Michael McPartland 1978. McPartland's first appointment was in the north of Nigeria where he served until 1982 when he returned to the United Kingdom. In 1998 he was sent to Nairobi, Kenya before he was appointed Apostolic Prefect of the Falkland Islands and Ecclesiastic Superior of St. Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha by Pope John Paul II in August 2002. In 2013, following the election as Pope of Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina (which claims the Falklands to be part of its territory), McPartland stated that "[Bergoglio] must be seen as Pope first and where he comes from should not
Catholic Church in Argentina July 2010, Argentina was one of the first countries in the Latin America that legalized same-sex marriage, putting Argentina at odd's ends with the Catholic Church. Protesters, largely consisting of members of the Argentine Catholic Church and Evangelical and Protestant groups were sparked against the legislation, while demonstrating in front of the Congress. Argentina’s Synod of Bishops called upon Catholics to oppose politicians who supported the bill. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires and Primate of Argentina, has said that if a proposed bill giving same-sex couples the opportunity to marry and adopt children should be approved,