Latin America

Religious institutions study ways to prevent child abuse

The event organized by Harvard University aims to share experiences and resources with members of different organizations and religions to prevent child sexual abuse and promote the recovery of victims.

Gonzalo Meza-April 19, 2021-Reading time: 4 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsPope calls for eradication of child slaveryRelated NewsHans Zollner: "The Holy See is committed to the safety of minors".

Several decades ago, a family in a rural diocese in the United States decided to send a 9-year-old boy to help the priest with ceremonies and other parish activities.

The family had a very close relationship with the clergyman, who also knew the house and even dined with them. The devout mother had instructed the child: "you have to do everything the father tells you". Faithful to his mother's order, the innocent boy did so for 4 years. However, no one knew that after helping in the work of the church, the clergyman asked the child to go to the basement to commit the crime of child sexual abuse.

Forty-five years later

Forty-five years later, that boy, now a businessman, knocked on the doors of the office of then Bishop Blaise Cupich (now Archbishop of Chicago), who was on his first episcopal appointment. The prelate opened his doors and listened to him attentively. He was stunned. After hearing the drama, Cupich offered his help and told him he would give him whatever support or whatever he needed to contribute to his healing.

The businessman asked to go and confront the abuser priest face to face to show him the pain and suffering he had in his soul and thus remove the burden he had accumulated for years. And so it happened. The priest listened and accepted. He did not deny the facts. After that meeting Cupich went in person to that parish to present the facts to the parishioners.

At the same time, he informed the police and notified the Holy See of the crime. "It was a moment of great pain," Cupich said, "but the courage of that victim made me see that in the Church there should be no place for leaders who abuse power and expect protection because of their status." According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 4 children worldwide suffer physical abuse, and nearly 1 in 4 girls suffer sexual abuse.

The congress

These data and various stories were presented April 8-10 during the virtual symposium "Faith and Flourishing, Strategies for Preventing and Healing Child Sexual Abuse." The event was organized by Harvard University, in conjunction with educational institutions, religious and Holy See agencies, including the Pontifical Commission for the Tutelage of Minors (PTM) and the Pontifical Gregorian University.

The objective of the event was to share experiences and resources with members of different organizations and religions to prevent child sexual abuse and promote healing for victims of this scourge. One of the goals of the meeting was to declare April 8 as World Day for Prevention, Healing and Justice for Child Sexual Abuse.

The event was attended by academics, leaders of different religions, and directors of child abuse prevention centers from various parts of the world. During the symposium, virtual attendees had the opportunity to participate in the discussion sessions that took place during the three-day event.  

Message from Pope Francis

At the opening of the event on April 8, a message Pope Francis sent to the participants was read. The Holy Father expressed his gratitude to the organizers and thanked them for the efforts being made in different ecclesial communities and in society to ensure the welfare of minors and restore dignity to victims of abuse. 

Cardinal O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston and President of the PTM, was also present at the inaugural session. In his address, the prelate noted: "We all have a moral and legal obligation to provide the best possible protection. To care for the people we serve, especially minors and the most vulnerable. They rightfully expect that protection. In some cases that responsibility was betrayed by those who had a sacred duty to care for their souls. The betrayal was devastating. Crimes of sexual abuse cannot be hidden. We must be vigilant in supporting survivors and their loved ones. Thanks to their courage, child protection and healing are becoming central components in all facets of our lives. But there is much to be done. 

Taking a step forward

While in some countries, such as the USA, the issue of prevention and eradication of child abuse has been going on for several decades, in others it is just beginning. This was recognized by the Jesuit priest Hans Zollner, president of the Center for the Protection of Minors at the Gregorian University.

During his intervention, he pointed out that listening to all the harm that has been caused to victims makes us realize that it is necessary for communities to step forward and recognize the damage that has been done. Faith communities, he said, can offer tools to intervene, prevent and heal. And to do so, we need to collaborate to learn together, particularly in those places where the fight against abuse and prevention is just beginning.

Among the topics addressed at the symposium were: perspectives on cultural barriers to child sexual abuse; strategies to prevent abuse in communities; and mechanisms to promote healing for victims. The papers and other tools on the topic are available online at https://hfh.fas.harvard.edu/video-presentations.

RelatedRelated NewsPope calls for eradication of child slaveryRelated NewsHans Zollner: "The Holy See is committed to the safety of minors".
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"If Catholics take on fads, they become mere 'children of their times'."

