Enrique Angelelli
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Roman Catholic Church | |
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Title as Saint | Servant of God |
Beatified | 27 April 2019 La Rioja, Argentina by Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu |
Attributes |
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Enrique Ángel Angelelli Carletti (17 July 1923 – 4 August 1976) was a bishop of the Catholic Church in Argentina who was assassinated during the Dirty War for his involvement with social issues.
Angelelli, whose commitment to the "Church of the Poor" offered a model for the future Pope Francis, was murdered two months after U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger gave the military leaders in control of Argentina the green light to carry out the violent repression of those with left-wing ideas. This included the torture and murder of tens of thousands of political opponents.
His cause of sainthood opened in 2015. In June 2018 Pope Francis decreed he had died as a martyr for the faith, allowing Angelelli and his companions to be beatified. The beatification of Angelelli and his three companions was celebrated at La Rioja City Park in La Rioja on 27 April 2019.[1]
Life
Early life
Enrique Angelelli was born to Juan Angelelli and Celina Carletti, two Italian immigrants and devout
Priesthood
Angelelli returned to Córdoba in 1951, when he was appointed cooperating vicar of the San José Parish. He took a role as an advisor to the Catholic Workers Youth (JOC), which ran out of the Cristo Obrero Chapel.[4]
On 12 December 1960,
La Rioja
On 11 July 1968, Pope Paul VI appointed Angelelli as the bishop of the Diocese of La Rioja, in northwest Argentina, becoming the third person to ever hold the title.[8] He officially took office for the role on August 24, 1968, the same day of the Second Episcopal Conference of Latin America in Medellín.[9]
Angelelli supplied displayed support of the May 1968 first Encounter of the Movement of Priests for the Third World, though he never joined the movement himself.[10]
In La Rioja, Angelelli encouraged miners, rural workers and domestic workers to form unions, as well as
On 13 June 1973, Angelelli went to Anillaco, Menem's birth town, to preside over the patronal feasts. He was met by a mob led by merchants and landowners, among them Amado Menem, the governor's brother, and his sons César and Manuel. The mob entered the church by force. When Angelelli suspended the celebrations and left, they threw stones at him. Governor Menem withdrew his support for the co-operative citing "social unrest". Angelelli denounced conservative groups, called off religious celebrations in the diocese, and declared a temporary interdict against the Menems and their supporters.[12]
The Superior General of the
as an overseer, visited La Rioja in 1973 and supported Angelelli, who had offered his resignation and asked the Pope to ratify his actions or withdraw his trust. Before Zazpe, the interdicted demanded Angelelli's removal, while military marches were broadcast through a loudspeaker. Almost all priests of the diocese met with Zazpe to support Angelelli and his involvement in labor politics.On the other hand, the president of the
Zazpe concluded his inspection by co-celebrating Mass with Angelelli and expressing his full support for his pastoral work and doctrinal orthodoxy.
The Dirty War
The end of the brief presidency of Isabel Perón in Argentina (1974–76) brought with it the beginning of an eighteen year military dictatorship, in the form of a three man junta, and the Dirty War. The military closed the National Congress, banned all trade unions, and took control of the municipal government.[13] 1976, the Argentine Military launched a campaign called Proceso de Reorganizacion ("National Reorganization Process") in which it used bombings, kidnappings, torture and assassinations, to persecute those holding left-wing views.[14]
On 12 February 1976, the vicar of the diocese of La Rioja and two members of a social activist movement were arrested by the military, despite the military claiming to have seized power in order to protect Christianity. On 24 March, a
Murder
On a visit to Rome in 1974, Angelelli was advised not to return to Argentina, due to his presence creating a risk. He did not see remaining in Rome as an option.[16] Angelelli allegedly knew that he was being targeted for assassination by the military; people close to him had often heard him say, "It's my turn next."[17] On 4 August 1976 Angelelli was driving a truck with Father Arturo Pinto back from a Mass celebrated in the town of El Chamical, in homage to two murdered priests, Carlos de Dios Murias and Gabriel Longueville, carrying three folders with notes about both cases. He was reportedly looking into those two priests, who were murdered on July 18, 1976.[18]
According to Father Pinto, a car started following them, then another one, and in Punta de los Llanos, people forced the truck between them until toppling it.[19] After being unconscious for a while, Pinto saw Angelelli dead in the road, with the back of his neck showing grave injuries. The area was quickly surrounded by police and military personnel. An ambulance was called for. Angelelli's body was taken to the city of La Rioja. The autopsy revealed several broken ribs and a star-shaped fracture in the occipital bone, consistent with a blow given using a blunt object. The truck's brakes and steering wheel were intact, and there were no bullet marks.
The police report claimed that Pinto had been driving, momentarily lost control of the vehicle, and when trying to get back on the road a tire blew out; Angelelli was said to have been killed as the truck turned several times. This was accepted by judges at the time.[20]
On 19 June 1986, with Argentina under democratic rule again, La Rioja judge Aldo Morales ruled that it had been a premeditated homicide. When some military personnel became involved in the accusation, the Armed Forces tried to block the investigation, but the judge rejected their claims. The case passed to the Supreme Court of Argentina, which in turn sent it to the Federal Chamber of Córdoba.
In the month of April 1990, the
Position of the Church
After the murder of Angelelli, the Catholic Church officially accepted the car accident story, but some of its members spoke against it. L'Osservatore Romano reported his death as an accident. Cardinal Juan Carlos Aramburu, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, denied it was a crime, as he was often in support of the military dictatorship, and ignored their crimes.[23]
Ten years later, even after the sentence passed by Judge Morales in La Rioja, the hierarchy of the Church continued to avoid any references to murder.
