Separation of politics and religion
Anti-clericalism was a major theme of the revolution in Mexico. The clergy were aligned with the Mexican "ancien regime" and separation of church and state became a mainstay of the PRI-dominated government.Issues about separation of church and politics resurfaced under PAN presidents Fox and Calderon -- notably in policies about religious schools.
A news report from al Jazeera offers some hints about how the politics are playing out, and about restrictions on the political activities of the clergy.
Mexicans protest over abortion bill
"A new abortion bill, proposed by Mexico's Democratic Revolution party, is set to start a protracted fight between the country's liberal lawmakers and conservative forces...
"Several thousand abortion opponents marched through Mexico City...
"Led by Norberto Rivera, the Mexico City Cardinal, the march covered 25 blocks to the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe...
"In an echo of the vitriolic election campaign, the abortion debate pits Lopez Obrador's Democratic Revolution party (PRD) - which proposed the legalisation measure - against Calderon's conservative National Action party, which opposes it...
"Colombian Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, the Vatican's top anti-abortion campaigner, who was in the capital for the Third International Pro-Life Congress, was not visibly present at Rivera's Mass.
"The Mexican constitution bars foreigners - including Lopez Trujillo and members of US anti-abortion groups currently attending the conference - from political activism...
"Mexican law prohibits political involvement by domestic religious leaders, although that provision has been weakly enforced - especially under the church-friendly PAN...
"The PRD argues that current Mexican law forces poor women to seek back-street operations, while the wealthy can travel to the US...
"The measure is expected to pass easily in Mexico City, a federal district with a PRD-dominated legislature that recently approved same-sex civil unions in the capital; but it will face a tougher passage at the federal level."
posted by Ken Wedding @ 3:00 PM
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