Mexican Cardinals Found Guilty of Trying to Influence Federal Elections

Crux ^ | 1/25/22 | Ines San Martin

[marshmallow]

ROSARIO, Argentina – Two Mexican cardinals were found guilty of “proselytism” during last June’s election, with a court claiming they “pressured and/or induced” their religious community to vote for a particular candidate or party.

The Superior Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal of the Judiciary of the Federation (TEPJF) of Mexico confirmed the sentence against Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes of Mexico City and Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez, the archbishop emeritus of Guadalajara. Two other priests were also found guilty.

They were found guilty of transgressing the “principle of Church-State separation” recognized in Mexico’s constitution.

They were charged after encouraging Catholics to vote in defense of life, family and the common good during the 2021 federal elections.

The president of the Superior Chamber said that “specifically” ministers of worship in Mexico “are prohibited from proselytizing for or against any political party, any candidacy or any political association, in order to safeguard the principles of the Mexican democratic system.”

The Mexican bishops’ conference (CEM) released a statement arguing that none of the accused expressed themselves specifically in favor or against a particular candidate or political party. Rather “- in exercising their freedom of expression – they made personal pronouncements on the social reality of the country.”

The CEM considers that in a modern democratic state, this type of restrictive resolutions of human rights are far from the parameters established in international treaties and conventions, the statement says.

[G Larry]

They told their flock not vote for Satan....and Satan objected.

[Scarlett156]

It’s not against “separation of church and state” for a cleric to tell his flock to vote this way or that.

It’s against separation of church and state to censure or target him for doing so. (As long as he’s obeying the law.)