Homages to Angelelli
In February 1986, U.S. Senator
On 2 August 2006, two days before the 30th anniversary of Angelelli's death,
On the day of the anniversary,
Two plaques, that bare Angelelli's name, were revealed in the Casa de La Rioja on 19 August 2007 in his honor.[29]
On 27 April 2019, shortly before his beatification, Congregation for the Causes of Saints Prefect Cardinal
Beatification
Pope Francis voiced support for the cause of sainthood for Angelelli which commenced on 21 April 2015 with the formal declaration of "nihil obstat" (nothing against) to the cause. He was bestowed the title of Servant of God as a result. The official diocesan process commenced on 13 October 2015. On 8 June 2018 Francis approved the decree that Angelelli and three others murdered in La Rioja at the time–Carlos Murias, Gabriel Longueville, Wenceslao Pedernera–were martyred out of hatred for the faith and called the Bishop of Rioja, Marcelo Colombo with the news.[31][32] The beatification ceremony then took place on 27 April 2019 and Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu presided over the celebration, which took place at La Rioja City Park in La Rioja,[1] on the Pope's behalf.[1]
See also
- Roman Catholicism in Argentina
References
- ^ a b c "Beatification of four modern martyrs to the faith in Argentina - Vatican News". 27 April 2019.
- ^ "Meet the four countrymen of Pope Francis set for beatification". Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ISSN 2544-5227.
- ISSN 2544-5227.
- ISSN 2544-5227.
- ^ Liberti (2004). Mons. Enrique Angelelli - Doctoral Thesis in Theology , pp. 90-91.
- ISSN 2544-5227.
- ISSN 2544-5227.
- ISSN 2544-5227.
- ^ Stavans, I., Robert, K., & Soria, J. (2013). CONSTITUCIÓN, BARRACAS, LA BOCA, PARQUE PATRICIOS, NUEVA POMPEYA, AND SAN TELMO. In M. Page (Ed.), Memories of Buenos Aires: Signs of State Terrorism in Argentina (pp. 127–150). University of Massachusetts Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5vk5cq.9
- ISSN 2544-5227.
- ISBN 978-1-62534-010-8.
- ^ "Dirty War | Definition, History, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 3 February 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ISBN 978-1-5017-4946-9.
- ^ Martin Edwin Andersen. Dossier Secreto. Westview Press, 1993.
- ISSN 2544-5227.
- ^ "Meet the four countrymen of Pope Francis set for beatification". Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- ISSN 2544-5227.
- ^ Fides, Agenzia. "AMERICA/ARGENTINA - On August 4, Bishop Enrique Angelelli, committed to the poor was killed - Agenzia Fides". www.fides.org. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ISSN 2544-5227.
- ^ "Gale - Product Login". galeapps.gale.com. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Retired Argentinian army chiefs jailed for life over death of Roman". The Independent. 5 July 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- ^ "elmundo.es - Juan Carlos Aramburu, el cardenal que 'bendijo' la dictadura argentina". www.elmundo.es. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ Andersen, Martin Edwin (4 March 2010). "Edward Kennedy and Human Rights in Latin America: Un solo corazon". Diario Judio.
- ^ "El Brindis de Edward Kennedy en la Rioja". 31 August 2009.
- ^ Robinson, Linda (9 May 1993). "When Thousands Vanished". The New York Times.
- ^ "Tarde, pero ésta es tu casa". Página/12 (in Spanish). 3 August 2006.
- ^ "Recibía pedradas por predicar el Evangelio". Página/12 (in Spanish). 5 August 2006.
- ^ Stavans, I., Robert, K., & Soria, J. (2013). CONSTITUCIÓN, BARRACAS, LA BOCA, PARQUE PATRICIOS, NUEVA POMPEYA, AND SAN TELMO. In M. Page (Ed.), Memories of Buenos Aires: Signs of State Terrorism in Argentina (pp. 127–150). University of Massachusetts Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5vk5cq.9
- ^ "'Argentina's Romero,' three more casualties of 'Dirty War' to be beatified". Archived from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
- ^ Beltramo Álvarez, Andrés (8 June 2018). "Argentina: Angelelli será beato, el Papa aprobó el decreto". La Stampa (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 June 2018.
- ^ "Promulgation of Decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, 09.06.2018" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 9 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
Additional sources
- Nunca Más. Report of
- Andersen, Martin Edwin (31 October 1987). "Kissinger and the "Dirty War" (PDF). The Nation.
- Argentine Episcopal Conference, Diocesan Bulletin, May 2001. Mons. Angelelli: Vivió y murió como pastor.
- "El eslabón perdido". Página/12 (in Spanish). 9 April 2006.
- "La muerte de Angelelli: en un giro histórico, la Iglesia dice que pudo haber sido un crimen". Clarín (in Spanish). 30 July 2006. Archived from the original on 17 November 2006. Retrieved 3 August 2006.
- "Cardenal angelizado". Página/12 (in Spanish). 30 July 2006.
- Gustavo Morello (2015). The Catholic Church and Argentina's Dirty War. Oxford University Press.
Document collection
- "Enrique Angelelli". El Ortiba (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 October 2017.
External links
- (in Spanish) Centro Tiempo Latinoamericano — Photo-audio-video gallery, biography, bibliography.
- (in Spanish) Enrique Angelelli – Pastor y Mártir de tierra adentro — Biography, photographic gallery, online resources.