Priests placed under arrest

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32677, 5 August 1971, Page 13

Priests placed under arrest

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) ROSARIO (Argentina), August 4. Four Roman Catholic priests associated with the Left-leaning Third World Movement were arrested by troops at their homes in Rosario yesterday.

Under the state-of-siege laws in force in Argentina (since the murder of the labjour leader, Mr Augusto Van|dor, in June, 1969, the mili-tary-backed Government has i the power to order arrest and (detention without trial.

' No charges have been pre- ■ ferred against the priests, al- ■ though police sources say that they are suspected of having contacts with Left-wing guerrillas. The first word of the I priests’ detention came in a communique from an urban guerrilla group which described them as comrades. The police later confirmed the arrests, and named the ■

priests as Jose Maria Ferrari, Nestor Garcia, Jan Carlos Arroyo and Santiago McGuire. The Third World Movement, which seeks to throw the whole weight of the Roman Catholic Church behind social and economic change in Latin America, claims that 400 of Argentina’s 5500 priests are among its members. It has been condemned as too political by the Church heirarchy. Argentina’s bishops are due to meet in Buenos Aires tomorrow for three days of talks and the movement wilj be one of the topics of discussion, church sources said.