This Monday in Concordia, mayors of different political affiliations from the province and also representatives from Uruguay joined the San Antonio de Padua Pact. Mayor Enrique Cresto, host of the regional meeting, together with his counterpart from Merlo, Gustavo Menéndez, led the ceremony held at the Convention Center. In the morning, they had participated in the mass held at the Cathedral, on the Day of Saint Anthony of Padua, patron saint of the city.
At the beginning of the ceremony, Father Daniel Petelin and Father Emanuel Moneta, representing the Bishop of Concordia, Monsignor Luis Armando Collazuol, blessed the event and expressed a few words highlighting the importance of signing this agreement.
"Making a reality of what Pope Francis has been saying that 'only unity overcomes conflict', and that different perspectives on reality can allow us to reach an agreement on transcendental issues such as these ten points, is really very important," valued the mayor of Merlo, Menéndez. "Today we have extended the Padua Pact to the province of Entre Ríos, and we owe this to Mayor Enrique Cresto," he said. The objective of the Pact is to "equalize and level up," he maintained.
"The commitment does not end with the signing of the pact, it begins here," pointed out the municipal president of Concordia, Enrique Cresto. "Putting into practice these ten points that synthesize the Laudato Si encyclical, transforming them into State policies, that is the commitment that we all sign here today," emphasized Cresto. "We mayors signed first, but the commitment is, starting from the municipalities, to coordinate with the people who have an institutional responsibility, whether they are legislators or representatives of associations and institutions, to carry out these ten points, which speak of caring for the Common Home that is the Earth, to implement policies with more social justice, with inclusion and with respect for the environment," he explained.
Participating in the ceremony were the mayor of Castelli, Buenos Aires province, Francisco Echarren, the mayors and presidents of government boards of the Concordia InterMunicipal Consortium, provincial senator Ángel Giano, the mayor of Colón and president of the Justicialist Mayors League Mariano Rebord, the mayor of Federación, the radical Carlos Cecco, the mayor of Gualeguaychú Martín Piaggio, the mayors of Chajarí, of San Salvador, of General Campos, the head of the Pedernal Government Board Leonardo Pessolani of the PRO, the Executive Secretary of the FAM Juan Matteo, and representatives of the mayor's office of Salto, Oriental Republic of Uruguay.
After the signing by the mayors, the Pact was signed by Vice Mayor Armando Gay, the councilors of Concordia, the authorities of the Departmental Council of the Justicialist Party, and representatives of intermediate institutions, of gastronomy, of commerce and industry, and representatives of neighborhood commissions.