The Argentine State will stop paying archbishops and bishops of the Catholic Church a monthly allowance as it has done for more than forty years. The Episcopal Conference of the South American country ratified this Tuesday with a message on social networks that since January it will no longer receive the economic contribution provided for in Law 21,950, a norm that has been in force since 1979, during the last military dictatorship. The Church's renunciation of that money, a historic decision, began gradually in 2018, while the abortion law was being debated in Argentina and the debate on the separation between Church and State intensified.
“On the last business day of December 2023, the process of resignation of archbishops, diocesan bishops and auxiliary bishops to the monthly allocation provided for in Law 21,950 concludes (…),” reads the statement from the Argentine Episcopal Conference. . The norm mentioned in the text established during the dictatorship of Jorge Rafael Videla that the prelates earned the equivalent of 80% of the remuneration of a national judge of first instance – the auxiliary bishops and the secretary general of the Episcopate, 70%. The amount, which a hundred priests received, was about 55,000 pesos per month (64 dollars at the official exchange rate), according to national media, and had not been updated for years.
Although in Argentina the Constitution has established since 1853 that the federal Government supports the Catholic cult and around 75% of the population professes that faith, the different reforms made to the Magna Carta and the public policies promoted by various Governments have widened the distance between the State and the Church. There are, however, still laws from the dictatorship (1976-1983) that establish state financing of the Church. In addition to law 21,950, norm 22,162, signed in 1980 during the de facto Government of Jorge Rafael Videla, establishes subsidies for priests in border areas; Law 22,950, approved in October 1983, states that the Government “will contribute to the formation of the diocesan clergy.”
In 2018, the permanent contribution of a non-denominational state to the Catholic religion aroused special controversy. In the South American country, the conservative Mauricio Macri governed (2015-2019) while the regulation of legal, safe and free abortion was debated in Congress. The Church, which in the past had opposed the divorce law, comprehensive sexual education and equal marriage, pressured Congress not to sanction the law on voluntary termination of pregnancy – which was finally approved in 2020. In the midst of the debates, the national government reported that in 2018 the transfer to the Argentine Episcopal Conference had been more than 130.4 million pesos (about 3.5 million dollars at the time).
The Church's renunciation of economic support from the Argentine State began progressively in that context. The bishops then began an internal debate and in November of that year they announced that they accepted the “gradual replacement of State contributions” with “alternatives based on the solidarity of the communities and the faithful” and announced the creation of a solidarity fund. It was not a great sacrifice, since the 130 million pesos represented less than 10% of the institution's budget, but it was a gesture loaded with symbolism, since the resignation implied more independence from political power.
The end date of the assignments was set with the Government of Peronist Alberto Fernández (2019-2023). In the last year of that mandate, in addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship enabled archbishops and bishops who have ceased from their positions for reasons of age or disability to individually request to receive the benefit of the planned assignment. in the law, which is currently 98,000, according to the Episcopal Conference. The government of far-right Javier Milei, recently come to power, has had no interference in the process, but this Tuesday it celebrated the news. “This is consistent with the guidelines of this Government, which are austerity in spending and defending freedom, in this case, freedom of religion,” said presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni.
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