Milei, president of Argentina, attends his first Tedeum in the Buenos Aires cathedral

The Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Mons. Ignacio García Cueva, presided over the Tedeum for the national holiday on May 25, which was attended for the first time as president by the president of Argentina, Javier Milei.

The presence of Milei and his cabinet at the Tedeum is significant, considering the critical perspective of the bishops of Argentina regarding the economic policy that the president has undertaken, which has even caused a Spanish bishop to warn that the rejection of social justice is “ “a very serious mistake.”

The Tedeum held in the Buenos Aires Cathedral was also attended by the Vice President of Argentina, Victoria Villarruel, and other government ministers, as well as religious leaders of other faiths.

The homily of the Archbishop of Buenos Aires in the Tedeum

Bishop García Cuerva highlighted in his homily that “at this moment, the key is given to us by the Tedeum celebration itself, which, first of all, is a hymn of gratitude, it is a hymn that invites us to recognize and regenerate our life as a society, from gratitude.”

“We are invited to test the subversive force of gratitude that is not based on violence or the discredit of the other, that is not built based on denigration or manipulation, but is capable of awakening the force of solidarity as a way of building history, and creativity as an essential dimension to generate new possibilities.”

After asking God to “heal” the Argentine nation and “preserve us from the hands stained with blood from drug trafficking, the dirty hands of corruption and bribery, the hands in the pockets of selfishness and indifference,” the Primate of Argentina encouraged taking seriously “the paralysis of our people.”

Mons. García Cuervas warned that postponing these “paralysis” is “a very high price to pay that we cannot afford: malnutrition in early childhood; the lack of schooling and accessibility to health services; “The elderly and retirees incapable of supporting themselves daily with a minimum of dignity are some of those examples that cannot be postponed.”

“With great humility, I would like to ask everyone to also feel the strong gaze of Jesus upon us today, who challenges us, who questions us, who alerts us about our insensitivity towards the most vulnerable, who demands greater commitment and closeness from us to those who suffer. ”.

In that sense, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires questioned “what am I doing for the poorest?”, taking into account that “our people are making a very great effort”, for which “some actions of the leadership divorced from ordinary citizens, like the much talked about ‘auto increases‘ of salaries from a few weeks ago.

“The past teaches us that everything we love can be destroyed based on instrumentalization and hatred, since it deprives the social body of natural defenses against disintegration and social fragmentation: instant profit for the looters on duty and present incapacity to think of ourselves as a Nation. There are few things that corrupt and undermine a people more than the habit of hating.”

To conclude, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires encouraged putting into practice today’s thanksgiving so that “it is not locked in the cathedral and frozen on this day” but rather that it “continues in the streets and in the lives of all Argentines.” .