Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Buenos Aires (Agenzia Fides) – Cardinal Odilio Pedro Scherer, Archbishop of Sao Paulo (Brazil) has been appointed by the Holy Father as his special envoy in the act commemorating the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the pontifical mediation between Argentina and Chile that prevented a war over the Beagle Canal. The act will take place in Monte Aymond, on December 5.
The Pontifical Mission, which will be presided by Cardinal Scherer, will also be formed by Archbishop Adriano Bernardini, Apostolic Nuncio in Argentina, Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto, Apostolic Nuncio of Chile, Bishop Juan Carlos Romanin, SDB of Rio Gallegos, representative of the Bishops of Argentina, and Bishop Francisco Javier Prado Aranguiz, SSCC, Bishop Emeritus of Rancagua (Chile) and representative of the Bishops of Chile.
According to the program, the delegation will leave Buenos Aires to travel to Punta Arenas (Chile) on the 4th of December. At 9pm, they will meet with the Presidents of the two countries, and at 10, there will be an official dinner. In her first official journey to Chile, the President of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, will meet with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, to reaffirm the bilateral relationship. At the end of their official meeting, they will sign a joint statement and announce integration agreements. Among the accords, is that of education, making doctoral thesis valid in both countries.
On December 5, at 7:30, the Pontifical Delegate will preside a Mass in the Punta Arenas Cathedral. Then, the Presidents of both countries will unveil a plaque in honor of the late Holy Father John Paul II. They will then proceed on to Monte Aymond, with an altitude of 279 meters, located on the border between the two countries. Here, they will hold a ceremony during which the presidents will lay the first cornerstone of a monument to peace. A contest is being held for the best layout for proceeding forward with the construction. The Cultural Commission will determine the winning artist. During the act, Cardinal Scherer will read a Message from the Holy Father, who weeks ago made reference to the anniversary as “an admirable example of building peace through the timeless and masterful means of dialogue.”
The Churches in both nations will also be celebration the event with Masses on December 22: in Argentina, at the Basilica of Lujan and in Chile, at the National Shrine of Maipu. The Bishops of Chile, during their recent ad limina visit to Rome, celebrated the anniversary on December 1 with a Mass at the Church of Santa Maria della Pace. The Mass was presided by the Bishop of Rancagua and President of the Chilean Bishops' Conference, Bishop Alejandro Goic, and concelebrated by Archbishop of Santiago, Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz, and Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, Chanciller of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
With these celebrations, both countries will recall the events that occurred just days before Christmas 1978, when the two countries – under the military dictatorships of Jorge Videla and Augusto Pinochet – seemed determined to head for armed conflict between one another. On December 22, the Argentinean Army was ready to take the disputed islands by force. However, this same day, Pope John Paul II announced that he would send a representative in his name, to find a solution to the controversy, which was successful in detaining the conflict just minutes before it was to break out. His Holiness sent Cardinal Antonio Samore. Collaborating in the mission were Cardinals Raul Primatesta, Archbishop of Cordoba, and Raul Silva Enriquez, Archbishop of Santiago of Chile. Thanks to this mediation effort, war between the two countries was avoided. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 4/12/2008)
