The Holy Father has published a chirograph by which he has erected the Pan-American Committee of Judges for Social Rights and Franciscan Doctrine (COPAJU) as a Private Association of the Faithful with an international character, and creates the Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Institute of Legal Research as a dependent organization under it.
From now on, the authorities of COPAJU will have to obtain pontifical approval for their five-year proposals, and the authorities of the Institute will be led by eminent professors and subject matter experts.
This decision by Francis comes in the middle of the Argentinian electoral process which is to elect the president and the vice-president of the country. Indeed, the primary election, which must designate the candidate of each party and which is compulsory, took place on August 13th. The primary saw an “anti-system” candidate clearly taking the lead, jostling the other candidates.
Some of these come from the so-called “Kirchnerist” current, named after former President Nestor Kirchner. This current can be described as “center-left.” The Pope appointed Professors Raúl Eugenio Zaffaroni, Alberto Filippi, and Marcelo Suárez Orozco as the Founding Academic Board of the Institute for the period 2023-2028. They are all notorious Kirchnerists.
In other words, Francis’s appointments put forward people supporting candidates who are losing political favor, but who have the friendship of the Pope. This is why the papal decision has scandalized a large part of the Argentine population, including the media, which has often defended the actions of the Pontiff.
Certain positions taken by these professors against Catholic doctrine should be noted. Mr. Zaffaroni (83) was a member of the Supreme Court between 2003 and 2014 and a judge on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for the 2016-2022 term. He has been closely linked to Nestor Kirchner and Vice President Cristina Fernández.
Zaffaroni is a fanatical proponent of penal abolitionism: abolition of prisons, the police, and the courts. It is to be hoped that the justification of some of his condemnations will not contaminate the legal proceedings of the Holy See. As a Supreme Court justice, Zaffaroni spoke out in favor of same-sex marriage and against the “criminalization of abortion” in the country. The arguments he put forward are those which are also beginning to be heard in certain ecclesiastical circles.
The Pope personally appointed “as President of COPAJU for the period 2023-2028, Judge Roberto Andrés Gallardo of the Republic of Argentina,” who in addition to being a convinced Kirchnerist is an admirer of Lenin, Salvador Allende, Hebe of Bonafini, and the militant Che Guevara.
Pope Francis has erected a new private association of the faithful with a controversial appointment. The decision has caused a scandal in the Pope’s home country.