In the run-up to Christmas, the President Javier Milei and the bishops of the Argentine Bishops’ Conference They conducted a formal exchange of letters in which, beyond the usual protocol, concerns and perspectives regarding the social situation and the future of the country were expressed. As every year, the Church sent its traditional greeting to the Head of State and on this occasion the President responded with a message that incorporated some concepts put forward by the Bishops in a gesture of institutional reciprocity.
The exchange of good wishes and hints about the present and future of Argentina clarifies tensions between the government and the leadership of the Church, while confirming the institutional relationship between both parties.
The first step was taken by the episcopate. On December 15, the Executive Commission of the Argentine Bishops’ Conference sent a letter to the President on the occasion of the Christmas celebration. From the beginning, the text had a pastoral and reflective tone, anchored in the religious significance of the date. “The celebration of the Nativity of the Lord invites us to look back on this simple and transformative event of Bethlehem,” the bishops noted, adding: “Your ever-timely message encourages us to work for a true culture of encounter.”
This reference acted as a conceptual framework for a letter that, without referring to specific policies or government decisions, focused on the social situation and the need to maintain cohesion in the face of economic difficulties. The episcopate expressed its desire for “solid social peace,” a phrase that has been repeated in Argentine Church documents and public interventions in recent years. On this occasion, the expression was accompanied by a precise enumeration of the areas in which the bishops’ pastoral concerns are concentrated.
According to the text, this social peace must be “based on care for each and every person, especially for those who live in greater fragility: the poor, the workers who support the life of the country every day, and the elderly, whose wisdom and experience we must value and accompany.” The explicit mention of these groups – the poor, workers and older adults – can be interpreted as a clear signal towards political power in a time of adjustment and redefinition of the role of the state.
The letter was not limited to a diagnosis or a general admonition. In a key paragraph, the Executive Commission of the Episcopate expressed its readiness for institutional cooperation: “We express our willingness to contribute, from the mission that the Church develops in the vast territory of our country to all the entities that promote the comprehensive well-being of our people,” the bishops stressed, emphasizing the territorial presence of the Church in urban and rural communities throughout the country.
At the end of the message, the religious and symbolic language typical of Christmas was resumed: “We ask God to strengthen him with wisdom for the tasks before him,” they noted, in a direct allusion to the President, and added an invocation to one of the most important Marian devotions in the country: “We trust that, under the protection of the Virgin of Luján, we can move towards an Argentina in which hope, justice and fraternity grow.”
The letter was signed by the Archbishop of Mendoza and President of the Argentine Bishops’ Conference. Marcelo Colombotogether with the Archbishop of Córdoba, Cardinal Angel Rossias first vice president; the bishop of Jujuy, Cesar Daniel Fernandezas second vice president; and the auxiliary bishop of San Isidro, Raul Pizarroin his capacity as Secretary General. The collective signature reinforced the institutional nature of the message and avoided personalizing the link into a single number.
The president’s response came this Tuesday in a short and carefully worded letter. Milei confirmed receipt of the episcopal greeting and thanked him for the gesture: “I am sincerely pleased with the greeting and wishes that the Argentine Bishops’ Conference has seen fit to send me on the occasion of the upcoming Christmas celebration,” the President wrote in the first paragraph of his message.
In unison, the President highlighted some of the priorities raised by the bishops and stopped at one of them: “I appreciate the call to reflection, social peace and commitment to the common good,” explained Milei, returning to central concepts of the bishop’s letter. The reference to social peace can be understood as an attempt to show institutional harmony, even after public differences that Milei cultivated with parts of the church at other times in his political career.
The core of the president’s message was to reaffirm the direction of his administration. Without referring to specific measures or current debates, Milei stressed that his government continues to “work tirelessly to create the conditions that allow all Argentines to develop in freedom, with dignity and with real opportunities for progress.”
This phrase encapsulates much of the libertarian discourse that the president has used since his inauguration, with an emphasis on individual freedom and growth as engines of development.
At the end of the letter, the protocol tone was maintained and the greeting received was returned. Milei expressed “my best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year” to the members of the episcopate and concluded by reaffirming “the assurance of my highest consideration and appreciation.” The text was officially addressed to Monsignor Marcelo Colomboin his capacity as Archbishop of Mendoza and President of the Argentine Bishops’ Conference.
This exchange of letters is part of an institutional tradition that spans different governments and political contexts. Each year on the occasion of Christmas, the church typically sends a message to the nation’s president, and the response – when it occurs – is closely watched both within and outside the church sphere. In the case of Milei, the gesture takes on a particular value due to the complex bond that the president has maintained with the Church since taking office, marked by crucifying criticism, ideological differences and, at the same time, attempts to maintain formal channels of dialogue.
The letters exchanged in December can be interpreted as an exercise in institutional balance. On the one hand, the Episcopate reiterated its historical concern about the situation of the most vulnerable sectors and re-emphasized the idea of social peace and the culture of encounter. On the other hand, the President responded without confrontation, returning to these concepts while reaffirming the core of his political project, which was based on freedom and progress.
The exchange, without explicit mention of conflicts or legislative debatesrevealed the lines of tension and points of contact between church and government. Christmas functioned as a symbolic framework for a dialogue that, even limited to the formal level, suggests the positioning of each actor in a society characterized by the expectation of profound changes.
The explicit mention of the poor, workers and older adults; the President’s affirmation of the course toward freedom and progress; and the emphasis on social peace They formed the axes of the letter cross. A short exchange but full of messages that go beyond the situation and anticipate key debates for the coming Argentina.
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