FRIDAY-SATURDAY-SUNDAY
July 14-16, 2000
volume 11, no. 121


NEWS for Friday-Saturday-Sunday, July 14-16, 2000
MEXICO MOVES TOWARD FULL RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Commitments Assumed by President-elect Vicente Fox

VATICAN CITY, JULY 12 (ZENIT.org)

    On Tuesday, the international agency "Fides" published an interview with Manuel Gomez, director of the Mexican Institute of Christian Social Doctrine, who stated: "The election of President Vicente Fox might allow the implementation of a package of reforms in regard to full religious liberty and relations between the State and Church."

    "Now, after 150 years of lack of recognition, President-elect Vicente Fox's proposal opens a new vision of hope," Gomez told "Fides."

    According to "Fides," although the Church was recognized officially 9 years ago, it is still subjected to "many restrictions": for example, there is no freedom of education, manifestation, or use of the media by Churches.

    During his electoral campaign, Fox promised that, if he won the elections, he would be committed to foster religious liberty and the family. Today "Fides" listed the electoral proposals made by Fox, who will assume office on December 1.

    1. To promote respect for life from conception until natural death.

    2. To support family unity.

    3. To respect parents' right to educate their children.

    4. To promote free access to spiritual and religious assistance in hospitals, prisons, and health centers.

    5. To respond to the Churches' right to greater areas of religious liberty (stemming from Article 24 of the Constitution).

    6. To adhere to international law and international agreements signed by Mexico, eliminating restrictions on religious freedom present in Article 130 of the Constitution.

    7. To allow Churches to make use of the media to spread their ideas and support their activities.

    8. To promote a fiscal program for Churches that will allow for a reduction in taxes, when they contribute to human development.

    9. To permit entry and residence in the country to Churches' ministers of worship.

    10. To promote parity in ecclesiastical studies in the civil realm, respecting the programs and contents of the subjects proposed by seminaries and institutes of religious formation.

    Fox presented these proposals in an electoral document published on April 27, 2000.

    The life of the Church in Mexico has been complicated during this century, "Fides" states. Inspired in Socialist and Freemason ideas, the 1917 Constitution denied all kinds of civil rights to priests, men and women religious, and seminarians. It denied freedom of education, manifestation, press and political expression to Christians.

    These restrictions resulted in the "Cristero War" of 1926. Since 1929, although the law has not been applied literally, the Church has had not juridical status in Mexico, and no diplomatic relations with the Vatican.

    The situation began to change in 1991, with a project for the country's modernization, which included legal recognition of Churches. Although certain restrictions continue to be enforced, at present the law grants greater freedom of activity to the various religious confessions. ZE00071208

      We encourage you to check the Catholic World News site at the CWN home page and Church News at Noticias Eclesiales and the Dossiers, features and Daily Dispatches from ZENIT International News Agency CWN, NE and ZENIT are not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC, but provide this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.


Return to Front Page of Current Issue