Page 11 - Aruba Today
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WORLD NEWS A11
Wednesday 17 February
Francis to Mexico priests: Don’t be resigned to status quo
JACOBO GARCIA when faced with this real- Pope Francis, background center, walks in procession to celebrate a mass at the Venustiano
NICOLE WINFIELD ity, which seems to have Carranza stadium in Morelia, Mexico, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016. On his one-day trip to the capital of
PETER ORSI become a permanent sys- troubled Michoacan state, the Pope will also meet with youth and pay a visit the Morelia cathe-
Associated Press tem?” Francis asked. dral.
MORELIA, Mexico (AP) — “I think we can sum it up in
Pope Francis urged Mex- one word: resignation.” (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
ico’s priests on Tuesday It was a clear reference to
to fight injustice and not the situation in Michoac- Francis said that when closely linked to Mexico’s the right thing.”
resign themselves to the an, a major methamphet- Vasco de Quiroga saw In- political and financial elite On Saturday in Mexico City,
drug-fueled violence and amine production hub, as dians being “sold, humili- and are loath to speak out Francis scolded what he
corruption around them, well as the nation at large, ated and homeless in mar- on behalf of the poor and called gossiping, career-
issuing a set of marching where gangs and drug ketplaces” due to colonial victims of social injustice. minded and aloof clerics,
orders to shake up a Mexi- lords have thrived thanks exploitation, he did not re- “Sometimes the violence and admonished them to
can church known for its in part to the complicity sign himself to inaction but has made us give up, either stand by their flock and of-
cozy ties to the rich and of police and other public rather was inspired to fight out of discouragement, fer “prophetic courage”
powerful. authorities. That corruption injustice. habit or fear,” said Fausto in facing down the drug
Francis traveled to a hot- came to light most recent- Since beginning his Mexico Mendez, a 23-year-old trade. In an inscription in
bed of Mexico’s drug trade ly in the case of drug lord trip Friday night, Francis has seminarian who attended a seminary guestbook, he
for a Mass with the coun- Joaquin “El Chapo” Guz- repeatedly taken to task Tuesday’s Mass. “That’s urged future priests to be
try’s priests and nuns. It was man, who escaped for a the Mexican church lead- why the pope comes to tell pastors of God and not
the first event of a daylong second time from a maxi- ership, many of whom are us not to be afraid to do “clerics of the state.”q
visit to Morelia, the capital mum security prison in July,
of Michoacan state, that and was recaptured after
includes a meeting with an October meeting with
young people, a fixture of actor Sean Penn.
papal trips that often pro- Rather than give up in the
duces some of the most face of such corruption,
memorable and sponta- Francis urged the clerics to
neous moments. look to the model of Vasco
Francis’ visit was also a de Quiroga, a 16th-century
symbolic vote of confi- Spanish bishop who came
dence for the city’s arch- to New Spain and founded
bishop, Alberto Suarez Utopian-style indigenous
Inda. Like Francis, Suarez communities where ag-
Inda has called for Mexi- riculture and handicrafts
can bishops to be closer to were taught.
their people and not act A Franciscan, he was af-
like bureaucrats or princes. fectionately known as
Last year Francis made him “Tata Vasco,” or “Father
a cardinal — an unam- Vasco” in the Purepecha
biguous sign that Francis language.
wants “peripheral” pastors
like him at the helm of the Venezuela replaces economic czar after 1 month
church hierarchy.
In his homily, Francis ad- CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) been serving as commerce the U.S. to sabotage the in recent days that Salas fa-
monished the priests and — Venezuela’s President minister. Perez previously economy. Critics of the so- vored suspending Venezu-
nuns to not become re- Maduro has replaced his led a business chamber cialist administration blame ela’s payments to foreign
signed to the problems economic czar just five and has said that Venezue- inflation on government creditors.
around them or give in weeks after appointing the la must simplify its byzantine spending without sufficient Maduro, who recently se-
to paralysis, which he hardline leftist as the coun- exchange rate system. revenues, flooding the cured decree powers to
called the devil’s “favorite try grapples with increas- Salas had sparked concern economy with currency. make economic policy,
weapon.” “What tempta- ingly bleak economic indi- among the opposition by Shortages and inflation said he would deliver fur-
tion can come to us from cators and fears of default. blaming the Venezuela’s have become top con- ther news in the coming
places often dominated Maduro said Monday Luis mounting economic prob- cerns among Venezuelan days. Rumors have been
by violence, corruption, Salas is leaving his post as lems on sabotage. Salas voters, many of whom swirling for weeks that the
drug trafficking, disregard vice president for the econ- said the country was suffer- spend hours each week government is about to
for human dignity and in- omy for family reasons. ing from the world’s worst waiting in line for goods make a major announce-
difference in the face of He will be replaced with a recession and triple-digit that are increasingly impos- ment like raising gasoline
suffering and vulnerability? more business-friendly fig- inflation because business sible to afford. prices or formally devaluing
What temptation might we ure, Miguel Perez, who had interests are colluding with Local media had reported the currency.q
suffer over and over again
