Cardinal Nicolas de Jesús López Rodríguez said on Sunday, 3 March that the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) should “quietly withdraw” from managing funds that the U.S. Agency for International Development uses to support Dominican groups that will be participating in the presidential election. The Cardinal has requested that the United States Embassy to either deny or confirm his statement that U.S. government is funding the Red de Observadores. But the U.S. Embassy has said it will not issue a statement on the matter.
Before leaving for Rome, the head of the Catholic Church in the D.R. said: “The fact that there is currently something questionable finds me personally lamenting that the University is involved and I would prefer it otherwise.”
“If the AID, which is attached to the United States Embassy, and the people in Washington want to give millions to a group of Dominicans, let them, but the University should not be the vehicle or agency for this.”
“The University should find a solution to this problem, perhaps withdrawing quietly from it and continuing with the institution that the Catholic Church has sponsored and will continue defending. We understand it is a very precious institution, but we cannot permit such an episode to tarnish the image of the Universidad Madre y Maestra.”
The president of the Board of Directors of the PUCMM, Archbishop Juan Flores, said they will be studying the Cardinal’s request.