The Omnes forum held under the title "Contemporary Theology and Culture". The event was followed by a lively colloquium in which interesting questions arose, such as the role of the Church's Magisterium, Küng's proposal for a world ethic and the influence of the media on Christian thought.

Maria José Atienza-April 19, 2021-Reading time: 7 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsOriginal paper by Dr. Tracey Rowland in Omnes. Contemporary theology and cultureRelated NewsContemporary Theology and Culture. Dr. Rowland's presentation at the Omnes Forum.Related News"We have to have the courage to explain faith."

The questions addressed to the Ratzinger Prize for Theology dealt with various aspects of those dealt with in the presentation of this Forum.

-You have said that some authors, along the lines of Schillebeeckx, propose the need to "re-contextualize" faith in the culture of postmodernity; the cultural positions of this time would end up outlining what should be believed. 

I am thinking of a recent situation: the document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith saying that no blessing should be given to unions between homosexuals. 

Some people have rejected it saying, for example, that this document gathers the official Magisterium, but that the doctrine should be developed "on the basis of the fundamental truths of faith and morals, progressive theological reflection and, also, in openness to the most recent results of human sciences and to the life situations of today's people". 

I would like to ask him what he thinks. I will tell you that what I have just quoted is a sentence of the president of the German episcopate, in his reaction to the document on that subject.

After the Second Vatican Council, Karl Rahner said that the theological work of the Church was in a position to see many different philosophies as part of Theology, that they had become its interlocutors. I don't think he thought that was a bad thing, but it is a good explanation for what happened after the Second Vatican Council.

I think in many cases what happened is that, instead of seeing in the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle as the primary partner of Catholic theology, in Holland and in Belgium, and also in parts of Germany, social theory became a partner of theology, and the dominant social theory at that time was the critical theory of the Frankfurt School of social theorists. So, we had a whole movement of Catholic theologians very much influenced by the Frankfurt School of philosophy and other social theories, and an attempt to relate Theology to that world of contemporary social theory. One result of that has been that if some theologians decide that social theory does not fit with magisterial teachings, then it would be a mistake of those teachings, not of social theories. I think that's why what Professor John Milbank wrote in "Beyond secular reason" was so important for that time. He argues that social theory is not theologically neutral, there are always theological presuppositions "embedded," shall we say, in that social theory. So you have to be very careful, if you are a Catholic theologian, when you get into the subject of social theories.

Of course, we want to emphasize these theories and pay attention to them. We do not want to be like the ostrich, with its head under the sand, and ignore the books people read; but in studying social theories we should not set aside the whole tradition of faith, or put everything in parentheses and think that everything is being questioned if a person disagrees with social theories. "The intellectual fashion of the decade is very seldom the truth of the century," it is said; and if the Catholic intellectual elite simply assume some fashionable beliefs, the end result would be that Catholics would become children of their age, and nothing more. They would lose their connection with the truth, and that would be a terrible tragedy. The Catholic faith is not measured by secularized people. It would be a terrible tragedy for the young generations, the new generations. We must have the courage to explain the faith. We have to explain it in an intelligent way, but without being intimidated by the Zeitgeist.

A few days ago, the Swiss theologian Hans Küng passed away. He defended a project he called "Welt-ethos", World or Global Ethics, and had set up a foundation to promote it. Could it be an example of an attempt to "distill values", in the sense he has explained; that is, a pretension to unite faith and culture that has failed at its roots?

Actually, I agree with the analysis of Professor Robert Spaemann, a great philosopher, who wrote about the "Welt-ethos as a project" in the German magazine Merkur. In that article he stated... if I can remember the quote... that the Catholic Church is not just another kiosk in the amusement park (not a "vanity fair") of modernity. No. In a fair or amusement park, different people sell different things. The Catholic tradition cannot be treated as just another intellectual product in the marketplace.

One of the fundamental problems that postmodern philosophies have with the Catholic faith is that they claim to be true. Postmodern philosophies present themselves as a "master" narrative, capable of explaining all the most important questions we can ask. Precisely because of this claim to have the truth, there is so much hostility toward the Church in these postmodern philosophers. It is true, of course, that there are values and ideas shared by different religious traditions. For example, the Confucian tradition thinks about respect for one's parents, respect for oneself and one's family, and one's traditions. We can see the relationship with the Ten Commandments, which command us to honor our mother and father.

