Catholic Church in Argentina

thumb|The [[Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral|Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity in Buenos Aires.]]

upright|thumb|Miracle procession in [[Salta|Salta City.]]

The Argentine Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Argentina, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, the Curia in Rome, and the Argentine Episcopal Conference.

According to the CIA World Factbook (July 2014), 92% of the country are nominally Catholic, but less than 20% practice their faith regularly (i.e., attend weekly Mass). Later studies in 2019 suggest that between 62.9% of Argentinians are Catholic. No study has yet determined whether Catholics with higher levels of traditional religious observance are more likely than those with lower levels to participate in any cultural Catholic activities such as participating in online conversations about Catholicism's customs, beliefs, etc., sharing Catholic holidays with family, or engaging in political and social activism as an expression of Catholicism. In 2020, such a study was made of American Jews, comparing and contrasting nominally Jewish adherents with those who practice their faith weekly.

Today, the church in Argentina is divided into administrative territorial units called dioceses and archdioceses. Buenos Aires, for example, is a metropolitan archdiocese owing to its size and historical significance as the capital of the nation.

An archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (later Pope Francis), SJ, was elected as Pope on 13 March 2013 in the 2013 papal conclave. Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral, the seat of the archbishop, also houses the remains of General José de San Martín in a mausoleum.

There are eight Catholic universities in Argentina: Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina (Buenos Aires), the Universidad Católica de Córdoba, the Universidad Católica de La Plata, the Universidad Católica de Salta, the Universidad Católica de Santa Fe, the Universidad Católica de Cuyo, the Universidad Católica de las Misiones, and the Catholic University of Santiago del Estero.

History

Colonial Era and Independence

thumb|The [[Cathedral of Córdoba, Argentina|Cathedral of Córdoba, founded in 1582 by the Spanish crown.]]

During the Spanish colonial period, the Catholic Church became the main provider of Christian presence and religious social services in the different Spanish viceroyalties in South America, including the territory that would later become the current Argentine Republic.

After the May Revolution in 1810 first, and then with the independence of Spain in 1816, there were disagreements within the national ruling elite about the degree of influence of the church in the country. Without wanting to offend Spain, the papacy condemned the revolutions sweeping South America in time and creating a contentious relationship with the budding Argentina Nation that will finally be resolved in 1966 with the concordat between the Argentine Republic and the Holy See.

Ecclesiastical reform of Rivadavia

Between 1820 and 1824, Martín Rodríguez governed, whose minister Bernardino Rivadavia promoted an ecclesiastical reform by modernizing a sector of society that had not changed since the time before the May Revolution. This reform included the suppression of tithes, the transfer to the State of some of the assets of the religious orders, such as those of the Sanctuary of Luján, of the Brotherhood of Charity, of the Hospital of Santa Catalina and others. 5 In opposition to the reform on March 19, 1823, the "Revolution of the Apostolics" broke out led by Gregorio García de Tagle in which illustrious citizens such as Domingo Achega, Mariano Benito Rolón, Ambrosio de Lezica (father) participated among others but failed after several hours of struggle.

The arbitrary and unilateral spoils of the Rivadavian administration together with the role of the Catholic Church in the genesis of Argentine nationality are the cause of the historical reparation that underlies the current support of Catholic worship in Argentina, regulated by Law 21.540 on the "Assignment to certain dignitaries belonging to the Roman Apostolic Catholic Cult." 6

Relationship from the National Organization

In any case, it was established in the first Argentine Constitution, (unitary) promulgated in 1819 – in its article 1 -, in that of 1826 (also unitary) – in its article 3 – and then in the federal Constitution of 1853, in its article 2, – still in force with modifications -, which reserves a special place for the Catholic Church, the majority religion among the population.

During the wars for independence, the State confiscated many temple assets to support the armies. For this reason, after the fall of the tyranny of Juan Manuel de Rosas, in the battle of Caseros, when the Constitution of 1853 was drafted, this debt is recognized in the aforementioned article 2.

