Mexican government clears cardinal of violating the law by speaking out against abortion

Mexico City, Mexico, Jun 12, 2007 / 08:52 am

The archbishop of Mexico City, Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, expressed his satisfaction this week at the announcement by the Mexican government’s Ministry of Internal Affairs that he did not violate the country’s laws on religious expression by speaking out against the legalization of abortion in the Mexican capital.

“I want you all to know about this because I know that many of you were concerned when you learned that your bishop was being investigated. The storms have passed and here are the results,” the cardinal said at the conclusion of Mass on Sunday.  He made his comments after the dean of the archdiocesan cathedral read the government’s statement, which said that the case was “definitively” closed.
 
The spokesman for the Archdiocese of Mexico, Father Hugo Valdemar Romero, who was also cleared by the government, said a reform of the country’s law on religious expression would soon be presented to the government, as current law excessively limits priests from expressing opinions.

“The cardinal told me he was very satisfied because our position was confirmed by the finding of the Ministry, in the sense that we did not violate the law,” Father Valdemar said.  He noted that Cardinal Rivera is concerned that the current law on religious expression is unjust and imposes restrictions on freedom of expression that have no basis.