It’s now official!

It’s now official!

Yesterday we learned that the Catholic Church made an announcement that the father of Mexican independence, Miguel Hidalgo, is not excommunicated after all and we can enjoy the 2010 bicentennial without this stain on the national psyche. Apparently the Vatican searched their voluminous records and conveniently found a slip of paper that mentions that a fellow priest heard Miguel Hidalgo’s confession just before he went before the Spanish firing squad to be executed for treason and so all is forgiven. I am sure that Padre Hidalgo was happy to hear that and surely he has been given time off for good behavior for his stay in Hell and is now on his way to Heaven.

José Maria Morelos is another story. Church officials are still investigating Morelos' case, although they suspect he also confessed and they will probably find a note somewhere in the files that attests to that fact. This will be a great relief because for two hundred years it has been considered an insult that these two men were excommunicated and it has always been widely believed that the excommunications were actually in retaliation for having defied the Spanish government. In the end I suspect that the pardon will come and the Devil will fling open Padre Morelos’s cell door as well and he will be on his way to Heaven to join Padre Hidalgo. I just love a good ending to a story don’t you? All’s well that ends well.