Church–state relations in the nineteenth century were characterized by a series of conflicts between the Argentine government and the church over the issues of compulsory secular education, civil marriage and the governmental appointment of religious authorities. Argentina and the Holy See broke diplomatic relations in the 1880s on these issues and it took almost 20 years to restore them.

First half of the 20th century

thumb|left|The [[Cathedral of La Plata.]]

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Buenos Aires was the second largest Catholic city in the world after Paris. The XXXII International Eucharistic Congress of 1934 was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina between October 9 and 14, 1934 with the presence of Eugenio Pacelli, future Pope Pius XII. It was the first to be held in Latin America and the third in the Americas after those held in Montreal and Chicago.

On the same day that the martyr Hector Valdivielso Sáez – the first Argentine saint – gave his life on October 9, the International Eucharistic Congress of 1934 began that marked a revival of Argentine Catholicism, a milestone from which a new life of the Church in Argentina, the dioceses increased, vocations grew, new parishes were built, and the laity became aware of their importance in the Church. Because of the magnitude of the crowds that attended public events, never before seen, it was the most important mass event in the country to date and, for some historians, the largest mobilization that has occurred in Argentina to date. 7

Relations improved in the early twentieth century, with several conservative administrations working with the Holy See to lay the foundations for a mutually acceptable relationship, which involved, among other things, state permissiveness towards religious education in public schools.

Mid-20th Century

The government of the Infamous Decade, the subsequent dictatorship and the first eight years of the government of Juan Perón overthrew the continuity of the fluid relationship between the State and the Catholic Church. In 1954, President Perón broke off relations with the Catholic Church and began a confrontation with it. The Perón regime abolished non-working days for Catholic Holidays, legalized Divorce and Prostitution, prohibited religious displays in public places, and Creches were banned in Buenos Aires. On June 11, 1955, approximately 200 thousand people attended a Corpus Christi procession in Buenos Aires, despite it being illegal. The Peronist regime reacted by accusing the attendees of vandalism and burning the Flag of Argentina. The next day, Peronists attempted to set fire to Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral, but were prevented by members of Catholic Action and the UNES. During a Peronist rally in the Plaza de Mayo on June 16, the Plaza was bombed as a part of a failed coup attempt by Anti-Peronists, which killed more than 300 civilians. In response, Peronists destroyed several churches and hundreds of Anti-Peronists and Priests were arrested.

The 1960s served as a decade of significant change for the Catholic Church in Argentina. The severed relationship caused by the Peron dictatorship coincided with major political shifts in Latin America. Following the Second Vatican Council's conclusion in 1965, the Catholic Church experienced a renewal of morals, with a greater focus on interaction in the social sphere. Increased interaction between the church and the poor living in slums/rural areas of Latin America created stronger connections between classes and political movements. Following the overthrow of Peron in 1955, many sectors of Argentinian society struggled to create and construct new projects. A widespread ban on the Peronist Party removed a majority of the population out of the political system. The ban created a power struggle amongst labor unionist groups, as well as economic and political groups. The struggle for power between groups was halted by a lack of long term legitimacy, resulting in political groups unable to enforce their ideas on others. Support for the Church and its civil power increased as a result.

In the military government of the post-Peron era, young people were led towards political involvement through working with the church. The radicalization of the Catholic Church as a result of the Second Vatican Council paved the way for increasing revolutionary thought, with the pressure of injustice and an incapable infrastructure being presented to the young people of society. National Catholics held the belief that the church and the state were to be closely aligned, and that "only a Catholic State could guarantee a Catholic society". The result came in 1977, in the form of the senate's military aid authorization bill, which cut off all US military and commercial sales to Argentina. With a lack of foreign support, the military junta accepted a visit from the Inter-American Human Rights Commission (IAHRC) in 1978.

In 2023, the country was scored 4 out of 4 for religious freedom.

Demographics

{| class="wikitable" align="left"

!colspan="2"|Catholic demographics estimates

|Year

| 2004

| 89.25%

| 2008

| 76.5%

| 2014

| 71%

| 2019

| 62.9%