The bishopric of Río Gallegos, in the Argentine province of Santa Cruz, issued an official statement on Thursday to refer to the recent candidacy of the priest Juan Carlos Molina as national deputy.
Molina, 58, heads the unit list of Peronism in the province of Santa Cruz, in the block called Santacruceña Force, for the elections of October 26.
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The Bishop’s statement, Mons. Ignacio Medina, clarifies to the parishioners that “the candidacy for national deputy of the Pbro. Juan Carlos Molina responds exclusively to a personal decision.”
“This application in no case expresses the will, nor the opinion of the Diocesan Church of Río Gallegos,” he adds.
Therefore, he expresses, “none of the manifestations that are poured into campaign or during their possible mandate, must be understood as an expression of the will of this diocese.”
The aforementioned priest, concludes the text, “will not exercise the presbyteral ministry in a public or private manner, during the campaign period and/or future exercise of the legislative mandate”, in correspondence with the provisions of the Code of Canon Law (CIC).
Canon 285 of the CIC expresses: “Cleric people are prohibited from accepting those public office, which carry with them a participation in the exercise of civil power.”
“Without a license of your ordinary, they must not accept the administration of goods belonging to lay or secular trades that carry with them the obligation to account,” adds the fee.
Being a license and not a dispensation, Fr. Molina can resume the exercise of the priesthood once his obligations in the public function have ended.
Julieta Villar
I am a journalist, a graduate in Communication from the National University of La Matanza in Argentina. I have work experience in non -governmental organizations. Since 2016 I dedicate myself to Catholic journalism, first in the Argentine Catholic Information Agency (AICA) and, since 2022, as a correspondent for ACI Press for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia.