In talk here, Honduran cardinal brings message on global poverty

Oscar Andrés Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga, S.D.B.

Function: Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Title: Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria della Speranza

Birthdate: Dec 29, 1942	Country: Honduras

Elevated: Feb 21, 2001	More information: www.catholic-hierarchy.org

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In talk here, Honduran cardinal brings message on global poverty
Feb 22, 2006
Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, often described as a "rising star" in the Catholic Church, visited St. Louis on Tuesday to spread his message about global poverty.

(ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 02/15/2006) In perfect English (he speaks nine languages), and dressed simply in the black suit and white collar of a parish priest, the Honduran cardinal told a crowd of about 50 theology students and faculty at St. Louis University that 60 percent of his countrymen live under the poverty line, making less than $1 per day.

"Poverty is our big challenge," he said. "That is not taken into consideration by the present administration here. President (George W.) Bush is not concerned about Latin America any more."

Rodriguez Maradiaga, 63, the archbishop of the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, was frequently mentioned as a papal candidate last year. He is young enough, say many Vatican watchers, that he could be considered again.

Politicians are a special concern for Rodriguez Maradiaga. "Politics have become an industry in our nation," he said. "People want to become president in order to get rich. We have to recover the dignity of politics, we have to work as Christians to give politicians their ethics back."

In an interview, Rodriguez Maradiaga said an issue recently in the news in the U.S. - bishops in favor of denying Holy Communion to Catholic politicians who support abortion rights - is not relevant in Honduras "because those people never come to church."

But, he said, "personally, I could never deny Holy Communion to a person. It would be a public scandal. Those who know they shouldn't be accepting the Eucharist have their own consciences. In my capacity as a pastor, I would never decide that for someone else."

Tuesday night he was to give the 11th annual Delubac Lecture at SLU's Anheuser-Busch Center on the topic of globalization's effect on Latin America.

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