We see these ideas in common among the various religions, and it is all right to investigate these correlations with each other and to explain the basic agreement on many points. But if one begins to think that that is all that needs to be done, we have a problem. For Christ gave his disciples the task of changing and converting all the people of the world.

Therefore, an academic work that only looked at the values of different religious groups and which ones have a relationship with each other would not be a bad thing, but it is not what Jesus Christ asked us to do. He asked us to evangelize the world; in the words of the Second Vatican Council, we are talking about the second sacrament of salvation, and we cannot reject that statement. Many people who move to this ethos philosophy are not interested in this big focus, in the main focus.

In the relationship between faith and culture, the media play an important role, or can play an important role, as Carl Muth saw it. Carl Muth, who founded the magazine "Hochland" for this purpose, saw it this way. How do you see this role today in the Catholic media, both "intellectual" and "informative"? I am Alfonso Riobó, the director of "Omnes", the multiplatform media that convenes this colloquium, so I address this question to you knowing that your opinion will be very useful to us.

I think one thing that is needed is to help the younger generations to have a real experience of beauty and high culture, because many of them are in social networks, immersed in popular culture; a culture can be popular, but right now our popular culture is a very low culture. A key sign is that idolatry of celebrities, and these many times are people who are a narrative. They are people without integrity, people who have to spend their lives with coaches who tell them what they should have, what their plans should be, what their goal in life should be. They are the heroes of our young people, and that is something very sad.

I believe that the Catholic media have to offer young people an alternative. At the very least, we have to create for young people an oasis where they can find an experience of high culture. It has to be, let's say, "user-friendly", accessible; it has to be understandable. We have to look for alternatives for young people.

I also believe that the intellectual life of the Church is very important, and that we should not have these dualisms in our way of thinking: we have the intellectual approach and the social approach, and we cannot integrate them with each other; they are two different things. It may be more important to feed humanity than to write books. These are complicated dichotomies.

Throughout history, the Catholic Church has been a defender of truth, beauty and goodness. The Catholic Church has built the universities of Europe: we would not have the Sorbonne, Oxford, the University of Salamanca, the University of Bologna, Cambridge... The great universities of Europe were built only by bishops, Catholics and others, and by monarchs who were also Catholic. The Church has been the defender of learning, of studies, because human beings are made in the likeness of God, and we are not just people who respond to stimuli. We can think, and that is a gift from God. That's why the Church is on the side of the academic world, of academic development. In this period of history, when people hear these sound bites on social media, they are not thinking. I think the Church should make an extra effort, to give that alternative to people. Thank you.

In most countries, inculturation of the faith is a challenge. What would you stress so that we can work harder to make the world more in line with the values of the Gospel? How does inculturation involve Catholics, so that the faith becomes culture, as St. John Paul II said, in each of the different cultures that emerge and that the Church encounters?

I believe that the most important essay on this topic is Cardinal Ratzinger's speech to the bishops of Asia, I think I remember in 1993, on the theme of inculturation. Elsewhere Raztinger has also referred to the ideas of St. Basil the Great. When the Church encounters a new culture for the first time, there has to be what is called a "cut" in the culture, so that Jesus Christ can be inserted into that culture. There is a whole analysis of how difficult it is and how careful you have to be in this process. There is a book by a German scholar, Gnilka, who considers how these issues have been dealt with in the early centuries of the life of the Church, when the Church was encountering pagan cultures, and the principles that were adopted at that time. It is quite an in-depth analysis. Ratzinger constantly emphasizes that inculturation and evangelization is not simply changing clothes, dressing in a new style or adopting some new cultural traditions. It is a much deeper process.

Cardinal Parolin, Secretary of State, has recently pointed out that divisions and internal oppositions in the Church harm the bride of Christ. What can we do to seek and promote unity, and to grow in that communion which Christ has given to his Church and which makes us like the Trinity?

Well, I usually tell people: read Ratinzger. I also recommend the Rosary: you have to use the Rosary. And go to Mass.

Part of the division in the Church now is a continuation of the interpretations of the Second Vatican Council; I believe that these divisions will continue until they are resolved. What St. John Paul II has said, and what Pope Benedict has tried to do during those years has been to offer a "hermeneutic of continuity," which explains that there are issues that needed to be addressed at the Council and reforms that needed to take place, but those reforms were not a matter of the whole tradition of the Church. I think we have to adopt those ideas of the hermeneutic of continuity, and that we have to pray and develop our spiritual life, and relate to other people in the Church in a new, different way.

