Buenos Aires, Argentina, Oct 6, 2010 / 09:54 am
Archbishop Hector Aguer of La Plata, Argentina criticized a proposal by the country’s Chief Justice Carmen Argibay to remove crucifixes from the courtroom, saying such a move would leave the country empty of transcendent values and at the mercy of agnosticism and relativism.
During his program, “Keys to a Better World,” the archbishop explained that the proposal is in reality a call to relegate religious expression to the private sphere, especially since it was made by a person “who has publicly expressed her atheism.”
Beyond its meaning for Christians, he said, the crucifix is “a universal sign that lifts up love among mankind and the triumph of good over evil.” For this reason, “It is unthinkable that in Argentina, where freedom of worship peacefully holds sway, someone could be traumatized because crucifixes are hung in the halls of justice.”
“This goes for those on trial, whether innocent or guilty, as well as the judges themselves,” the archbishop continued. “Each of them can recognize in the sign of the cross the mystery of a superior justice; better yet, the mystery of a mercy that is bigger than the judgment of man.