Tuesday, November 20, 2007
WHEN POLITICS AND RELIGION COLLIDE
Mexico City's cathedral was closed after leftist protesters stormed into the world-renowned religious landmark and church officials said it would not reopen until city authorities can guarantee security.
Dozens of supporters of former leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador entered the building bordering the capital's Zocalo square on Sunday, scuffling with faithful and overturning pews.
The conflict reignited tensions between the church and some members of Mexico's leftist Democratic Revolution Party who accuse Roman Catholic Cardinal Norberto Rivera of overstepping Mexican law by intervening in politics, including supporting President Felipe Calderon's election campaign last year.
Archdiocese of Mexico spokesman Hugo Valdemar Romero said Monday that there have been 24 similar but smaller incidents since the 2006 election, which Lopez Obrador's followers allege was stolen. Election officials deny the allegation.
"The cathedral will remain closed as a security measure, and a sign of protest against the fact that these people entered, attacked parishioners and profaned a sacred space," Romero said.
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Ownership of church property is described in the article. It's not what you would expect from the experience of living in America. The Cathedral belongs to the government, and the Archbishop is claiming the right to close it based on his authority over rites and the profanation of them that occurred.
