Just days after meeting with President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the recently elected head of the Catholic Church in Argentina, José María Arancedo, yesterday praised the opening of “dialogue” channels with the government but made it clear that the opinion of the Church is not partisan and does not correspond to either “Kirchnerites or the opposition.”
Arancedo, 71, who was elected as the new leader of the Church in Argentina last Tuesday, revealed details of his meeting with Fernández de Kirchner during an interview and stated that it was “very useful.” Arancedo has made it clear that one of his main objectives as leader is to improve on relations with the government which have worn thin in the last five years.
The new head of the Church revealed that they discussed “life, marriage, family, poverty, education, culture,” while confirming Fernández de Kirchner’s stance against abortion.
“You know what I think about this issue,” the President told the head of the Church during Thursday’s meeting, in reference to her anti-abortion stance. Last week, a Congressional committee postponed a proposed bill for the decriminalization of abortion in Argentina. It is believed that if the bill makes it to Congress, deputies and senators will not be subject to the party whip.
“We spoke about everything. We said ‘we are pastors,’ therefore the topics we touched upon were not from a partisan stand- point or Kirchnerite or opposition stance, but from us as pastors who are faithful to the Gospel and the service of man,” said Arancedo.
Source: Buenos Aires Herald