Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Buenos Aires (Agenzia Fides) – On June 5, the Argentinean Bishops’ Conference will hold an “extraordinary meeting” of the Permanent Commission, in efforts to face the climate of hostility and the threat to social peace they are perceiving among the Argentinean people. The Bishops are concerned about social peace and the social conflicts, said Fr. Jorge Oesterheld, Bishops’ spokesman, and have thus called this meeting of some twenty prelates.
The conflict in Argentina that broke out in March between the National Government and the agricultural sector, continues without resolution. The agricultural entities decided last week to return to protesting, because of the lack of “action” on the part of the government. After a meeting in Rosario (Argentina), which lasted a little over 5 hours, the leaders of four rural organizations involved in the conflict announced that they will continue the strike on grain sales and will continue protesting until June 9.
This weekend, Archbishop Hector Aguer of La Plata (Argentina) took the opportunity to offer a reflection on the conflict from a moral point of view on the weekly program “Claves para un mundo mejor” (Key points for a better world). He referred to two “moral themes that have been traditionally addressed by the Church,” which are “the question of taxes” and “the problem of the strike.”
“In this conflict of the government vs. the rural entities, there is a paradoxical situation revealed,” the Archbishop said. “Because it seems incredible that there can be no satisfactory resolution... These problems are unnecessary and controllable, in which an accord could easily be reached if there were good will and a sincere desire for the common good. However, the parties harden in their positions and the conflict is prolonged, causing grave damage to the economy and public disturbance.”
Regarding the taxes, he said that “there is a long moral Christian tradition” that says that “the just and necessary taxes are obligatory,” although the “problem is who decides whether a tax is just or unjust.” “We would have to say that it corresponds to justice as an institution, although even so, this can lead to situations of moral ambiguity.” The Archbishop, who also forms a part of the Pontifical Commission for Justice and Peace, pointed out that “our taxes system is excessively complex,” and that there is “a culture of evasion,” with “legitimate and false suspicions as to what the State does, or rather, what the Governments do with the money that enters from taxes” and that “a tax policy is needed in order to facilitate the payment of taxes without converting it into a trap.”
Archbishop Aguer commented that “the other problem, which has in fact become the other end of the discussion, is the problem of the legitimacy of the strike,” explaining that the Church’s social doctrine “recognizes the right to a strike as an extreme recourse, as long as it does not lead to situations of violence and that its prolongation and the circumstances surrounding this right do not go against the common good.” Regarding this topic, he mentioned that the Second Vatican Council Constitution “Gaudium et Spes” supports the fact that “a strike may still be a necessary yet extreme means in the defense of rights and compliance with workers’ just aspirations. With all that said, may all concerned begin as soon as possible to find ways to negotiate and to renew a reconciliatory dialogue.” According to the Archbishop of La Plata, “reflecting on these two ethical matters that I have mentioned may contribute to a more objective consideration of the situation.” (RG) (Agenzia Fides 3/6/2008)
