Mexican church calls adultery "a sin and a crime"

Wed06Dec2006

Mexican church calls adultery "a sin and a crime"

The Mexican Catholic church is criticizing the Northern state of Chihuahua's decision to eliminate adultery from its list of punishable crimes in its "Reforma Penal":

For Bishop Renato Ascencio León, this change “is yet another manifestation that we are straying off the path” and said that “the only thing that this will cause is, if authority does not intervene, that victims take justice into their own hands.”

Personally, I had no idea that adultery was a punishable crime in Mexico. And people will take justice into their own hands whether "authorities" do or not.

Chihuahua's penal reform, introduced in November, added child pornography and sex tourism to its list of punishable crimes, but eliminated adultery. Sounds like a decent trade-off to me.

Chihuahua's Attorney General states that adultery was eliminated because it's "seldom reported" while the church calls it a "serious sin" that should be "punished by the laws of men".

Via / El Plural

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Jennifer

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1. Neruda ~ Wednesday, Dec 06 2006 | 17:39H:

It sounds like another case of entrenched power reacting to the loss of influence. Where has the church in Latin America been politically with regards to the chasm between rich and impoverished? Why not say mass poverty where it need not exist is a sin and a crime?

2. El Cid de Arizpe ~ Sunday, Jan 07 2007 | 05:14H:

What the Bishop says makes sense if you believe these changes send a message and are meant to influence public attitudes towards promiscuity. Public Morals, if supported by society, require a consistent unified ethic that needs to be constantly reinforced. The law, though archaic, should remain because its removal signals a change and sends the wrong message. If the State insists on the power to legislate morality it, the State, should not be surprised by the Church's protestations when it attempts to sway public attitudes.

VivirLatino