Christians
Demand Freedom
Of Expression
By CNA
The Bishops’
Conference of
Costa Rica is
demanding that
the right to
freedom of
expression of
Bishop Jose
Francisco Ulloa
of Cartago be
respected after
he was
sanctioned by
the country's
Electoral
Supreme Court
for telling
Catholics to
vote in accord
with their
faith.
On May 3 the
court ordered
Bishop Ulloa to
pay damages for
telling
Catholics not to
support
political
policies that go
against
Christian
principles and
said he violated
article 28 of
the
Constitution,
which says
members of the
clergy cannot
engage in
political
propaganda for
religious
motives. The
bishop was sued
by members of
the Movement for
a Secular State.
The Costa Rican
Bishops’
Conference
warned that
“this exception
to freedom of
expression found
in paragraph 3
of article 28 in
the Constitution
is a form of
hateful
discrimination,
which must be
reformed in
accord with the
universal
doctrine of
Human Rights.”
The bishops also
expressed their
solidarity with
Bishop Ulloa and
his actions to
defend his
rights.
They rejected
the court’s
decision, saying
Bishop Ulloa was
fulfilling his
mission as a
pastor to
provide guidance
during a
political
season. “He
never imposed
his opinions on
the faithful,
nor did he say
that ignoring
them would be a
sin,” the
bishops said.
During the Mass
last September,
Bishop Ulloa
told the
faithful, “We
are facing a
political
campaign in
which we must
carefully choose
who is going to
govern us. We
are now finding
out which
candidates deny
God and defend
principles that
go against life,
marriage, and
the family.
Therefore, we
must be coherent
with our faith
and cannot give
them our vote in
good
conscience.”
In their
statement, the
Costa Rican
bishops also
criticized a
request by the
court that
Archbishop Hugo
Barrantes of San
Jose, as
president of the
conference,
instruct the
other bishops to
“remain within
the boundaries
outlined by this
resolution,
during future
electoral
cycles.” As
president of the
country's
bishops'
conference, they
said, he does
not have the
jurisdictional
authority over
other bishops in
their dioceses
to implement
such a request.
The bishops
reiterated their
“respect for the
Costa Rican
legal order,
which is
informed by the
doctrine of
Human Rights and
Natural Law.”
They also
reaffirmed that
they will not
back down in
their mission to
proclaim the
Gospel,
“preaching the
absolute value
of Human Life,
the values of
the family and
the Social
Doctrine of the
Church in
fidelity to
Christ and to
our nation.”
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