In recent days, a video has gone viral in which two men appear dismantling the chapel of a public hospital. The explanation that accompanies the video states that it is the Fray Antonio Alcalde Civil Hospital, in Guadalajara, and that the same is happening in all public hospitals in the Mexican Republic.
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In reality, it is a recycled recording, and the information does not correspond to the truth, since the chapel that is shown is that of the General Hospital of Specialties of Campeche "Doctor Javier Buenfil Osorio", which, indeed, was closed a few months ago; but after a few weeks it was reopened to the public thanks to the dialogue that the Catholic Church held with the local Ministry of Health.
After the reopening of the chapel, in an interview with Desde la fe , the spokesman for the Diocese, Father Gerardo Casillas , explained that in the first days of September they received the instruction “through third parties” to vacate the chapel with all its images .
"There was annoyance and disagreement from many people," explains Father Casillas, who assured that after this it was possible to establish a dialogue table that ended with the reopening of that space for prayer.
According to the priest, the authorities of the Ministry of Health assured that they never ordered the evacuation of the chapel , a decision that, they said, was taken unilaterally by the people who attended it.
The origin of the conflict was the intention to place a plaque that established the chapel as Catholic , something that is not possible in public hospitals, which must maintain these oratories as spaces open to all religions and beliefs.
"The important thing is that we were able to reopen the chapel as an oratory, a place of recollection and prayer to alleviate the suffering not only of the families, but of the sick themselves."
The presbyter explained that periodic Masses and adorations to the Blessed Sacrament were immediately resumed ; In addition, a direct dialogue was opened with the Campeche Health Secretariat .
"The positive thing about this is that a direct meeting with the authorities was generated, something that did not stop or had not been achieved and that thanks to this difficulty that arose, a meeting was achieved with the parties to open the dialogue" .