RESISTENCIA, Argentina, June 10, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The archbishop emeritus of the Argentinean diocese of Resistencia says that Argentina should be understood as “mission territory” for the Catholic Church following the legalization of homosexual “marriage” by the national congress.
“Sixty-five years ago, the archbishop of Paris surprised the Church with his pastoral letter ‘France: Mission Country?’ As the years have gone by, that question has become an affirmation. And it is valid not only for France. All of the West is mission territory today,” said Archbishop Carmelo Juan Giaquinta in a recent homily published by the Argentinean Catholic news agency AICIA.
“Argentina is also today a mission country. A country, where from night to morning, and without almost anyone joking about it, unions between homosexuals are being equated to marriage according to nature, given by God to men and women, cannot call itself Christian,” said Giaquinta.
“The first Gospel is the nature with which God created us. When that is denied, the whole Gospel of Jesus is denied. And that, despite the fact that people might go to Rome for the beatification of John Paul II or participate in a Te Deum,” he said.
“It is difficult for us Catholic Argentineans to wake up to the sad reality of paganism that pervades the national culture. For that reason, we are not able to undertake a New Evangelization. We cling to old affirmations: ‘Catholic Argentina,’ ‘that of our heroes.’ We place authentic demonstrations of popular piety into the same bag with false demonstrations. The faithful don’t always find solace in Sunday preaching. Catholic schools often differ from lay schools only through better discipline, but not by better education in the faith.”
The archbishop’s words come at a time when the whole of Latin America is under increasing attack from homosexualist forces.
In addition to Argentina, Mexico City also recently created the institution of homosexual “marriage.” Brazil’s highest court also recently voted to override the constitution’s own language and award civil union status to homosexual relationships, a measure that is also being contemplated in Chile.