University Way of St. James: with the compass of abandonmentFinding God on the Camino de Santiago– Supernatural Chair of European Studies Camino de Santiago "aims to be a proposal for a renewed and hopeful Europe of which we are part. And in it, the Way of St. James is presented as a valuable identity that we must take care of in its human and Christian value," said Francisco José Prieto Fernández, Archbishop of Santiago, to Omnes.
"The Camino is a providential occasion to seek God, enlightened by the gift of faith, and to let ourselves be found by Him, who awaits us, in the end, at the Goal," added Bishop Prieto, who presented this Chair of the Paul VI Foundation together with its general director, Jesus Avezuelaand the director Marta Pedrajasat the headquarters of the Spanish National Church in Rome, in the presence of the Archbishop of Rome Luis MarínThe event was attended by the undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, among other personalities.
In addition, "the Road to Santiago shows that Europe (humanity) is a common project, above all of persons and peoples, not only of political and economic strategies, which must be listened to in order to better build a social fraternity", he points out.
The Archbishop of Compostela calls for "every shipwreck to continue to pain us (...). Every shipwreck is a failure of society. And also to the effort for peace, to "true development", and to "talk to the migrants".
During his apostolic journey, the Pope said that Luxembourg "has distinguished itself (in its history) by its commitment to building a united and united Europe". On the other hand, the war between Russia and Ukraine is dragging on. What would you highlight from the Holy Father's appeals for peace?
- Beyond prejudices or ideological barriers, going beyond irreconcilable positions, Pope Francis does not cease to summon us to an effort that must be shared by the whole of society, not only by political leaders: that effort is the task that every man and woman must do to achieve a real, just and lasting peace.
In the pursuit of peace, always based on justice and truth, we are credited as individuals, as a society and also as a Church. The Pope is a prophetic and politically incorrect voice, because he does not seek partial options for a self-serving peace. His appeals are born of the Gospel itself, which summons us and urges us to an effective and affective reconciliation.
The Pontiff has encouraged the establishment of relations of solidarity among peoples, so that all may be participants and protagonists in an orderly project of integral development. What can you tell us about this?
- I recall the words of St. Paul VI, when he affirms that true development is that which embraces all men and the whole man (Populorum Progressio no. 14). An integral development, not merely technological or commercial, that provides dignity, work and shelter for all; a development of the person that recognizes spiritual and religious values, that assures freedom of conscience and religious freedom.
Development is not the result of a set of productive techniques, but embraces the whole human being (the whole man and all men): the dignity of his work, adequate living conditions, the possibility of access to education and the necessary medical care. "Development is the new name for peace", Paul VI affirmed, since there is no true peace when people are marginalized and forced to live in misery. There is no peace where there is no work or the expectation of a living wage.
Both in Belgium and in Luxembourg, the Pope insisted on the need to The "welcome" as a spirit of "openness to all". He has also welcomed families of migrants, from Christian and Muslim countries. Do we put ourselves in the other's shoes?
- It is difficult for us to empathize with the other, to put ourselves in the place of those who have left home and land to seek that opportunity for a dignified life to which every human being has the right. We are polarizing the debate on migrants to the extreme, forgetting the people who are victims of misery, war and mafias that abuse their need.
Perhaps we should review our personal and social attitude and behavior towards migrants and foreigners. Let us not talk about them, let us talk to them, as we recently recalled on the occasion of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.
Migratory movements. Spain, for example, has a record population in 2023: 48.5 million inhabitants with 13.4 % of foreigners. We have recently witnessed a new lethal shipwreck in the Canary Islands. Any comments?
- Let every shipwreck continue to pain us: they are broken lives, dashed hopes. Every shipwreck is a failure of society. We cannot be mere media spectators of news like this: to welcome is not only to welcome, but to draw consequences from the mutual and reciprocal enrichment between those who welcome and those who are welcomed.
Lhe Paul VI Foundation and the Archbishopric of Santiago de Compostela have presented in Rome the Chair of European Studies on the Way of St. James, in the context of the of uncertainties and challenges. You have spoken of humanization and hope, haven't you?
- This Chair aims to be a proposal for a renewed and hopeful Europe of which we are part. And in it, the Way of St. James is presented as a valuable identity that we must take care of in its human and Christian value.
We can thus construct or sustain a splendid and necessary metaphor for the men of our time, for the Europeans of this hour and for this bewildered humanity: the metaphor of the Way of St. James is saying that the world or life has spaces and companies that encourage and sustain and that the pilgrimage of living is a journey sustained by a thousand spheres, a thousand presences and supports that protect and safeguard it.
Do you think Pope Francis might visit or pass by the Apostle's tomb on any significant occasion?
- As did St. John Paul II (1982 and 1989) and Pope Benedict XVI (2010), the Church in Santiago de Compostela renews its invitation to Pope Francis to visit his friend St. James the Greater as successor of Peter. From Santiago, the Pope's words always resonate with a special force: a Europe that needs to return to its roots to answer the question of God and man, so that, as Dante would say, hope can be reborn again in the heart of humanity.
Tell us a moment about the Camino de Santiago. Its attraction is great among the people.
- The Way and its Goal, the roads and the tomb of the apostle St. James are presented as a great open space and a horizon in which those who seek and those who do not seek, the restless and the indifferent, the believers and the non-believers, walk and towards which they walk. And on this path we must raise the question about the meaning of life, about its transcendent horizon. The Way is a providential opportunity, enlightened by the gift of faith, to seek God and let ourselves be found by Him, who awaits us, in the end, at the Goal.
The Way of St. James shows that Europe (humanity) is a common project, first and foremost of individuals and peoples, not only of political and economic strategies, which must be heard in order to better build a social fraternity that leads us to be "a message of hope based on the confidence that difficulties can become strong promoters of unity, to overcome all the fears that Europe - together with the whole world - is going through. Hope in the Lord, who transforms evil into good and death into life" (Francis, Address to the European Parliament, Strasbourg, November 25, 2014).
