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: Pope Francis, Populism, and the Agony of
: Latin America
: May 22, 2016
: As populist regimes implode across Latin
: America, it’s unclear that the Catholic
: Church in the age of Francis is
: well-equipped to cope with whatever comes
: next.
: Dr. Samuel Gregg
:
: http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/4797/pope_francis_populism_and_the_agony_of_latin_america.aspx
: Extracts:
: Venezuela isn’t the only Latin American
: country to embrace populist politics over
: the last decade. Other notable examples
: include Ecuador, Bolivia, and Pope Francis’
: own Argentina. And the results have been the
: same: economic destruction, deep political
: and social fractures, and a distinctly
: authoritarian style of government.
:
: Given these facts, many have wondered why,
: of all the Latin American heads of states
: who could have attended the Pontifical
: Academy of Social Sciences recent conference
: to mark the 25th anniversary of Saint John
: Paul II’s encyclical Centesimus Annus , the
: only two present were left-wing populists:
: Ecuador’s Rafael Correa and Bolivia’s Evo
: Morales. Are we to believe that not a single
: other serving Latin American head of state
: was able and willing to attend?
:
: Since Pope Francis often states that
: realities are more important than ideas,
: let’s recall some basic realities about
: presidents Correa and Morales. Both are
: professed admirers of Chávez and committed
: to what Correa calls “socialism of the 21st
: century” or what Morales describes as
: “communitarian socialism.”
:
: The fact, however, that Correa and Morales
: were invited to speak at a conference at the
: Holy See reflects the Church’s ambiguous
: relationship with left-populist movements
: and governments in recent years. The
: Venezuelan bishops’ willingness, for
: instance, to name and shame a populist
: regime so directly for its destructive
: policies is the exception rather than the
: rule.
:
: During his years as Archbishop of Buenos
: Aires, Pope Francis was censorious,
: sometimes vividly, of aspects of the
: populist presidencies of Néstor and Cristina
: Kirchner. Yet in July 2015, the pope
: appeared with Morales before the “Second
: World Meeting of Popular Movements” and
: delivered a speech which had more than a
: populist edge to it. Indeed, in the numerous
: addresses, press conferences, and interviews
: given by Francis since becoming pope, it’s
: hard to find any clear criticism of
: left-populist policies that comes close to
: matching his impassioned denouncements of
: market economies.
:
: So why are some Latin American Catholics
: apparently reticent to criticize political
: movements that have brought such misery to
: the region? Part of it, I suspect, comes
: from a healthy desire to ensure that the
: Church doesn’t get entangled in daily
: politics. Fair enough. But it may also owe
: something to particular intellectual
: currents that have marked Latin American
: Catholicism in recent decades. Prominent
: among these has a focus upon el pueblo—“the
: people”—that has permeated much of Catholic
: Latin America since the late-1960s.
:
: Opportunity in the darkness?
: The good news for Latin America is that
: populist movements and governments are on
: the wane. Late last year, the main Perónist
: candidate for the Argentine presidency was
: defeated in national elections. In February
: this year, Evo Morales lost a referendum
: that would have permitted him to seek a
: fourth term. In Venezuela, the opposition
: now controls the National Assembly and is
: trying to force a deeply-unpopular Maduro
: into a recall election.
:
: The sad irony is that as populist movements
: and governments falter in Latin America,
: they’re on the march throughout the rest of
: the world. Given their recent experiences,
: Catholics throughout Latin America have a
: unique opportunity to help the universal
: Church respond to a phenomenon that
: represents a significant threat to nations
: which aspire to be free and just. In light,
: however, of its recent past and some of its
: on-going preoccupations, Latin American
: Catholicism’s ability to do so is presently,
: at best, uncertain.
:
:
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