Miguel Ángel Jiménez Salinasa priest from Ciudad Real, is responsible for the support of the Church in the Spanish Episcopal Conference. At the gates of the celebration of the Diocesan Church Day, he affirms that the future that is drawn in Spain, also for the support of the parish communities, is complicated and trusts in the joint help of the faithful to overcome this moment.
The Spanish Church celebrates this coming Sunday, November 8, the Day of the Diocesan Church. A day with which they want to remind the faithful that we are all responsible for moving forward our great family that is the Church, with the economic contribution, yes, but also through our solidarity activity, evangelization, etc.. Miguel Angel Jimenez Salinas, responsible for the support of the Church, recalls, in this interview with Palabra magazine, that this campaign "...is a campaign of solidarity and solidarity".does not demand anything from anyone, we ask for cooperation, each according to his or her possibilities"..
P- This year's campaign is, like everything else, clearly marked by the situation we are going through due to the pandemic. At this time there are many people who cannot physically go to their parish and the question arises, how can they continue to help?
At the service of the parishes, we have an important instrument which is the donation portal. donoamiiglesia.es. From it you can make a donation, of the amount and frequency you want, to any parish in Spain, large or small, near or far. Ehis portal is intended to be a fundamental help for them, especially in these times when physical assistance is very limited, but that the Church continues to reach out to many people, offering comfort, hope and also all the material help that is needed.. It already existed before the pandemic, but it has proven to be a very effective tool to help because anyone can make a donation, at any time, in any place, and, in addition, not only to the parish of their choice, but they can also specify whether they want their donation to go to Caritas or any other of the actions that they know are being carried out.
P- There are people who have not been able to set foot in their parish, or in their Caritas center for months, how can they not lose their sense of parish, of family, in these circumstances?
M.A.J.- That is perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind. When we make our profession of faith at Mass we respond, "Yes, I believe," but we respond together. Faith is a personal matter that we respond to in community with others. That is why we want to stress and emphasize so much that we are a family. Our parishes must be places of encounter, where we get used to being, and above all, where we discover that we belong to the Church, It is in her that we have received our faith and it is in her that we find the best environment for its growth.
Just like our Christian life, we must discover in the parish our most concrete reference point so that, from there, we may know that we are living members of the Church, it is a task, a journey.
The Church in pandemic
P- During the whole time of the pandemic, the Church has been working in many ways; first of all pastorally, but also in the field of assistance or education, many initiatives have gone ahead or arisen, how has this activity been sustained? And in a certain way, how do you foresee the future?
M.A.J.- What is foreseen for the future, even if it costs us, is difficulty and suffering, but together we will be able to face it. That will be our best support.
In the portal iglesiasolidaria.esBecause sometimes you have to make things concrete, we have discovered all that the Church was doing during the spring months of this year, in March, April and June, and also what it continues to do now: a work that looks at the person in all its dimensions. It is true that there are many associations and NGOs that provide constant help, but we are not the only ones to be involved in this work. the Church looks at the whole person. Feeding, distributing food, helping to pay the electricity bill or looking for a job, despite the difficulties that this may entail, because resources are needed for everything, is a task that many are offering. The Church's holistic view of man also speaks of his dignity, offering comfort and hope. Accompanying in so many situations of pain and difficulty.
Diocesan Church Day
P- The Diocesan Church Day campaign has been running for several years with the same line "we are one big family with you". Why has this idea been chosen as the axis of communication?
M.A.J.- We said it a little earlier. This message wants to transmit what the Church is, what we are in it. That is why we also accompany this message with "we are what you help us to be and what you help us to be. "SomosIglesia24Siete". It is all part of the same idea. If we look inside the Church we discover that God is our Father, that we are all his children and therefore brothers and sisters among us. In a family we do not disregard one another, but we all collaborate, we all help, we all offer what we are and what we have because the important thing is that together we continue to walk. But that Church which is a family, in which we are all children, depends on the contribution of each one, on his or her co-responsible dedication. Also, of course, the Church looks outside itself because it is committed to society and, therefore, "We areChurch24Seven". Permanently open and ready to help, that is what 24Siete means, 24 hours a day, seven days a week: always ready to give for others everything we have.
Collaboration beyond economics
P- At a time when the economic crisis is not a threat but a reality, is it not asking too much to ask for help for the Church? does this help really pay back?
M.A.J.- Of course, what the Church is and does, its mission and task, is lived by looking at the world. Pope St. John Paul II has already said that this Church looks at the concrete and real man and seeks his good, his salvation. We do not demand anything from anyone, we ask everyone to collaborate according to his or her possibilities. We speak of sharing, of giving, of collaborating with time, with qualities, with prayer, with economic support and, if we look at each of these dimensions as a whole, what we see is that a person can collaborate in different ways. There will be people who, because of their profession or their occupations, will not have time to share, but they will be able to help with some of their qualities because they will put them not only at the service of the Church but, through it, sharing them with the world. Others, perhaps, will be able to pray, it is a sometimes forgotten task that we can offer for others: to pray for others. Of course, the economic collaboration, because without money and without support we could not help in so many needs as many times there are. Also with time. Giving time to others is tremendously valuable.
The most important thing is that each one of us can feel called to collaborate in a certain way without excluding others, that is, perhaps many of us can collaborate in these four dimensions: with our time, with our qualities, with our prayer and with our economic support, that is, with all that we are.
Finally, do we now collaborate more with our parish? Perhaps we always focus our attention on financial collaboration, but are all ways of helping equally praiseworthy?
M.A.J.- Often, because it is also the most immediate thing, when someone asks us for help, we reach into our pockets. Indeed, there are times when, if this commitment does not reach the pocketbook, as Pope Francis says, it is not as serious and radical as it could be. Nevertheless, no type of collaboration is exclusive and, in our parishes, the collaboration of all is needed. That is the call that we are all receiving and that we are called to answer: to collaborate with our parish, in whatever way we can; that we get involved because we belong to the Church, which is our mother. In a family, in a community, each one contributes according to his way of being, according to his circumstances, his qualities, sharing everything, offering everything. In our parish it must also be like this.
