Overview
- On July 9 the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge García Cuerva, used the Te Deum homily at the Catedral Metropolitana to call for unity, invoke the Good Samaritan and condemn those who enrich themselves "in caves of corruption," with President Javier Milei and part of his cabinet in attendance.
- Hours later deputy Lilia Lemoine posted on X that García Cuerva is "peronista," called his sermons "hypocritical and boring," and described his Te Deum message as "arrogant and empty," saying she felt unrepresented after 13 years of weekly Mass attendance.
- Lemoine cited previously circulated photographs showing García Cuerva with figures such as Malena Galmarini to support her claim that he favors Peronism; García Cuerva has repeatedly denied any partisan affiliation and framed his meetings with politicians as pastoral work.
- The dispute underscores a long-standing pattern in Argentina where clergy comments on corruption, poverty and social unity are closely scrutinized and can be read as political interventions.
- The episode could raise pressure on church leaders to clarify political stance and may increase public scrutiny of future liturgies and pastoral contacts with politicians, with no formal new rebuttal from García Cuerva reported so far.