Catholic Church would mediate in opposition party crisis ‘if asked’

Santo Domingo.- Santiago archbishop Ramon Benito de la Rosa y Carpio said Thursday that the Catholic Church is willing to mediate in the crisis of the Dominican Republic’s opposition party (PRD), "if the parties so request it."

When reporters in the National Palace asked about former president Hipolito Mejia’s proposal for the Catholic Church to mediate in the crisis, the prelate warned that turmoil within political parties imperil Dominican democracy.

De la Rosa noted that Trujillo’s tyranny arose from crises in political parties, the same as the current disorder. "Without the parties democracy weakens and anything can happen. We remember what happened to this country in the early 20th century, we cannot forget why the Trujillo dictatorship arose, because there was a big mess in the country when the parties were disorganized and we need to organize our parties strongly."