Successor of Archbishop Fernandez made in his image

The Pope appoints Gabriel Mestre as the new Archbishop of La Plata

He was in charge of the Diocese of Mar del Plata. His appointment implies an ideological continuity with the outgoing 'Tucho' Fernández.

Pope Francis appointed Monsignor Gabriel Mestre as the new Archbishop of La Plata, replacing Víctor 'Tucho' Fernández, who will take over the powerful Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. Mestre was in charge of the Diocese of Mar del Plata.

Fernández's departure from the La Plata cathedral had been announced days ago by the Vatican. Meanwhile, the appointment of Mestre was surprising. It was made known in the early hours of Friday -Vatican noon- in an announcement that was published simultaneously in Rome and Buenos Aires.

With this designation, Francisco maintains the new profile that he gave to the archbishopric after the departure of Héctor Aguer, one of the toughest bishops in the Argentine church, who openly questioned homosexuality and equal marriage.

Mestre traces an intellectual line similar to that of Tucho, he is 54 years old, close to the media and professes the need to show a more open and less condemnatory Catholicism. Sources from Mar del Plata assure that he moves comfortably on the progressive agenda and has even shown some closeness to Peronist tropes.

"There is a phrase of Jesus in the gospel that says 'you will know the truth and the truth will set you free'. I think that many times in the Church we did not make that phrase flesh and for this reason, on the subject of abuse or dictatorship, By not getting close to that phrase, we have lost credibility and transparency, which is what people are looking for in the church in a way," Mestre said in an interview with 0223.

Francisco's decision to appoint 'Tucho' Fernández at the head of the Department for the Doctrine of the Faith caused a stir in the Church. Fernández is one of the men closest to Jorge Bergoglio.

In 2018 he appointed him at the head of an archbishopric that for 14 years was controlled by Aguer. Now, he entrusted her with a new assignment in one of the Vatican's most important ministries. There he will replace Jesuit Cardinal Luis Ladaria Ferrer, who exceeded the 75-year limit for executive positions in the Curia, reported an official Vatican statement.

The person in charge of the Dicastery becomes the guardian of the Pope's doctrine, a position held for 24 years by the German Joseph Ratzinger.

It is a key body in the structure of the Catholic Church that is in charge of "protecting the integrity of Catholic doctrine" and also issues of public interest, such as canonical trials for paedophilia.

"The Department that you will preside over in other times came to use immoral methods. Those were times when possible doctrinal errors were pursued more than promoting theological knowledge. What I expect of you is undoubtedly something very different," the Pope said in the letter he sent to him. sent Fernández for his appointment.

Fernández is a theologian of maximum closeness and intellectual affinity with the Supreme Pontiff, and is one of his pillars for the writing of pontifical documents such as the exhortations of 2013 Evangelii gaudium; that of 2016 Amoris Laetitia and that of 2018, Gaudete et exsultate. Author of numerous books and publications, he was rector of the UCA from 2009, also encouraged in that role by then-Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio.

The Cardinal was also the first priest ordained into a hierarchy role by Pope Francis, when he appointed him Archbishop of Tiburnia in May 2013. In 2018, he appointed him Archbishop of La Plata, replacing Monsignor Héctor Aguer. In February of this year he joined the Vatican structure in the new Department for Culture and Education.

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