San José, Costa Rica, May 13, 2010 / 18:53 pm
The Bishops’ Conference of Costa Rica is demanding that the right to freedom of expression of Bishop Jose Francisco Ulloa of Cartago be respected after he was sanctioned by the country's Electoral Supreme Court for telling Catholics to vote in accord with their faith.
On May 3 the court ordered Bishop Ulloa to pay damages for telling Catholics not to support political policies that go against Christian principles and said he violated article 28 of the Constitution, which says members of the clergy cannot engage in political propaganda for religious motives. The bishop was sued by members of the Movement for a Secular State.
The Costa Rican Bishops’ Conference warned that “this exception to freedom of expression found in paragraph 3 of article 28 in the Constitution is a form of hateful discrimination, which must be reformed in accord with the universal doctrine of Human Rights.” The bishops also expressed their solidarity with Bishop Ulloa and his actions to defend his rights.
They rejected the court’s decision, saying Bishop Ulloa was fulfilling his mission as a pastor to provide guidance during a political season. “He never imposed his opinions on the faithful, nor did he say that ignoring them would be a sin,” the bishops said.