Argentine Bishop Dismissed by Government for Citing the Bible

A Roman Catholic Bishop appointed by Rome and approved by the Argentine government to oversee military chaplains has been removed by the government. Here is a key quote, the full article from BBC is here:

Health Minister Gines Gonzalez Garcia recently said he was in favour of legalising abortion.

Bishop Baseotto replied that the minister's stance made him an apologist for murder

Quoting a passage from the New Testament, he said Mr Gonzalez Garcia deserved to have a millstone hung around his neck and should be "thrown into the sea".

But the government has said the statement evoked Argentina's controversial past.

During the military regime that ruled the country from 1976-1983, political opponents were thrown into the sea during the so-called "death flights".

The bishop says his comments were taken out of context, but BBC Buenos Aires correspondent Elliott Gotkine says his position now appears untenable.

Unfortunately the article does not explain why Mr. Gotkine feels the bishop's "position now appears untenable."

And what was it, exactly, that the bishop quoted:

Jesus said to his disciples:

Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves.

"If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.(Luke 17:1-3)

In rebuking the Health Minister it would appear that the bishop was only doing his job!

I believe that it is reasonable to believe that the bishop considered the possiblility that someone might associate the words of Jesus with those infamous "death flights". Even so, the words he quoted were eminently appropriate to his point.

Whether the citation and resulting "association" were intentional or not, it most certainly appears that, in Argentina at least, quoting Jesus can get you in a heap of trouble!