Jessica Retting on Catholicism's Absence from Public Life in Argentina
By: Jessica Retting
October 22, 2007
In Buenos Aires, the capital of an officially Roman Catholic nation, religion holds a surprisingly peripheral place in the public life and culture of its citizens. The federal government, in the constitution drafted during the Menem presidency in 1994, states officially and almost immediately that it “supports the Roman Catholic Apostolic Religion.” This official leaning clearly stems from Mexico’s Spanish roots during the colonial period and influx of Italian immigration during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Yet, living in the city, it becomes clear that Buenos Aires is nearly just as secularized as any large city in the country. While a majority of the city’s population would claim to be Roman Catholic on paper and the presence of the Church is subtly apparent, actual religious practice is extremely diverse, from the devout to the non-believer.
Day to day, you really have to be observant to notice the presence of Catholicism in the city, but it’s there. Glancing around during your daily bus commute, you might catch a Porteño blessing himself with the sign of the cross as the bus passes a church. Or taking a train from the city towards the provinces, you’ll witness small fonts and crosses at each stop inviting quiet prayers after a safe journey. In the city’s central Plaza del Mayo, the Roman Catholic cathedral remains one of the main points of interest for tourists, and parishes are found in every neighborhood in the city. Sundays remain traditionally a day of rest, as many small shops and cafes are closed, and the neighborhood streets are much quieter. Apart from these minor instances of religiosity, the country’s legislation also reflects its Catholic roots regarding some major issues. For example, abortion is illegal in every case, as is the death penalty.
Nevertheless, as the Argentine nation secures its place in the modernized world, the city seems to be moving further and further from the Church and its ideals. While the constitution claims support for the Church very upfront, the rights, freedoms, and equality of the Argentine citizens definitely take precedence. A blatant disregard for conservative Catholic doctrine, for example, is the city’s sex-saturated culture. Explicit covers of pornographic magazines at every newsstand, condom and underwear ads with barely-dressed women lining the streets, pay-by-the-hour motel rooms scattered throughout the city—all are seemingly common and socially accepted. Furthermore, concessions that used to be granted to the church and its officials are withheld more and more. The recent condemnation of Christian Von Wernich, a Catholic priest involved in mass murders during the dictatorship era in the late 1970s, is a prime example. Having avoided the initial rounds of criminal accusations and sentencing following the dictatorship simply because he was a priest, Von Wernich has since been convicted and sentenced to perpetual reclusion in prison. The church, now, is subject to the same legislation as the rest of the country.
Coming to Argentina, a Catholic country, I half-expected to find religion shoved in my face. My expectations were clearly mistaken; religion is really only there for those who actively seek it. Even at the Catholic university, the theology class resembles more of a sociology class, where life and culture are at the forefront of discussion, and talk of God takes a backseat. The people of Buenos Aires, taking cues from other Western cities, have pushed religion aside, idealizing rather the commercial, capitalist ideals of the modern world community.
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