Spain

César García Magán: "I come to listen, to learn and to contribute".

The new Secretary General of the Spanish Episcopal Conference has made his first public greeting after being elected. César García Magán presented himself "with the surprise and the novelty of this new service that my brother bishops have entrusted to me".

Maria José Atienza-November 23, 2022-Reading time: 2 minutes
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Photo: César García Magán at his first appearance ©CEE

In his first words, the Auxiliary Bishop of Toledo pointed out the novelty of this assignment for him. In spite of having a long trajectory in the service to the Church in the Holy See, "I have not worked directly in the Spanish Episcopal Conference".

Msgr. César García Magán He assumes this challenge "with a feeling of gratitude and responsibility, which I want to translate into dedication, in a service of work for all the particular churches of Spain and all the ecclesial realities". He also wanted to emphasize the "feeling of sincere collaboration with them and with all the needs of the particular churches, consecrated life, apostolic realities, movements, with all the laity that make up the greater part of the Church in Spain".

"I am beginning a period of learning", the new Secretary General emphasized, "I am here to listen, to learn and to contribute my bit to this task".

The Auxiliary Bishop of Toledo also answered several questions from the journalists gathered there. In these answers, he has shown, among other things, "that the relationship with the Government is not new, "it is a process that is underway, there are open dialogues" he wanted to point out.

The new Secretary General added that "it can always be intensified and improved" but wanted to clarify that, in this area, the interlocutor with the Government is the President of the Episcopal Conference.

He also mentioned his diplomatic career in service to the Holy See which, for the new Secretary "is a good school, a demanding school and also "has helped me to go with 'high beams' on the road and look at the Church with a horizon of universality and that gives a lot of hope".

García Magán was reluctant to be "labeled" as either conservative or progressive, affirming that "in the Gospel or in the Laborem exercens of St. John Paul II we find proposals that can be labeled as revolutionary".

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