.- Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, issued a statement this week denouncing the damage done to the Archdiocesan Cathedral by a group of homosexual activists, who smeared the front wall of the church with insults against Catholics.
Last weekend the Argentinean version of the so-called “Gay Pride Parade” brought together 4,000 transvestites, lesbians and homosexuals for a march through the main streets of the capital city. Homosexual activists carried out threats they had made earlier that they intended to defame the Cathedral of the Archdiocese.
Cardinal Bergoglio denounced the actions and said, “In a pluralist society, when minority groups wish to express themselves, it seems logical they would do so respecting the religious feelings of the majority. If the majority of people here are Catholic, the graffiti smeared all over the exterior of the Cathedral is an offense against the religious sensibilities of the Argentinean people.”
He also lamented the “lack of respect for a church which, besides being a place of worship and belonging to Catholics, has been a privileged witness to the history of Argentineans, and is a National Historical Monument where our founding father is buried. Therefore this violent attitude helps deteriorate a public, religious and historical building which ought to be restored again.”
The statement expresses the Archdiocese’s desire that “it be understood that when we speak of the doctrine concerning sexual conduct as expressed in Magisterial teaching, we do so based on the truths that we believe, but never apart from an attitude of respect and understanding towards the person. One would hope therefore that in a free country one could dissent from these ideas without injuring others or the institutions which they represent.”
Premeditated attack Although parade organizers, with the help of some local officials, claim no involvement, ACI-Prensa has acquired the parade announcement that explicitly called on participants to deface the Cathedral.
Authorities were informed by pro-family groups of the intention to damage the church but they claim they were unable to control the outbreak of aggression. Homosexual activists marched to the Cathedral door a few minutes after the parade began and spray-painted the front of the church.
Some of the graffitti read, “The Church is a dictatorship” and “The Holy Inquisition’s repression is here.”
