Pope Francis returns Argentine President Mauricio Macri’s ‘donation’ of 16,666,000 pesos.
Pope Francis signed an order officially rejecting a state donation of 16,666,000 pesos ($1.2 million) for Scholas Occurrentes, an educational project for disadvantaged Argentine schools launched by Francis while still Archbishop of Buenos Aires and sponsored by the Vatican.
In a letter addressed to Argentine President Mauricio Macri's Cabinet Chief Marcos Peña, Scholas Occurrentes directors José María del Corral and Enrique Palmeyro confirmed Pope Francis’ decision “to suspend the non-refundable contribution taking into account that some may try to distort this gesture.”
Pope Francis has been at odds with the right-wing Macri administration over issues ranging from the continued detention without trial of indigenous community organizer Milagro Sala after five months and harsh austerity policies which, according to the Catholic University of Argentina, have increased poverty in the country by over two million people since Macri took office in December.
“He (Palmeyro) told us that Pope Francis is very worried about her arrest and is working for (Sala's) release,” Túpac Amaru coordinator Alejandro Garfagnini said on February 15. Days later, the long-awaited meeting between Macri and Francis at the Vatican ended up being a frosty encounter that lasted a mere 22 minutes. The pope refrained from smiling when he was photographed with Macri and his wife, making evident the lack of affinity between the two political leaders.
This was a stark contrast from the warmer relationship Francis used to enjoy with Macri's center-left predecessor Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who granted Scholas Occurrentes its first annual subsidy in 2014.
The Macri administration was less than pleased with this decision from the Vatican, and attempted to blame Corral and Palmeyro - and by extension Francis himself - for the rebuke. “It was the Pope ... who asked (Macri) to help Scholas, they were the ones who asked for a contribution for amount of money,” government spokesmen told the right-wing daily La Nación. The claim was, however, debunked by Pope Francis himself, who described the donation as “unexpected and unwelcome.”
Vatican spokesmen explained that Macri's decree granting the Scholas Occurrentes subsidy was interpreted as an attempt to “seduce” the pontiff just days after a report by the Argentine Synod (CEA) delivered a scathing criticism of the government’s social policies and the worsening state of poverty in Argentina.
A month ago, Macri hosted a meeting with Church leaders at the Olivos presidential residence to discuss the critical social situation in Argentina. Both parties left the meeting without issuing comments. Hours later, the Church issued a harsh document calling on political leaders to “reduce the worrying poverty levels” seen in the country.
The Archbishop of Buenos Aires Mario Poli — Francis’ successor in the position he had occupied until 2013 — scolded the Macri administration for failing to take the recent poverty crisis in Argentina seriously.
At: http://buenosairesherald.com/article/215986/pope-gives-back-macri%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98donation%E2%80%99
