The Archbishop of Barcelona and president of the EEC, Archbishop Juan José Omella, opened the meeting of all the Spanish bishops being held from April 25 to 29 at the Conference headquarters in Madrid.
In his inaugural address, Bishop Omella wanted to highlight the situation in Ukraine, two months after the beginning of the invasion by Russia. In this sense he wanted to emphasize that the Pope "has not spared words to describe "a senseless massacre in which every day there are repeated ravages and atrocities" and the reminder that "any "religious" justification of this war is absurd. The task of churches and religious communities in the midst of this tragedy should contribute to accelerate the achievement of peace, based on justice, truth and forgiveness". Omella wanted to highlight the exemplary action that the Church, through its institutions and faithful, is carrying out in welcoming and caring for the millions of people displaced by this war, without forgetting the need for "a more coordinated action among all public and private actors".
The challenges of the Spanish Church today
Outside the idea of Spain as a Catholic nation, the Archbishop of Barcelona pointed out that "at present, the Catholic Church is a great unknown for many of our fellow citizens".
This lack of knowledge is accentuated by the image that, on many occasions, is given of it in the media, for which the president of the EEC wanted to recall that "the Church has no particular economic, geostrategic or ideological interests".
In this lack of knowledge, and even distrust, the issue of sexual abuse of minors by some members of the Church has perhaps been one of the turning points experienced in our communities. The president of the EEC has highlighted the independent audit on the management of sexual abuse cases within the Catholic Church in Spain that is being carried out by the law firm Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo and that it will address "all the cases documented to date and those that may arise both in that office and in the diocesan offices while the study is being carried out".
In addition, Omella pointed out that "the Church has the opportunity to work so that such abuses are not repeated and to uncover this new form of global slavery that is not being addressed".
Family and freedom
Another of the issues in which the Church is currently "playing its cards" is that of the family and the President of the EEC did not want to miss this opportunity to point out that "the family, as a basic natural society, is not, therefore, in function of society and the State, but society and the State are at the service of the family so that it can carry out its own mission of educating its children". This is a clear allusion to legislation and initiatives that seek, from the State, to invade the competences of fathers and mothers at present, as well as others aimed at the elimination of life, whether in the period of gestation or in the face of old age or illness.
He also referred to the curtailment of "religious freedom in areas such as freedom of expression, the limitation of the public manifestation of one's own creed" and also appealed to the necessary and just exercise of conscientious objection as "a guarantee of true coexistence, since it allows a safe space for all against any attempt of abuse of power or imposition of the majority opinion".
Omella explicitly pointed out four points that "are the object of friction with the modus vivendi of the currently dominant ideologies", which he summarized as follows
-the catholic vision of the human being
-sexual morality,
-the identity and mission of women in society,
-and the defense of the family formed by marriage between a man and a woman.
At this point, Omella asked for respect for the different social and political agents since "we can think differently without having to be attacked".
Need for unity not polarization
The request for dialogue, unity and abandonment of sectarianism has been a constant in the various points of Omella's opening speech. Not in vain, the president of the EEC stressed that "our times demand in all a greater solidarity, as well as greater social and political cohesion that keeps us away from frentism and ideological or political polarizations" and this, he emphasized again at various points when referring to the serious economic and social context Spain is going through with "eleven million people in Spain suffering from poverty and six million of them, severe poverty. Almost three million young people, between 16 and 34 years of age, suffer from work and housing problems".
Omella has appealed to the need for a real work from the government institutions stating that "it is clear that the quarrel between politicians does much harm. There is a social weariness with the lack of agreements between the major parties and the inability to collaborate to promote the common good of the citizens".
Synod and mission
As it could not be otherwise, the synod process was very present in the opening address of this Plenary Assembly. A process in which the Church "is rediscovering the path of synodality, which is not that of simple majorities of votes, but the slower, but safer and firmer path of consensus" and always aimed at the evangelizing mission of the Church in which the Archbishop of Barcelona wanted to highlight the participation of the laity.
"The laity who, according to their own vocation to be in the world, are called today to humanize the world and to show the beauty of faith in all environments," said Omella, who wanted to point out that this missionary vocation is only possible "by remaining in the living bond with Christ within the body of his Church".
The agenda for these days
As usual, the Plenary Assembly will receive information on the activities of the various Episcopal Commissions. Among the topics to be discussed are the status of the diocesan phase of the Synod of Bishops. The initiatives launched to address the current situation of the Ukrainian refugees in Spain or different aspects of the European Youth Pilgrimage (PEJ). The project of the new Vocational Pastoral Service of the Spanish Episcopal Conference will also be presented.
In addition, the status of a draft document on co-responsibility for the support of the Church will be discussed. Secretariat for the Support of the Church.
Appointments and elections
During these days, the bishops members of the Plenary Assembly met with the President of the Episcopal Commission for Evangelization, Catechesis and Catechumenate, as well as the President of the Episcopal Subcommission for Interconfessional Relations.
In addition, the election of the bishop delegate of the Spanish Episcopal Conference for the COMECE (Commission of the Episcopal Conferences of the European Union) will take place. The election of the Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical University of Salamanca is also scheduled, as well as the election of a new member of the Council of Economy.
