<div id="attachment_115883" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width:310px;"><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Francis-on-Churches.jpg"><imgclass="size-medium wp-image-115883" title="Francis Fonseca" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Francis-on-Churches-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Francis Fonseca</p></div>
<p><strong>Last week Senator representing the Council of Churches, Father Noel Leslie, surprisingly voted YES for the very controversial Petrocaribe Amended Loan Act. We say surprisingly because on May first, when the Act was first passed, the Churches had voted NO. But over the weekend Leslie sent out a release on his own behalf and on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church, calling for a repeal of the Act. Today, P.U.P. Leader Francis Fonseca praised the Catholic Church for its bold stance, and called on the other churches to follow suit.</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Francis Fonseca, P.U.P. Leader</strong></p>
<p><em>“I think it was a very strong statement from Senator Father Leslie, joined in that statement by the Bishop, the Catholic Bishop, Bishop Dorick Wright in calling for the repeal of that Petrocaribe law. In very, very strong language, they denounced and condemned the manner in which this government is using Petrocaribe Funds, very much in line with what we have been saying about the abuse and misuse of those funds. And we certainly absolutely congratulate the Catholic Church for taking a very firm and clear stand against the use of these funds and against this law, which we believe is an illegal law. And for Father Leslie stepping forward and clarifying to the Belizean people why he was in fact forced to vote yes in the senate, which was not in fact, his own position on the matter. I think that was very important. People were a little confused since he had previously voted no on the Petrocaribe law itself. And now he voted yes on the amendments. And we certainly call on the other members of the Council of Churches, the other denominations, to set aside their personal relationships with this U.D.P. government and with Mister Barrow, and look at what this law means for the country and what it means for the people of Belize. And I think that is what the Catholic Church has done; they have set aside the politics and look at what this law means for Belize, what it means for the people and what it means for the future development of Belize and they have taken a very firm and principled position, which we fully support and endorse.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Mike Rudon</strong></p>
<p>“The church went so far as to say that what they accede to do was to make an illegal act, legal, which is a strong position to take and it has been the Opposition’s position from the very beginning. Does that vindicate the position of the Opposition to have the church step so strongly behind you all?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Francis Fonseca</strong></p>
<p><em>“Well it certainly strengthens our position and strengthens our hand. We were not seeking vindication because we always believed that that was the correct position and as you know, we have taken this matter to court. That is exactly what we are saying to the court; that this is an unlawful act which seeks to correct illegal wrongs and the court should not endorse that. So we are very glad that the Catholic Church has in fact seen that position and it’s clearly been on the basis of their own legal advice that they have gotten. So it is clear that our position is the right position and the barrow administration’s position on this Petrocaribe law is wrong, continues to be wrong and we continue to demand that this Petrocaribe law be repealed.”</em></p>
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<p><strong>Last week Senator representing the Council of Churches, Father Noel Leslie, surprisingly voted YES for the very controversial Petrocaribe Amended Loan Act. We say surprisingly because on May first, when the Act was first passed, the Churches had voted NO. But over the weekend Leslie sent out a release on his own behalf and on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church, calling for a repeal of the Act. Today, P.U.P. Leader Francis Fonseca praised the Catholic Church for its bold stance, and called on the other churches to follow suit.</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Francis Fonseca, P.U.P. Leader</strong></p>
<p><em>“I think it was a very strong statement from Senator Father Leslie, joined in that statement by the Bishop, the Catholic Bishop, Bishop Dorick Wright in calling for the repeal of that Petrocaribe law. In very, very strong language, they denounced and condemned the manner in which this government is using Petrocaribe Funds, very much in line with what we have been saying about the abuse and misuse of those funds. And we certainly absolutely congratulate the Catholic Church for taking a very firm and clear stand against the use of these funds and against this law, which we believe is an illegal law. And for Father Leslie stepping forward and clarifying to the Belizean people why he was in fact forced to vote yes in the senate, which was not in fact, his own position on the matter. I think that was very important. People were a little confused since he had previously voted no on the Petrocaribe law itself. And now he voted yes on the amendments. And we certainly call on the other members of the Council of Churches, the other denominations, to set aside their personal relationships with this U.D.P. government and with Mister Barrow, and look at what this law means for the country and what it means for the people of Belize. And I think that is what the Catholic Church has done; they have set aside the politics and look at what this law means for Belize, what it means for the people and what it means for the future development of Belize and they have taken a very firm and principled position, which we fully support and endorse.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Mike Rudon</strong></p>
<p>“The church went so far as to say that what they accede to do was to make an illegal act, legal, which is a strong position to take and it has been the Opposition’s position from the very beginning. Does that vindicate the position of the Opposition to have the church step so strongly behind you all?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Francis Fonseca</strong></p>
<p><em>“Well it certainly strengthens our position and strengthens our hand. We were not seeking vindication because we always believed that that was the correct position and as you know, we have taken this matter to court. That is exactly what we are saying to the court; that this is an unlawful act which seeks to correct illegal wrongs and the court should not endorse that. So we are very glad that the Catholic Church has in fact seen that position and it’s clearly been on the basis of their own legal advice that they have gotten. So it is clear that our position is the right position and the barrow administration’s position on this Petrocaribe law is wrong, continues to be wrong and we continue to demand that this Petrocaribe law be repealed.”</em></p>
View the full article