For whom the bells tolled

Last Tuesday, for the first time since the 1920s (during the priest’s strike in protest of enforcement of Mexico’s strict anti-clerical laws), the Metropolitan Cathedral was locked.  I’m still not sure the Cardinal had the right to lock a facility that’s not his property (if I’m not mistaken, the Metropolitan Cathedral is owned by the Federal Government), but let that pass.

While the percentage of Catholics in Mexico has been falling rapidly, the Church has been taking more and more advantage of legal changes since since the 1992 constitutional change that allowed clerics to vote and churches to own property, to push for more “special rights”.  Especially after 2000, when PANistas captured the Presidency, the upper clergy has less than subtle about who they support politically.

All this came to a head last Sunday.  AMLO was giving a speech to his supporters on the Zocalo at noon.  Normally, if there is a major event on the Zocalo, the Cathedral does not ring its bells and accomodates their landlord, the Mexican government.  Even during the nude phot session, the Church  cooperated.  But, not with AMLO.  The Church’s claim is that they always ring the Angelus bells at noon on Sunday.  Not for 12 straight minutes they don’t.

Those bells are annoying — and the normally anti-AMLO Cronica del Hoy uncovered the interesting factoid that the bells were being rung by tourists (or that’s the claim, anyway).  AMLO supporters — or at any rate people from the Zocalo crowd — went into the Cathedral, got into a fight with the ushers at Mass and knocked over a few benches — and, according to who you believe, maybe peed on the floor.  Your usual anti-clerical action.

Complicating things, it isn’t clear the “action” had anything to do with AMLO.  Photos show that the protesters were carrying anti-Cardinal Rivera placards accusing his Eminence of covering up clerical pedophilia scandals.  The Cardinal himself was in Rome.

Neither AMLO nor His Eminence are stupid.  Nor are the media spin-meisters.  Of course, Televisa and the main papers were all wringing their hands over AMLO’s “intolerance,” while the lefties were quick to put out statements denying responsiblity.

Things escalated on Tuesday, when the Cathedral’s dean had the doors locked.  He claimed that the facility was unsafe.  Uh-huh.  The Federal District government agreed Wednesday to a plan to install 30 video cameras and provide a police detail during Sunday masses, so the Cathedral has had to back down, and will reopen on Sunday.

In the meantime, Senator Rosario Ibarra — who nobody messes with — is leading an investigation into the whole “human rights violation” claim.  AMLO’s back in the news — mostly negative, but then, being attacked by the powers-that-be was what made AMLO a political hero to the masses… and the Church manages to get a few more special rights — if nothing else, by “uso y costumbre” claiming ownership of the Cathedral.  With tourist season in high gear, the Cathedral wasn’t going to stay closed very long.

Ultra-reactionary Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez of Guadalajara is accusing the PRD of being “priest-eaters.”, so I expect the clergy and the lefties will both be chiming in for the next few weeks.