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RelatedRelated NewsOriginal paper by Dr. Tracey Rowland in Omnes. Contemporary theology and cultureRelated NewsContemporary Theology and Culture. Dr. Rowland's presentation at the Omnes Forum.Related News"We have to have the courage to explain faith."
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Education

Be rebellious. Turn off your cell phone and turn on solidarity

The insistence of certain politicians on sex shows how little confidence they have in youth when they only offer this type of behavior as an alternative to digital life. 

Javier Segura-April 19, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes

This week a new controversy about the sexual education that is being taught in our schools has been in the press again. The reason has been the publication by the City Council of the Madrid town of Getafe of the collection 'Gender Rebels'. Although it is a theme that has been repeated in many consistories. In fact, the material has a Canarian origin.

This collection, which the City Council has sent to primary and secondary schools, aims to teach children from twelve years old to 'depatriarchalize' their sexual relationships. It is made up of a total of six publications ('Despatriarcando el sexo', 'Despatriarcando el amor' 'Despatriarcando masculinidades', 'Despatriarcando parejas', 'Despatriarcando lenguajes y 'Despatriarcando cuerpos'). And, according to the Consistory, it aims to educate children and young people in free and equal sexual relations.

Evidently the first thing that jumps out is the crudest. Under the cover of a supposedly taboo-free language, they make a tawdry approach to sexuality in the purest gender ideology, encouraging early sexual relations. And, of course, they ridicule religion, mocking the figure of the Virgin Mary herself.

I would invite young people to turn off the television to open themselves to nature, to solidarity, to interiority, to sacrifice for others.

Javier Segura

One tends to think that some of our politicians have an obsession with sex and it is a real shame that this is the only alternative that the mayor of Getafe can think of to offer to our young people. It is to have very little esteem for young people themselves, as it appeals to their most instinctive passions. It seems that for our politicians sex is the only and greatest aspiration of young people. I would also invite young people to turn off the television, as the pamphlet says, but to open themselves to nature, to solidarity, to interiority, to commitment, to responsibility, to dedication, to sacrifice for others....

But the problem is that this is not a simple bank leg out. It's not that they've gone off the deep end. The sadder and more dangerous reality is that there is a cultural project they are building, of which these publications are just a small sample.

The 'hetereopatriarchy', which according to this publication must be destroyed, was a word that not so long ago surprised us when we heard it and made us smile at the ridiculousness of it. Today it is a concept known by the whole population and welcomed by part of it without any filter.

Is it just a concept? Is it just a political option? No, it is much more. I would say that it is the 'religion' of those who live from that ideology. It is what gives meaning to their lives, the reason they have to fight, what structures all their thinking and their relationships with others. It occupies the space that for a believer has the religious fact. It is an authentic proposal for the meaning of life.

That is why a dialogue is so difficult, if not impossible. Simply because it is not established on the same level of interlocution. It is not a political idea that is rationally contrasted with another political idea. For those who live from this conglomerate of ideologies (gender, feminism, animalism, globalism, transhumanism...) this way of thinking becomes their way of being, their own identity, the meaning of their life. In his 'Religion'..

That's why they do 'apostolate' and want to convince us all. Because they have to 'save' us. And they have to save the children from their own parents who think differently, because for them they do not think in a correct way but in an aberrant way. Because those who live from those keys of sense, we know it well, do not admit any other way of thinking.

They want to impose a total alternative to the model of person and society that has its roots in Christianity.

Javier Segura

The anecdote of this initiative of the City Council of Getafe and many other similar actions that are being implemented in the educational panorama, such as the Skola project of the Community of Navarra for example, are the tip of the iceberg that makes us see the great social and cultural challenge we are facing. What they propose and want to impose on us is a total alternative to the model of person and society that has its roots in Christianity.

And those who are promoting it know it.

It is necessary that we also wake up and realize it.

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ColumnistsJaime Gutiérrez Villanueva

Pope calls for eradication of child slavery

On the occasion of the murder 26 years ago of the Christian child Iqbal Masih at the hands of Pakistani upholstery mafias, the author reflects on the drama of child slavery with the words of Pope Francis.

April 19, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsLesson for the present, light for the futureRelated NewsNo human dignity at the bordersRelated NewsSolidarity, the key after the pandemic. Fratelli tutti's proposal

April 16 marked the 26th anniversary of the murder of the Christian boy Iqbal Masih at the hands of Pakistan's upholstery mafias. His crime was to denounce the slavery to which he was subjected, and to which millions of children around the world continue to be subjected today. With the pandemic, the suffering of these children has continued to increase.

