Prophetic Intelligence Briefings
Bishops Defend the Church’s Constitutional Status in Costa Rica · October 09, 2009
Catholic News Agency (CNA) reported September 10 that the Costa Rican bishops are protesting “attempts by lawmakers to eliminate a clause from the country’s constitution that states the official religion of Costa Rica is the Catholic faith… the Church “will not be silent” said Bishop Jose Francisco Ulloa of Cartago, “and will not abandon her mission to defend human life and the family.”
“Certain groups and ideologies exist that pretend to weaken and even eliminate the mission that Jesus Christ entrusted to his Church, as if the Church of Jesus were dependent upon human whims or on some part of a political constitution,” he said in a homily defending the church’s constitutional status.
Costa Rica’s constitution actually gives the Catholic Church pre-eminance over other churches and religions, but says “that the state shall not interfere with the free exercise of any religion that does not contradict ‘universal morality or good morals.’
This is really toleration, not religious liberty. Under the current constitution, who is to define the meaning of “universal morality or good morals?” Obviously the state would decide, guided by the Catholic Church. Could this eventually lead to defining Sunday laws as part of “universal morality and promoting good morals? Could it lead to aggressive persecution of those that don’t go along with them? Removing the Church’s constitutional advantage will not prevent the church from being involved in politics, but it would set some limits on its political influence.
Today, separation the church from the state constitution is usually a result of attempts to liberalize society and open the way for an expansion of legalized abortion, gay marriage, etc. It would be difficult for a liberal government to do otherwise. Even if there was a genuine attempt to balance freedom and morality, in today’s cultural environment it is difficult for legislative bodies to strike the right balance between those two principles. Yet the Catholic Church tries to position herself to dominate the discussion and eventually manipulate the outcome. This is galling to those who would push the frontiers of immorality and legalize various perversions. While true Christians would agree with Rome’s positions on many social issues, the constitutional advantage given to the church in Costa Rica should be discontinued.
Suggesting that the proposed changes in the constitution are part of a push toward state atheism, Bishop Ulloa emphasized that the Church would continue to speak out on the issue of respect for life and traditional marriage and family values.
Calling for political response at the voting booth, Bishop Ulloa went on to encourage Costa Rica’s majority of Roman Catholic citizens “to choose wisely those who will occupy political office and to cast their votes for candidates that defend life, marriage and the family. ‘Let us protest loudly and without fear against these anti-human, anti-Christian and atheistic policies that some wish to impose upon us,’ he said.”
