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_WORLD WATCH______________________________
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President’s new marriage was illicit
No annulment; no Communion
The Vatican has responded to rumors about the surprise marriage of Mexican President Vicente Fox with a statement making it clear that his first marriage had not been annulled.
Fox—who is, ironically, the most religious man to hold the office of president in Mexico in 70 years—married his long-time spokesman, Martha Sahagun, on July 2. Critics said Fox risked looking like a hypocrite after touting his religious beliefs during his successful presidential campaign last year. However, Fox had been facing a dilemma since it had become increasingly well known that he and Sahagun were living together.
When reporters in Rome asked whether Fox had requested an annulment of his previous marriage, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls pointed out that the proceedings of marriage tribunals are secret, and consequently he could not answer the question directly. However, Navarro-Valls added that an annulment itself is a matter of public record. “I can say that there has been no ruling of that kind,” he concluded.
Cardinal Norberto Rivera of Mexico City said that President Fox and his new wife should not receive Communion since they were not married in the eyes of the Church. Critics said the cardinal was meddling in politics, but a spokesman for the archdiocese replied that the cardinal is well within his rights as pastor to speak about matters relating to the spiritual welfare of his flock.
Politicians make rare church visit
A break from anti-clerical traditions
A group of Catholic politicians skirted Mexico’s nearly century-old law banning them from attending religious ceremonies in an official capacity by gathering for a Mass to honor St. Thomas More, the patron saint of politicians.
Cardinal Norberto Rivera had urged politicians to attend the Mass, and thereby show that they were not afraid publicly to profess their faith. “Man can’t separate himself from God just as the political cannot be separated from the moral,” Cardinal Rivera told about 80 congressmen and senators from Mexico’s three largest political parties. “Your lives show us that the government is, above all else, an exercise in virtues.”
Most of the lawmakers in attendance were quick to say they came as private citizens and were therefore not violating any laws. To emphasize the point, many came with their wives and children.
Back to Catholic World Report August/September 2001 Table of Contents