Crises, such as those we are currently experiencing, and whose cycles we see repeating themselves in ever shorter periods, have not been the opportunity to rethink radical transformations more favorable to an economy centered on the common good. They are crises that have been taken advantage of by the best placed, by those who benefit the most from this economy.

Pope Francis makes constant appeals to eliminate this plague for which we will be accountable to God.

Child slavery is "a despicable phenomenon on the rise especially in the poorest countries," Francis recalled at the beginning of his pontificate, during the general audience he held in St. Peter's Square on June 12, 2013.

"Millions of children, especially girls, are forced to work, mainly in domestic labor, which involves abuse and mistreatment. This is slavery and I hope that the international community will take more action to tackle this real scourge," the Pope urged. Every child in the world must have the right to play, study, pray and grow up in a family and in the harmonious context of love.

In the catechesis of June 11, 2014, dedicated to the "fear of God", Francis said: "I think of those who live from human trafficking and slave labor: do you think that these people have in their hearts the love of God, one who traffics people, one who exploits people with slave labor? No! They have no fear of God. And they are not happy. They are not." "May the fear of God make them understand that one day everything ends and that they will be accountable to God."

Speaking to the Diplomatic Corps in January 2018, Pope Francis stated, "We cannot claim to envision a better future, nor expect to build more inclusive societies, if we continue to maintain economic models geared to mere profit and the exploitation of the weakest, such as children. Eliminating the structural causes of this scourge should be a priority for governments and international organizations, which are called upon to intensify their efforts to adopt integrated strategies and coordinated policies aimed at eliminating child labor in all its forms".

We are all responsible for all. The fight against child slavery must at all times be linked to the fight against an economy that kills and to the fight for the unequivocal recognition of the inalienable dignity of every human life in all its stages and circumstances.

The authorJaime Gutiérrez Villanueva

Pastor of the parishes of Santa María Reparadora and Santa María de los Ángeles, Santander.

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The Vatican

Pope returns to St. Peter's Square

"Look, touch and eat". These three words, taken from today's Gospel passage, served as a guiding thread for Pope Francis as he prayed the Regina Coeli from St. Peter's Square.

David Fernández Alonso-April 18, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
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Pope Francis is once again leaning out of the window of the Apostolic Palace to pray the Regina Coeli prayer before the faithful of St. Peter's. It is always a great joy to see the Holy Father in person, leaning out of that window, from where he himself can also see the people who have come to the Colonnata to listen to him.

In fact, at the end of the meeting, Francis himself expressed his joy and made reference to the flags and the faithful gathered there. "It is necessary for me to meet them and see them, it is not the same to do it from the Library".

Christ appears again

"On this Third Sunday of Easter," Francis began, "we return to Jerusalem, to the Upper Room, as if guided by the two disciples of Emmaus, who had listened with great emotion to the words of Jesus on the road and then recognized him 'in the breaking of the bread'" (Lc 24, 35). Now, in the Upper Room, the risen Christ appears in the midst of the group of disciples and greets them, saying, "Peace be with you" (v. 36). But they were frightened and thought they "saw a spirit" (v. 37). Then Jesus shows them the wounds of his body and says, "Look at my hands and my feet; it is I myself. Feel me" (v. 39). And to convince them, he asks them for food and eats it before their astonished gaze".

The Pope underlined the three actions spoken of in this passage: "This Gospel passage is characterized by three very concrete verbs, which in a certain sense reflect our personal and community life: see, touch y eat. Three actions that can give the joy of a true encounter with the living Jesus".

See

"'Behold my hands and my feet' - Jesus says. See is not only to see, it is more, it also implies intention, will. That is why it is one of the verbs of love. The mother and father look at their child, lovers look at each other; the good doctor looks attentively at the patient... To look is a first step against indifference, against the temptation to turn away from the difficulties and sufferings of others".

Play

"The second verb is touch. By inviting the disciples to touch him, so that they can see that he is not a spirit, Jesus indicates to them and to us that our relationship with him and with our brothers and sisters cannot be "at a distance", at the level of the gaze. Love demands closeness, contact, sharing of life. The Good Samaritan not only looked at the man he found half dead on the road: he bent down, healed his wounds, put him on his saddle and took him to the inn. And so it is with Jesus: loving him means entering into a vital and concrete communion with him".

