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_WORLD WATCH______________________________
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Religious images decried
Leftists support an old restriction
The largest leftist party in Mexico has demanded that a government official remove a crucifix and image of Our Lady of Guadalupe from his office and said it will seek a law banning religious images from government buildings.
José Espina, a borough president in Mexico City and member of President Vicente Fox’s National Action Party, hung the crucifix and image in his private office; he insisted that the way he chooses to decorate his office is “a strictly personal affair.”
The leftist Democratic Revolution Party said the display of a crucifix, and a letter on official stationery inviting government employees to a Mother’s Day Mass, violated Mexico’s constitution. The constitution says officials “cannot establish any kind of preference or privilege for or against any particular religious group.” The country’s constitution was drawn up during a time of widespread persecution of the Catholic Church. Until a loosening of restrictions in 1992, Mexican Catholics were under severe restrictions, including a ban on priests wearing clerical dress in public.
Back to Catholic World Report October 2001 Table of Contents