Fernández mends fences with hierarchy

The Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has attended the patriotic Te Deum service at the cathedral in Buenos Aires for the first time in eight years.

The move is the latest sign of thawing relations between the Church and the Argentinian Government, following the election of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio as Pope last year.

The President had avoided the service since the then-Cardinal Bergoglio criticised the “exhibitionism” of politicians, among other faults.