Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-08
PORTES GIL OFFERS
CATHOLIC FARLEY
Mexican President WiIIinq to
Meet Archbishop Ruiz
on Issues.

By the Associated Press. S..
MEXICO CITY, May s.-PresidentA
Emilio Portes Gil has opened a door
through which diplomatic negotiations
for settlement of his country's church.
state strife may be approached.
In a signed statement published to-
day he said: If Archbishop Ruiz (AfHr
Leopoldo Ruiz y Flores. Archbishop, OF
Michoacan and leader of the Mex
lean Roman Catholic hierarchy should
desire to discuss with me the way to
bring about cooperation in the moral
effort to better the Mexican people
which he desires, I shall have no OBJ
lection to talking with him on the
subject"
Archbishop. Ruiz recently gave out
a statement published in the United
States which said 1.-The church and its
ministers are ready to cooperate to
the fullest extent for the betterment
of the Mexican people" 1t was in an
sWer to this President Portes Gil spoke.
Il was pleased with the statement
made by Archbishop Ruiz to the effect
that the religious conflict in Mex
leo was not motivated by any cause
which may not be corrected by men
OF sincere good will and his categori-
cal declaration that the Catholic
Church and its ministers are prepared
to cooperate with the Mexican govern
ment in every proper and moral effort
Tor the benefit of the Mexican people
Desire of Government.
Cooperation for that purpose IS ex-
actly what the Mexican government
has always desired. I stated publicly
a few days ago that in my opinion the
Catholic Church as an institution was
not associated with the military up
Cd
leo. I added that many members Of
the Catholic clergy in Mexico had rec
commended and counSeled respect for
law and order. Unfortunately an i'm
portant minority who represent neither
the Mexican nation nor the Catholic
Church apparently favor violence"
The President then said that, al
though there were no officially accred-
tied representatives of the Vatican at
MeE>2o City. and that although such
were prohibited by Mexican law, the
government was not barred from eX-
changing ideas with ministers of the
Catholic church or from holding infor-
NAL conversations with dignitaries of
the church as to fulhllment and inter-
probation OF laws applicable to the
clergy.
There was some speculation here as
to how broad spirit of Cancellation the
PRESIDENTS statement might point. Set
t!ement OF the controversy between the
church and the Mexican government APP
parently has hinged, since the rupture
became open in 1925, on some modifica-
ton or arrangement of the national re-
l1giouS laws which would permit the
clergy to exercise its offices without
conflict with its own ecclesiastical con-
ceptions.
Question of Registering.
The specific point has been registra-
ton OF the priests, which the govern
ment has required and the episcopate
refused to allow. The episcopate author
lied all priests in Mexico to abandon
their posts rather than comply, the re-
suit being that since 1926 no services
have been conducted by priests in Cath
Ole churches throughout Mexico.
The significant thing, observers
thought, was that an emissary of the
church had approached the Mexican
government from some distance and
found not too cold reception. The
door, it was believed. certainly was open
to further negotiation.
Once before, within the last year,
these negotiations advanced even be-
yond this point, when, through the good
Offices OF Ambassador Dwight w. Nor.
row, the then President Gales met
Archbishop Ruiz in the old fortress of
San Juan de Ulua, on an island in Vera
Cruz Harbor, and talked secretly re-
garding settlement. The subsequent
assassination Of the President-eiect, Al
varo Obregon, however, nullified any
progress toward settlement which NAV
have been made at the conference. The
government charged the assassination
was Of Roman Catholic inspiration.