Mexican bishop's indigenous permanent deacon program on hold

Published: 2006-04-10

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A Mexican bishop has said that the Vatican is still refusing to allow him to ordain permanent deacons from the indigenous populations in his diocese in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. Bishop Felipe Arizmendi Esquival of San Cristobal de las Casas also said that he has been told to stop his formation programs for candidates to the permanent diaconate. The Vatican fears that the ordinations are part of a plan to develop an autonomous local church and would be used to prepare the way for the ordination of married priests, he said. The decision was communicated in an Oct. 26, 2005, letter from Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze, head of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, said the bishop. Bishop Arizmendi discussed the Vatican's decision during an April 7 interview with Catholic News Service while he was in Washington. He made the decision public at a March 13-16 diocesan conference for his 335 permanent deacons.

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