Virgin Mary statue considered in notoriously secular Uruguay

Uruguay accused of wanting to 'prevent the Catholic presence in the life of the country.'

Uruguay is considered a secular country and is known for its refusal to condone religious beliefs of any kind - yet there exists a debate concerning the erection of a Virgin Mary statue.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Many in Uruguay stand on the country's secularism of the State to claim religious figures are offensive.

When the Bishop of Canelones' Exc. Mgr. Alberto Sanguinetti asked for "a bit of attention in the use of the definition secularism" of State and "greater respect for religious freedom."

Though Mgr. Sanguinetti was speaking of using a picture of the Virgin Mary in the main street of Montevideo, Uruguay, the situation is similar to that of the Virgin's statue, which holds the potential to be erected in a park.

Mgr. Sanguinetti explaned that in Uruguay, the term "secularism" has "been used as a weapon to exclude religion from public life. Secularism has been used by some groups against religion that brings together a large part of the population, the Catholic religion, to obstruct the Catholic presence in the life of the country."

Cardinal Daniel Sturla chimed in to explain Montevideo "is one of the few capitals in Latin America where there is no public monument of the Virgin Mary, which exists in almost every city in America and in many urban centers."

The Associated Press clarified the park is located next to a popular promenade, which had many speaking out in support of separation between church and state.

Though a statue of the Blessed Virgin would be a step in the right direction for freedom of religion within Uruguay, the country's separation of church and state laws are clear.

Even in America it is difficult to erect religious statues, plaques or simple crucifixes on public property. Whether the local Montevideo government will allow the statue's erection remains to be determined.

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