MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Buenos Aires Archbishop calls for more humbleness from the ruling establishment

Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio considered a non-friend by President Cristina Fernandez

Buenos Aires Archbishop Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio called for more humbleness from Argentina’s ruling establishment during the traditional Independence Day Tedeum at the Metropolitan cathedral which as has been the case in previous occasions did not count with the attendance of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

“The motherland was not founded with challenging delusions of grandeur” cautioned Bergoglio in his homily to mark the 201 anniversary of the May Revolution when the first Argentine government on 25 May 1810.

Attending the mass was Buenos Aires City Mayor Mauricio Macri who belongs to the opposition but the President and her cabinet celebrated the anniversary in the north of the country, Resistencia, Chaco province which was specially nominated to remember the historic occasion.

Since 2005 under the government of her deceased husband and former president Nestor Kirchner the Argentine government decided to make the independence celebrations ‘federal’ and move to other cathedrals in Argentina’s provinces the traditional Te Deum, thus at the same time avoiding the strong caustic homilies from Cardinal Bergoglio.

“Beware none of us is free from the fickleness that is probably a most Argentine disease” said Cardinal Bergoglio who remains as a potential papal candidate.

In effect it is believed his name was in the short list that finally chose Benedict.

Bergoglio in his homily invited all Argentines “to recover confidence in fraternal long term work” and warned the ruling class that “the presumption of ‘every man for himself’ only leads to disintegration of the nation”.

“The presumptuous and the conceited are always by themselves. Humbleness takes away the vanity that blinds us”, added Bergoglio who has been under attack for years from some of closest advisors of President Cristina Kirchner.

They are trying to involve him ‘for having a passive attitude’ when the disappearance of ‘left wing’ priests during the military dictatorship as well as possessing vital information on the kidnapping of babies and children during that period (1976/1983).

Meantime in Chaco and before President Cristina Fernandez and her cabinet and local officials the Archbishop of Resistencia Fabriciano Sigampa highlighted the importance of the leadership to “promote integral progress individually and collectively” which implies “political and social commitment.”

During the celebration of the Te Deum in the local cathedral Sigampa called on the strengthening of traditional institutions such as family, municipality, province and country consolidating education, health and labour.