Students at the Catholic University of Santiago have staged a demonstration against Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, over the dismissal of a prominent liberation theologian.
The protest took place during an event last month attended by the cardinal, who was targeted by students angry over his decision to dismiss Professor Jorge Costadoat from the theology faculty.
“The professor did not adhere to the syllabus, nor did he give the majority of the fundamental content of the course, blurring its essence and obliging some students to study the material on their own. In my evaluation, this is the element that has the most weight and is essential,” Cardinal Ezzati said in his 5 April letter to the university council.
The Jesuit priest has been outspoken on the social mission of the Church and sexual morality, in particular the issue of Communion for divorcees who have remarried.
However, in a letter to El Mercurio newspaper last month Fr Costadoat said he did not know what the cardinal, who is Grand Chancellor of the university, was accusing him of.
“We are asking the cardinal to reverse his decision, grant Professor Costadoat permission to carry out his canonical mission and give a clear signal that the university has academic freedom,” Daniel Gerard, one of the student protesters, told La Nacion newspaper. “If the university does not have this freedom we must question its public role.”
Fr Costadoat told El Mercurio that there were other teachers at the university who were “fearful” for their future, feeling they were “being watched” because of their views.
Cardinal Ezzati, one of Pope Francis’ "C9" group of nine advisers and one of the first prelates Francis made a cardinal, is a controversial figure in the Chilean Church. He was accompanied at the 13 April event where the demonstration took place, by the newly-appointed Bishop Juan Barros, who was also targeted by the protesters. Bishop Barros is alleged to have colluded in or covered up the child abuse committed by the priest Fernando Karadima, who was banned from ministry by the Vatican.
Above: Cardinal Ezzati (right) with the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Müller. Photo: CNS
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