Eat

"And we move on to the third verb, eatIt expresses well our humanity in its most natural indigence, that is to say, our need to nourish ourselves in order to live. But eating, when we eat together, in family or with friends, also becomes an expression of love, of communion, of celebration... How many times do the Gospels show us Jesus living this convivial dimension! Even as the Risen One, with his disciples. So much so that the Eucharistic banquet has become the emblematic sign of the Christian community".

The Pope concluded by affirming that "this Gospel passage tells us that Jesus is not a "spirit" but a living Person. To be Christian is not above all a doctrine or a moral ideal, it is a living relationship with him, with the Risen Lord: we look at him, we touch him, we are nourished by him and, transformed by his love, we look at, touch and nourish others as brothers and sisters. May the Virgin Mary help us to live this experience of grace".

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RelatedRelated NewsPope assures that teaching how to pray is an essential task of the ChurchRelated NewsThe task of the Secretary of State: a "clear voice" for unityRelated NewsGeorg Gänswein: "Benedict XVI prays for the universal Church".
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Bishop Asenjo: "God has entrusted me with three dioceses with deep Christian roots".

A few days before the announcement of his replacement in the see of Seville, Archbishop Juan José Asenjo (Sigüenza, 1945) granted an interview to Omnes. A brief review of his episcopal life in which he presumably already had his sights set on his imminent succession.

Maria José Atienza-April 18, 2021-Reading time: 9 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsJosé Ángel Saiz Meneses is the new Archbishop of Seville.Related NewsBishop Asenjo: "I will tell my successor to dedicate time to the Brotherhoods".

He has pastored the See of St. Leandro for the past twelve years. José Ángel Saíz Meneses as the new Archbishop of Seville, Bishop Asenjo went "to the second line", as he himself defines it: "to pray, like the contemplatives, and to help the new Archbishop in whatever he wants".

Until Bishop Saiz Meneses takes office, Bishop Juan José Asenjo will remain at the head of the Archdiocese of Seville as Apostolic Administrator. Asenjo has served as Auxiliary Bishop of Toledo, Bishop of Cordoba and Archbishop of Seville.

Q- When you were Auxiliary Bishop of Toledo, you were elected Secretary General of the EEC in some very turbulent years, what do you remember of those years at the center of the Spanish Church?

Before becoming Secretary General, I had been Vice-Secretary for General Affairs of the EEC during the previous five years, from 1993 to 1997, when I was ordained Auxiliary of Toledo and I dedicated myself fully to the diocese until the following year. The vice-secretariat is the 'kitchen' where everything that comes out of the Episcopal Conference is worked on. Later, the bishops decided to elect me Secretary General.

They were years of hard work, at the service of the bishops of all Spain and all the organs of the Episcopal Conference: the plenary, the permanent... etc. At the same time, in Toledo I did what work I could, especially on weekends.

I remember some difficult years: the issue of ETA was very present in the life of Spanish society. Every now and then we woke up to a murder and not all the members of the Episcopal Conference saw things in the same way, which created many tensions and difficulties.  

At the same time, these were exciting years, a time to get to know the Church in Spain in full light, dealing with all the bishops and dioceses.

To love Christ supposes loving his work, which is the Church, with its lights and shadows.

Msgr. Juan José Asenjo.Apostolic Administrator of Seville

P- You who know the Church in depth, who have been in various dioceses and dealt with so many others, how do you see the Church?

-In my years of service to the Church, I have been able to perceive the richness of the Church, both in Spain and in the universal Church, the Church that the Christian carries in his heart and loves with all his soul.

The Church is the prolongation of Christ in time, the prolongation of the Incarnation. To love Christ supposes loving his work, which is the Church, with its lights and shadows, its imperfections and sins. As St. Irenaeus of Lyons says, "the Church is the ladder of our ascent to God. We must love her with passion. I love her this way, I feel very proud to be a son and pastor of the Church.

Q- You were the coordinator of the V Apostolic Visit of the Holy Father John Paul II to Spain in May 2003. How did you deal with that responsibility?

-I received the task of organizing the papal visit at the end of November 2002. From that moment until May 2003 I literally lived for the Pope. I remember sleeping with a notebook on my bedside table in which I wrote down the things I remembered as I tried to sleep.

They were months of intense work, of infinite fatigue, certainly. At the same time I was able to serve closely a holy Pope, and for that I always thank God.

