CHURCH AND STATE?

Isn’t it high time the Argentine State and the Roman Catholic Church got divorced? Why should there be an official cult in my country? Isn’t religion a private and individualchoice?Whyshouldtheclergy,from the Pope downwards, bear any influence whatsoever on state affairs?

Argentine governments have historicallybeeninfluencedbytheCatholicChurch, and we’ve accepted it passively. These days, people have started questioning things, which is quite healthy. Why not question this “liason” too? I do respect the so-called “curas villeros,” who really help and live side-by-side with people who have all sorts of needs; but the Vatican wealth is nauseous, a big business that handles fortunes. They don’t practice what they preach. And, on top of that, they tell presidents what to do and what not to do.

Inadmissible. Irene Bianchi Ringuelet, La Plata irenebeatrizbianchi@hotmail.com