Bishop explains how the Church functions to Argentinean president

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jul 21, 2004 / 22:00 pm

Bishop Jorge Casaretto of San Isidro, Argentina, revealed this week that one of the reasons for his meeting with Argentinean President Nestor Kirchner “was to explain to him how the Church functions” and that he understand that the Church is not “just another power player.” 

Bishop Casaretto told reporters that the Church “is not just another power player, or just another corporation” in Argentina, and he said that the statements by the Argentinean bishops are an effort “to contribute to the common good, and not to promote the interests of any one group.”

The bishop went on to provide some details about the 40 minute conversation with Kirchner.  “My experience shows that politicians sometimes see the Church as just another power player, and that’s not what we are. We are not just another corporation in Argentina,” he said.

“The statements of the bishops must be understood as an effort to contribute to the common good.  We are not seeking power nor to push for anybody’s interests, but rather our work is to facilitate the coming together, the communion of all Argentineans.”

”The bishops are not trying to stir up controversy, we are trying to bring calm and help in the search for the common good of Argentina instead of wasting time on arguments that are somewhat unproductive,” Bishop Casaretto added, in an apparent reference to Kirchner’s criticism of Archbishop Hector Aguer of La Plata.

Bishop Casaretto also said he visited the president “as a representative of Catholic Charities and not as a member of the Argentinean episcopate” and he clarified that he was not speaking “in the name of the authorities of the Church, but rather as president of Catholic Charities.”