As national coordinator of the visit I had to get in touch with many people, asking for help. I was part of a commission with the participation of the Ministry of the Interior, the Community of Madrid, the Royal House, the Government, law enforcement agencies, etc., with whom there was always a good understanding. I also found good people who helped us financially, from small donations to large amounts. We wanted everything to go well and for the visit to bear spiritual fruit.

I remember the visit as a few days of grace: the Pope's arrival, the meeting at Cuatro Vientos and the familiar dialogue that was established between the Pope and the young people. The May 4 ceremony was truly a great feast of holiness, an eloquent invitation to be saints. The canonized were our contemporaries, which means that, also in this time, it is possible to be a saint.

I have an extraordinary memory: at the Nunciature I was able to eat at the Pope's table, very close to him. For me it was like being at the gates of heaven. On the steps of the plane, together with the King and Queen of Spain, St. John Paul II thanked me very much for the work I had done.

The Beatification Ceremony on May 4, 2003 was a great feast of holiness, an eloquent invitation to be saints.

Msgr. Juan José Asenjo.Apostolic Administrator of Seville

Three major dioceses: Toledo, Cordoba and Seville

Q- With your appointment to the see of Cordoba, your Andalusian career began, how would you define the diocese you arrived in 2003 and your pontificate in a diocese as solid as that one?

-Cordoba is a very well worked diocese. Bishop José Antonio Infantes Florido did a great job in not easy times. He lived at a time when there were 'too bold' experiences in many places. Don José Antonio had the courage to walk along autonomous paths without being carried away by the most "modern", for example, with respect to the seminary, which he took to Cordoba with excellent results. From that seminary San Pelagio have come out very valuable priests joined by very committed lay people, aware of what it means to be a Christian.

In Cordoba we worked magnificently in the area of the family, with dedicated delegates, such as Enrique and Concha; also in the field of popular piety and the Brotherhoods with Pedro Soldado or the renewal and professionalization of the communications team with the launching of the diocesan sheet... And, always, the care of the seminary and the priests, who continue to write and call me.

I remember Cordoba with great affection, I love the people of Cordoba and I know that they love me. It was a beautiful period. My idea was to retire and bury myself in Cordoba. Things turned out differently and I thank God for having fulfilled his will.

Q- You were planning to die in Cordoba, but in 2008, God changed your plans and you were named coadjutor archbishop with the right of succession..

-Indeed, I have been in Seville for 12 years. The beginnings were a bit more difficult; we could say, glassy. There were those who took it upon themselves to spread a kind of intoxicated, false rumor that I didn't love the Andalusians, that I didn't understand the world of the Brotherhoods and that I didn't come to Seville at ease. This is not true. I love the Andalusians very much, I came from Cordoba and I knew the world of the Brotherhoods very well. All that took some work to dismantle. I suffered, I do not deny it. The first two years were of much suffering.

The beginnings in Seville were not easy. There were those who spread the false rumor that I did not like coming here. Today I believe that, in general, the people of Seville love me. I love them.

Msgr. Juan José Asenjo.Apostolic Administrator of Seville.

With time people have seen that I was not an elusive person and that those rumors were untrue. In Seville I have spent my time in the diocese: I have gone to a hundred thousand places, I have preached, I have visited religious communities....

Today I believe that, in general, the people of Seville love me, as I love them, and they are happy that I will be living here when the new archbishop comes.

"Seville deserved a Faculty of Theology".

Q- Whenever you are asked about the work done at San Leandro, you always point out the Seminary, the family and, in the last few months, the San Isidoro School of Theology.…

-In Seville we have done a good job: we have a seminary with a solid formation, thanks to good formators and professors and a faculty of Theology San Isidoro that we have achieved in a short period of time. Seville deserved it. It fulfilled all the conditions, we had a stupendous, modern building, a library close to one hundred thousand copies, with an important old collection, we have professors and economic sufficiency.

Before the erection of the San Isidoro Faculty of Theology, there was no ecclesiastical faculty in the area of western Andalusia and Extremadura. I am very grateful to the Holy See for this faculty, which is being a very valuable instrument, together with the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences for the formation of lay people, priests, consecrated persons....

With the priests, too, a great work has been done. I love the priests very much, and they have seen that they are appreciated, even if I have had to correct them sometimes.

