Once again, the facts speak for themselves. The recent episode denounced in Mendoza, where members of the Institute of the Incarnate Word would have vandalized a nature reserve, constitutes further proof of this attitude of contempt for the rules, that conviction that no rule applies to them and that they are above all law, whether civil or ecclesiastical.
Source: La Nación
What happened in Mendoza
According to La Nación, members of the congregation were denounced for making improper interventions within a protected area, modifying the natural environment without authorization. The event generated outrage in the local community and in environmental organizations, which highlight the fragility of the ecosystem and the need to preserve the reserve for future generations.
A pattern that is repeated in the civil and ecclesial spheres
What happened cannot be analyzed as an isolated event. It is part of a pattern of recurrent behavior in this institute:
- Act as if the law does not reach them.
- To impose their presence and interests over community norms.
- Ignoring the social, environmental, or spiritual consequences of their actions.
Disguised acceptance of novices
This disregard for rules is not limited to civilian life. Its most alarming feature is the constant violation of ecclesiastical norms.
In spite of the dispositions that weigh on them, they continue to covertly accept novices in different parts of the world, as if the authority of the Church had no real force over their functioning.
Beyond the specific case
Damage to a nature reserve is not only an ecological problem. It is also a reflection of an institutional culture of impunity, which manifests itself both in its relationship with civil society and within the Church itself.
When a religious congregation conveys by its actions that the rules are relative and that its mission justifies any outrage, it erodes not only social trust but also the evangelical credibility it claims to defend.
The response that is imposed
Faced with this scenario, it is clear that the Holy See cannot continue to respond with lukewarmness. The reiteration of civil and ecclesiastical abuses by the Institute of the Incarnate Word makes it necessary to consider firmer and more definitive measures.
Among them, the dissolution of the institute should be listed as a real and serious option, not as a distant threat. Because while the Vatican limits itself to warnings or partial sanctions, the congregation multiplies its abuses, consolidating a message of impunity that hurts society and weakens the Church itself.
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