Berkley Center

The Catholic Church has long played a very important role in South American politics. From the conquests in the 1500s to liberation theology during the late twentieth century, the Church has wielded a great deal of political influence in the region. However, the recent political shift to the left across South America has created new tensions between the Church and the state. One such example is in Uruguay, where the leftist Frente Amplio government (elected in 2005) made it the first Latin American country outside of Cuba to legalize abortion, leading Archbishop of Montevideo Nicolás Cotugno to accuse pro-abortion groups of political manipulation of power.

In some ways, Argentina is an overwhelmingly Catholic country. Not only is 92 percent of the country Roman Catholic, the Argentine government recognizes Catholicism as the official state religion and has a wide range of priests and chaplains on its payroll. However, the fact that only 20 percent of Argentines are practicing Roman Catholics is indicative of an increasingly evident divergence between the views of the Church and the views of the general populace.

The tension surrounding social issues, such as reproductive rights and civil unions for same-sex couples, was first brought to my attention during my time at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). Demonstrating the zealousness they seem to bring to every cause they champion, the students of UBA are not timid in expressing their views on these issues. Hallways are lined with graphic posters that show a naked, bloody woman curled up in the fetal position and proclaim that the opponents of abortion are the “true murderers,” while stickers in bathroom stalls call for extreme measures in order to break the “hegemony of heterosexuality.” Although it would be wildly inaccurate to say that the students of UBA are representative of Argentina (or even the much more socially-progressive Buenos Aires), as a whole, important social movements have taken seed at the university for decades. Historically, Argentine student movements have represented extreme manifestations of popular sentiments.

After spending more time in the city, I began to see other, less radical signs of popular rupture with the traditional Catholic views on reproductive rights and homosexuality. One non-governmental organization sends representatives to stand outside of universities, malls, and other places with lots of young people and hands out packets of information on different types of birth control. Activists asking for signatures for a petition to support the proposal for the legalization of gay marriage never seemed to have to work too hard. Although these changes are very gradual, they have recently begun to shape Argentine political dialogue.

One incident responsible for elevating the tensions between the Church and state occurred in 2005 when Minister of Health Ginés González García publicly proclaimed his support for the legalization of abortion. President Néstor Kirchner angered the Church by remaining silent on the matter, and military victor Monseñor Antonio Baseotto responded by paraphrasing the Bible and suggesting that González García be “thrown into the sea”. This choice of words, unwise in light of the fact that the military dictatorship did indeed throw political prisoners into the sea, was enormously controversial, and Mons. Baseotto was removed from his position. This dismissal evolved into a debate between the progressive and conservative Catholic factions of the government about religious freedom.

Another focal point for tension between the Church and state is the development of legal rights for same-sex couples. In July 2003, some provinces in Argentina legalized same-sex civil unions. More recently, Argentina moved to the forefront of the Latin American movement for gay rights when a judge in Buenos Aires recognized the marriage of two men. If upheld, this marriage will be the first legally recognized same-sex marriage in all of Latin America. A wide range of Argentine politicians, including the center-right mayor of Buenos Aires Mauricio Macri, support the decision. However, the Catholic Church continues to fight the decision as a risk to the public good. The resolution of this case will be a defining moment not only for the gay rights movement, but also for the balance of power between the Argentine government and the Catholic Church.

Can a political shift to the left on social issues coexist with the strong political presence of the Catholic Church? On many important issues such as poverty, the ideas of the political left and the Catholic Church are, if not identical, at least compatible. If the socially progressive trend in Argentina continues, the preservation of a positive relationship between the Church and the state will depend on compromise and the search for common ground.