SALVADORANS HAVE A NEW, MORE OUTSPOKEN ARCHBISHOP

UNCLAS SAN SALVADOR 000184 WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KPLS KDEM ES SUBJECT: SALVADORANS HAVE A NEW, MORE OUTSPOKEN ARCHBISHOP Ref: SAN SALVADOR 01398 ¶1. Summary: Monsignor Jose Luis Escobar was inaugurated as San Salvador's Archbishop in a packed mass on February 14 in San Salvador's Cathedral. In the short time that Escobar has occupied his influential position as the main representative of the Catholic Church in El Salvador, he has taken a high profile stance in two separate speeches supporting the Catholic Church's opposition to mining. Moreover, Escobar's public statements suggest that he may hold views close to liberation theology, a movement in the Catholic Church that emphasized liberating the poor and oppressed and that led some adherents to support revolutionary activity in Latin America including the FMLN's insurgency (1980-92). The new archbishop, however, has denied being wedded to liberation theology and has kept a neutral position regarding the upcoming March 15 presidential election. End Summary. A NEW ARCHBISHOP FOR SALVADORAN CATHOLICS ¶2. Monsignor Jose Luis Escobar Alas assumed duties as San Salvador's tenth Archbishop during a mass on February 14 in San Salvador's Cathedral attended by key Salvadoran political figures and thousands of Salvadorans who traveled to the capital to witness the ceremony. The Vatican named the 49-year-old Escobar, who previously served as the Bishop of San Vicente, to replace Fernando Saenz Lacalle, who resigned after reaching the position's maximum age limit of 75 in ¶2007. Escobar was born on March 10, 1959 in Las Delicias, Suchitoto, less than 30 miles from San Salvador and studied in the Supreme Seminary of Morelia in Mexico and the Pontificia Universita Gregoriana in Italy. He has been a priest since 1982 and served first as Assistant Bishop of San Vicente in 2002 and then as Bishop of San Vicente since 2005. MAINTAINS CHURCH'S ANTI-MINING STANCE ¶3. In a highly publicized move, Escobar used his inaugural message to call on the GOES to reject mining operations in El Salvador. With high-level government officials in attendance, he further asserted that the GOES should not allow mining because the cyanide used in mining harms people, plants, and animals. His declarations were applauded by the crowd attending the ceremony including Salvadoran President Antonio Saca. Escobar's statements are in line with the Catholic Church's position on mining, as well as his predecessor's stance on the issue. ¶4. The next day, Escobar spoke out again against mining in El Salvador and denounced Pacific Rim, a Canadian company with U.S. investors, for pressuring the Salvadoran government at a regional forum. He asserted that mining companies should not operate in El Salvador because the country and mining companies currently do not have adequate capacity to protect the environment from cyanide contamination. ¶5. Pacific Rim filed a notice of intent to seek arbitration under CAFTA on December 9, and the Salvadoran government has until March 9 (a week prior to the presidential elections) to resolve the claim before the case goes to international arbitration. Pacific Rim argues that the GOES has violated the investment chapter of CAFTA-DR and its own environmental laws by failing to act on Pacific Rim's 2006 application for environmental permits to exploit the El Dorado gold mine in Cabanas. President Saca publicly asserted on February 26 that he would rather face arbitration than give Pacific Rim a mining permit and announced in a call to a Catholic radio station that no mining permits would be awarded during his presidency. APPEARS SYMPATHETIC BUT SAYS NOT WEDDED TO LIBERATION THEOLOGY ¶6. Escobar told (conservative daily) La Prensa Grafica on February 14 that he is not wedded to liberation theology because he does not believe that justice is achieved through vengeance and resentment. He has said that his duty is to raise his voice to defend human rights and democracy and called Fidel Castro a dictator. However, in his first homily, Escobar asserted that he wants to be with the weak and poor because that is the Church's duty and called for priority to be given to ministering to the poor. Escobar also professed in La Prensa Grafica on February 14 to admire Father Ignacio Ellacuria, a Jesuit priest and contributor to liberation theology, who was murdered by the Salvadoran Armed Forces in 1989, and Bishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, who was assassinated by death squads in 1981. ARENA AND FMLN POSITIONS ON ESCOBAR ¶7. President Saca asserted that the new archbishop is a leader who will attract more worshippers to the Catholic Church. Meanwhile, (left-wing) FMLN presidential candidate Mauricio Funes published a three-quarter-page ad in which he said that he shared Escobar's point of view as expressed in his first homily. ¶8. Comment: It is unlikely that the Salvadoran government would grant a mining exploitation permit during the electoral season, and Escobar's remarks will make it difficult for either political party to do so following the March 15 election. Escobar belongs to the more liberal Jesuit prelature in contrast to his predecessor Saenz Lacalle, who belonged to Opus Dei. Division remains in the Salvadoran Catholic Church between conservatives and those espousing liberation-theology style ideas. Charge will pay a courtesy call on Archbishop Escobar Alas on March 11. End Comment. BLAU