Manipulating Virgin Mary
In the case of Paraguay, the Day of Virgin Mary is a time when the Catholic Church stands as the voice of the nation and the people. The historical and cultural roots of the Virgin of Caacupe are so dense and significant that the homilies delivered on those dates carry a very special significance. It is a time when the Catholic Church emphasizes its inextricable relationship with the national culture, unequaled by any other church or congregation in the region. The priestly speeches and interventions compete with those of state leaders on Independence Day.
Archbishop Edmundo Valenzuela took advantage of this scenario to take a stand with regards to the National Plan for Children and Adolescents. Whether that was a matter that was at the forefront of the faithful's concerns is improbable, but the archbishop nonetheless took it on his stride with surprising political animosity.
The archbishop's speech should be recognizable by many of the readers. It narrates the existence of a threat to the values and institutions of the country. He believes there is a conspiracy whose leaders are the "progressives" and international organizations, namely the UN, the European Union and the OAS. They all intend to impose the "dictatorship of moral relativism" and "an ideological colonization" in "complicity with the rulers themselves, who have a moral obligation to the citizens to defend against this ideological attack, fulfilling the subsidiary role of the state in protecting life. human from conception and family. As well as respect for parents as the first guarantors of the harmonious development of children and adolescents ”. According to this narrative, international organizations want to "reduce and control the world population through the programs of the various government ministries coupled with ambiguous concepts of gender and comprehensive sexuality education." Finally, the archbishop, clothed with his miter, his ring and his pectoral cross, asserted with total solemnity that Paraguayans are "heirs of a Christian culture that proclaims itself forever pro-life and pro-family."
The archbishop's stance responds to the fact that for some time now the linkages between the “anti gender ideology” movement with political parties, including the Colorado Party in government, have been growing. In the 2018 national elections, the Colorado Party had already taken in the anti-gender ideology discourse. Former President Horacio Cartes has been an important spokesperson in this regard, and has enormous influence in the country due to his political, economic and mediatic strength. Paraguay is perhaps the country in which this blending of traditional political parties and the anti gender ideology movement has taken a firmer hold and is now reappearing in view of the upcoming municipal elections and the next national elections.
The fact that there exists such a convenient alliance between the hierarchy of the Catholic Church with national politics is nothing new, but what is worrying in this marriage between the church and politics is the excessive use of falsehood and conspiracy theories. As the analyst Luis Bareiro has said, in the criticism of the Childhood and Adolescence Plan there has been a virtual demonization of Minister Teresa Martinez, an official, lawyer and prosecutor, who is rather technical, and has been committed to the rights of the childhood for a long time. It is sad to see her grossly vilified.
The archbishop's voice did not tremble either, when he mentioned the “colonizing” role of international organizations. Curious accusation by a church that few can deny it had a central role in the colonization of the Americas. In addition, there is the absurd accusation of the conspiracy to “control the population”, which is not only totally outdated, but also ignores that the programs of international organizations, in general, respond to mandates approved by the national states themselves. who are part of those organizations.
This reinforcement of ideology through falsehood and conspiracy theories has been part of the Trumpian script, which is now on its way out in the US. Thanks to him and others it has been transformed into a widely disseminated tactical and strategic resource for the purpose of manipulating vulnerable audiences who consider the voices of bishops and other leaders to be authoritative and honest. Such manipulation has short-term effectiveness, but it can very well lead us to an ideological nightmare in the long term. We already can see in the USA, candidates belonging to QAnon being elected to Congress, arguing the existence of a conspiracy between Hollywood celebrities and leaders of the Democratic Party to manipulate children and open the doors to pedophilia.
In a world in which information and dissemination channels have multiplied so astonishingly and where everyone can create and live in their own bubble of opinion, institutional leaders have an increasing responsibility to stop the madness. Unfortunately, the archbishop has not shown that responsibility.
The original article in Spanish was published in Blogs El Tiempo: see https://blogs.eltiempo.com/sentidopoliticoestabancaballero/2020/12/10/la-manipulacion-de-la-virgen-maria/
Recent demonstrations in Washington DC with violent acts against negro churches in the district of Columbia is proof of the twisted ideology that the Trump presidency has latched onto and reflects evident racism endemic in American society. Your statement "reinforcement of ideology through falsehood and conspiracy theories has been part of the Trumpian script, which is now on its way out in the US," will not be leaving the US electorate anytime soon. It is part and parcel to American religious right-to-life dogmas in Catholic & Protestant ideology. The GOP has identified this strong religious faction in America's heartland, and made it the driving force for the party to maintain it's base on moral grounds, knowing full well that a large majority of the population believes women should have a choice on whether they avoid or abandon pregnancies. What brings women around to voting against pro-choice movements is nascent racism which recognizes that women of color are many times more likely to need assistance and abortions than white women. It is the driving force that keeps the GOP attached to Christian morality. Social services are a burden on government coffers and conservatives in the GOP lock this budget busting expense to the pro-life movement to carry large segments of the electorate simply by association of Christian morality in its quest to eliminate abortions and other largely urban & minority needed services, to the party. Urban centers require government services by virtue of their offering lower cost housing, and health care services necessary to sustain people in these humble and deficient conditions. Unemployment is higher there and crime consequently is a problem. There are few options for minorities to climb out of their dependency on social services given poor education, non-existent assets, and few employment opportunities. Religious institutions provide some support, but no obligation to guarantee these services, and the congregations are not fully behind charity for the services needed, due to the conservative political influence that is attached to Churches nationwide. They provide assistance to pantries, and emergency housing but limited by funding.
ResponderBorrarHistory tells us that legislators will respect the will of constituents and reflect their budget constraints based on moral criteria. The heartland of the US with a higher standard of living per capita will always be more conservative. It will vote consistently in favor of lower cost social services, where they are not in demand like urban centers require. Ultimately it comes down to the have's voting against the have-nots, and inequality continues to grow nationwide. When dependents of social services get organized to vote, the tide changes, and that is what will save the poor ultimately; organization of the masses. It was what brought Obama to the presidency and now Joe Biden. Grassroots organization is really the only way to guarantee better representation of the poor in society. It is an uphill battle and gerrymandering of voting districts can make it more difficult, as can voter suppression by many means available to secretaries of states. Churches could play a major role in reconciling this battle of wills. Let's see if they make an effort to change the mentality of their congregations.