Virgin Mary statue stirs up debate in secular Uruguay

Virgin Mary statue stirs up debate in secular Uruguay

Leonardo Haberkorn, Associated Press
Updated 1:15 pm, Saturday, April 9, 2016



MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — The South American country of Uruguay has a long tradition of secularism, to the point that a popular president in the early 1900s insisted on writing the word "God" with a lowercase "g'' whenever he wrote about his policies in local newspapers.

So when the Catholic Church recently proposed erecting a statue of the Virgin Mary in a park next to a popular promenade, a debate erupted over whether religious symbols in public places violate the separation between church and state.

Local authorities will decide on the petition, but that hasn't stopped lawmakers nationwide from weighing in.
Even a secular state should not go to "extreme abstinence" when it comes to religion, wrote four lawmakers from different parties in the lower chamber of Parliament in an open letter endorsing the statue.

Uruguay's constitution established religious neutrality that should not be decided by "consumer taste," responded Sen. Ope Pasquet, an opponent of the statue.

More:
http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/Virgin-Mary-statue-stirs-up-debate-in-secular-7238541.php