What is happening in Torreciudad?Opus Dei will study "carefully" the situation of the Torreciudad shrineTorreciudad celebrates Family Day in spite of the rainA new twist, although perhaps predictable, in the process of conversations between the Prelature of Opus Dei and the bishopric of Barbastro Monzón in relation to the Marian temple of Torreciudad.
The communiqué from the Bishopric of Barbastro
On Wednesday, September 25, the Aragonese bishopric announces on its website that it had left "in the hands of the Holy See the solution to the differences of criteria with the Prelature of Opus Dei regarding the juridical, canonical and pastoral regularization of Torreciudad".
The bishopric points out that it has handed over to the Vatican information on "the contractual relationship on this diocesan enclave since 1962, as well as the twenty meetings held over the last four years between both parties". In the brief communiqué issued by the Aragonese diocese it is also informed that this "request for intervention was transferred last week to the Secretariat of State and to the Dicastery for the Clergy", so that the Holy See would already be on the case while Torreciudad was hosting the last of the great celebrations of the temple, the Marian Family Day.
Opus Dei's response
A few hours later, Opus Dei issued a communiqué in which he points out that "the Prelature has kept the Holy See informed of the course of the conversations at all times" and that, in fact, the Dicastery of the Clergy "has had all the relevant documentation since September 2023, and that it has been updated since then."
The diocese continues to point to the regularization of the "status of Torreciudad and erect it, canonically, as a sanctuary" as the key to this process. On this point, the Prelature recalls that on August 30, 2023, it sent the bishopric its proposal for the statutes of the Shrine. A proposal that received a response "six months later by convening a technical meeting in March, which was satisfactory for both parties. However, in a subsequent meeting on June 30, the Diocese delivered a draft that changed some of the most important points previously agreed upon".
On the part of the Prelature, they argue that, the Opus Dei Opus Dei "has always shown its willingness to reach an agreement, within the margins that it has considered to be guaranteed by civil and canon law". A willingness that, according to Opus Dei, "has not met with the correspondence that could be expected, after the refusal of the Diocese to reach any agreement except the acceptance of its own terms". The content of this new draft represented a new stumbling block in the understanding of both parties and now the Holy See will be in charge of deciding the future of the temple, which will be 50 years old in 2025. A decision in which the Prelature expresses "full confidence".
Both the bishopric of Barbastrina and Opus Dei have expressed their desire to "reach a resolution of this matter," as the diocese of Monsignor Angel Perez Pueyo points out. Opus Dei has also expressed its desire to "continue working for the Diocese and for the universal Church from the point of view of the diocese". Torreciudad (...) with the same communion and trust that has always existed".
