Argentine bishop's death certificate to be changed to 'murder'
Last edited Sat Aug 7, 2021, 07:55 AM - Edit history (1)
by MORGAN LEE, Associated Press
Friday, August 6th 2021
ROME – In a decision that some see as five decades too late, Argentina is getting ready to change the death certificate of a Catholic bishop recognized by Pope Francis as a martyr to note that he didn’t die in an accident, but was murdered by the country’s military regime.
The official death certificate of Bishop Enrique Angelelli notes that he died August 4, 1976, of natural causes after a car accident. However, Argentina’s justice system has acknowledged that he was murdered, and convicted those responsible.
“The death certificate was drawn up with bad intentions by Judge Rodolfo Vigo of the military dictatorship. It was a document that talked about an accident and natural death. Today there is a firm condemnation for Angelelli’s murderers, and that document must be modified,” said Délfor Brizuela, the Secretary of Human Rights of La Rioja.
The bishop was from La Rioja, in Argentina’s northern region, and Brizuela’s comments came on August 4, on the 45th anniversary of Angelelli’s murder.
The bishop was assassinated by members of Argentina’s Third Army Corps, commanded by the Mario Benjamín Menéndez. In 2014, the former army chief and Luis Fernando Estrella were sentenced to life in prison for the bishop’s death.
Layman Wenceslao Pedernera and Fathers Carlos de Dios Murias and Gabriel Longeville, had been assassinated soon before, presumably as a warning, for being in Angelelli’s circle.
More:
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-americas/2021/08/argentine-bishops-death-certificate-to-be-changed-to-murder/
(Sorry to anyone who may have read this earlier, I had the wrong headline. Only discovered it hours later. I'm too silly.)