Originally published at National Catholic Register
Cardinal Américo Aguiar said his attendance was an opportunity to grow closer to people of differing ideologies.
A Portuguese cardinal who was elevated to the College of Cardinals last year caused controversy earlier this month when he attended a communist rally held by the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), the country’s oldest communist party and reputed to be one of the strongest in Western Europe.
Cardinal Américo Aguiar, bishop of Setúbal diocese just outside Lisbon, defended his decision to take part in last weekend’s rally in Almada near Lisbon, saying he did so because the communists and socialists who attended it were close to the people.
“We are together, and we are making progress,” he told Portuguese media in response to criticism. “What is important is that all parties use a language that addresses the real problems of every Portuguese person.”
Noting that he could just as easily attend a rally of Portugal’s right-wing parties, which he listed, he added that such proximity to the people is essential so that, later on, there are no “complaints about fake news or ideological deviations.”
He added that people “do not understand what message the parties have to convey,” and
