President-Elect
Chinchilla To
Keep Good
Relations With
Catholic Church
By
Chrissie Long,
Catholic News
Service
Costa Rica will
swear in its
first female
president May 8:
Laura
Chinchilla, a
51-year-old,
Washington-educated
progressive.
The former vice
president
campaigned on
the issue of
citizen safety,
promising
greater
protection for a
country left
increasingly
vulnerable to
the northward
movement of
drugs. She also
adopted her
predecessor's
goal of making
Costa Rica the
first
carbon-neutral
country by 2021
and pledged to
convert the
nation into
Latin America's
first developed
country.
But as she
prepared to take
office, she
faced pressure
about the
government's
longtime
relationship
with the
Catholic Church
-- a connection
inscribed in the
constitution.
As the country
knocks on the
door to the
developed world,
local academics
and human rights
advocates see
the church-state
relationship as
handicapping the
country's
progress. Some
advocates have
called for a
referendum on
homosexual
marriages, which
the church
opposes.
Other activist
organizations
have protested
the long-awaited
free trade
agreement with
Europe because
the European
Union has strict
standards
against
homophobic
legislation and
applies those
same standards
to its trading
partners.
A handful of
intellectuals
are initiating
conversations
with new
legislators
about an
eventual move
toward a secular
state.
"Costa Rica, as
we know it, is
changing," said
Juan Carlos
Valverde Campos,
director of
National
University's
Ecumenical
School of
Religious
Studies. "Every
day, there are
fewer Catholics.
It's time we had
a country that
was more
inclusive and
did not violate
the rights of
certain minority
groups."
Yet, Chinchilla
has given a
strong
indication that
the country will
maintain its
ties to the
Catholic Church,
at least during
her four-year
term. A month
after her Feb. 7
election, she
established a
commission to
"stabilize the
relationship
between the next
government and
the Catholic
Church," and she
appointed a top
legislator to
oversee its
formation.
"All signs
indicate that
President-elect
Laura Chinchilla
will work in
collaboration
with the
Catholic
Church,"
Valverde said.
"This openly
indicates that
there is a good
relation or at
least an
interest in a
relationship, if
not for
religious
purposes, at
least for
political."
Brother Mauricio
Granados,
chancellor of
the Archdiocese
of San Jose,
said the church
often conflicted
with the
government of
Chinchilla's
predecessor and
Nobel Peace
Prize recipient,
Oscar Arias
Sanchez.
"We can't deny
it's been a
strained
relationship,"
Brother Granados
said. Arias
"never respected
the position of
the Catholic
Church" when it
opposed issues
such as the
Central American
Free Trade
Agreement or
artificial
contraception.
Archdiocesan
officials have
proposed an
agreement that
would solidify
the Catholic
Church's
presence in
Costa Rica.
Brother Granados
said a small
mention in the
constitution is
not enough to
ensure the
church could
continue its
work in the
country, and
something
stronger was
needed.
"We are not
looking to grow
under this
accord, but (to)
achieve the
necessary
liberty and
security in
order for the
church to
fulfill its
mission here,"
he said. The
agreement would
protect the
Catholic Church
in public spaces
such as schools,
prisons and
hospitals.
Chinchilla had
not responded to
the proposal as
of May 4.
In September
2009, a movement
to create a
secular state
ended up losing
the support of
many
legislators.
Political
analyst Carlos
Denton,
co-founder of
the San
Jose-based
polling firm
CID-Gallup, said
savvy
politicians knew
what such a
movement could
do to a
political
campaign before
February's
election.
More than 70
percent of Costa
Rica's
population
professes
Catholicism.
"Supporting a
secular state is
not worth the
political
costs," said
Denton. "And I
don't see the
legislative
assembly in this
administration
undertaking the
effort either.
They are coming
into office with
other issues,
and the church
is not a
priority."
Valverde, who
backed the
movement for a
secular state
last fall, also
is aware of the
political
dynamic.
"We don't think
it's the best
time to launch
another effort,"
he said. "But we
haven't given
up. We recognize
this is a
longer-term
project."
He is supporting
the movement to
remove
Catholicism as
the country's
official
religion. He
said he believes
non-Catholics
should not be
required to pay
taxes to the
Catholic Church,
nor should their
money go to
support Catholic
education or
upkeep on its
buildings and
missions.
"The idea of a
secular state
does not mean
the introduction
of atheism in
Costa Rica," he
said. "It means
Costa Rica will
be a country
that is more
inclusive and
pays more
attention to the
people who have
been
marginalized."
Although the
movement toward
a secular state
is still
struggling to
find a solid
base of support
among elected
representatives,
Denton said the
Catholic Church
has every reason
to be concerned.
He pointed to
the declining
number of
Catholics in the
country -- a 17
percent drop in
the past 20
years -- and
questioned
whether the
church will be
able to maintain
its foothold in
the future.
"All of Central
America will be
Protestant by
2025," he
predicted.
"Already
Catholics are
the minority in
Honduras (at 45
percent) and, in
Guatemala, the
number of
Catholics is
decreasing from
62 percent.
Costa Rica won't
be far behind." |
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