fernandez’s) abortion proposal.”
Polls show people split on the president’s proposal. Observers say the social attitudes of Argentinians have shifted in recent years on gender issues and the traditional roles of women.
A survey by Opinaia found 35 per cent support legalising abortion, while 44 per cent oppose it, with opposition strongest outside the capital, Buenos Aires.
Argentina’s lower house of Congress approved a decriminalisation bill in 2018, but the Senate —with strong representation from the conservative provinces—voted it down.
De Vedia said opponents are hoping for a similar scenario in 2020 as “the votes (for legalisation) are not assured in the Senate.”