I am also very pleased with the work being done by the delegation of FamilyThe work is being done, for example, in the Family Guidance Centers. Another key issue is the field of charity, with an important involvement of Caritas in areas such as employment and care for the needy. One of the delegations that has gained special impetus in recent years is the diocesan delegation of Migrations which is working very well, helping many people to regularize their situation and is an important means of evangelization.

I am happy in Seville, I will stay in Seville to live after my relief, although I will spend the summer in Siguenza because of the heat.

The truth is that I have had three magnificent dioceses: Toledo, although my service was very rickety, was a strong diocese, with deep Christian roots. The "diocese of Don Marcelo", a great bishop. Cordoba, where I received the wonderful legacy of Don Jose Antonio and Don Javier Martinez. And finally, a great diocese like Seville.

They are dioceses in which one enjoys. All three are dioceses of deep Christian roots where there is a Christian humus that protects popular piety, the world of the Brotherhoods and Confraternities is a gift from God. The brotherhoods are like a big tent that prevents this Christian humus from drying up. Here secularization is less intense. The world of the Brotherhoods and Sisterhoods is a dike of containment of secularization.

The Brotherhoods are a dike of containment of secularism. To despise them is a complete mistake.

Juan José Asenjo Pelegrina.Apostolic Administrator of Seville

The importance of the Brotherhoods and Confraternities

Q- You mentioned the world of brotherhoods and fraternities which, throughout Spain, especially in areas such as Andalusia, but also in others, has a very great strength, how do you see this manifestation of faith?   

In the immediate post-conciliar period, a certain part of the clergy looked with suspicion, and even contempt, at the Brotherhoods, as if they were a 'religious by-product', of inferior quality, not worth dedicating themselves to. I believe that this is a completely erroneous position. The Brotherhoods have enormous potential

A sensible, prudent bishop cannot stand in front of or with his back turned to the world of the Brotherhoods. He must love them, accompany them, so that they realize that the bishop loves them. To love and understand the brotherhoods is what confers authority to correct the things that need to be corrected.

In my episcopal work, I have visited all of them every Holy Week. This same year, without processional processions and with the physical limitations that I have, I have also visited them. Every day I have visited the brotherhoods that have made their penitential station. In each of them I was able to give a homily, we prayed a Salve and I gave them the Blessing. There were about eight or nine a day and, on Good Friday, twelve. I went to say goodbye to them and the Brotherhoods have been very appreciative. I appreciate it.

I am convinced that despising the brotherhood world is too arrogant and unintelligent. In Seville alone, half a million faithful are related to the world of the Brotherhoods. I will always tell my successor to love the Brotherhoods, to appreciate them, to know them and to dedicate time to them.

I will always tell my successor to love the Brotherhoods, to appreciate them, to know them and to dedicate time to them.

Juan José Asenjo Pelegrina. Apostolic Administrator of Seville

P- Since we are talking about Brotherhoods and considering the potential that you yourself have pointed out, would it not be logical to propose an Episcopal Commission for the Brotherhoods and Confraternities?

The Brotherhoods and Confraternities are, at present, under the umbrella of the Secular Apostolate. In the almost thirty years that I have been in the Spanish Episcopal Conference, the possibility of a commission of its own has been raised, at least, on a couple of occasions. There has been no consensus, perhaps because the Brotherhoods are between Liturgy and popular religiosity and Secular Apostolate.

I need prayer as I need to breathe or eat.

P- In the words of Pope Francis, "closeness to God is the source of the bishop's ministry". To speak of personal prayer is always a delicate subject, it is to look into the well of the unfathomable well of the soul, in this sense, how does Bishop Asenjo pray?

-When I lost the sight in my right eye last June, I was unable to pray the Breviary. For months I have been praying the four parts of the Rosary to compensate for not being able to pray the Breviary. About a month ago, Radio Maria gave me the audios and I discovered a new world with the audio books.

With the audios of the Psalms I am discovering the spiritual and literary richness of these prayers.

Msgr. Juan José Asenjo.Apostolic Administrator of Seville

St. Paul said that faith enters through the ear, '....fides ex auditu'.In my case, prayer is also 'ex auditu'. The truth is that I am enjoying the Psalms, the writings of the Holy Fathers, the Bible, thanks to these audios I am also discovering the literary richness of texts such as the Psalms, which are one of the most important works of history, not only in the spiritual but also in the aesthetic field.

Of course, I do my personal prayer times, in the morning and late afternoon, at length. I celebrate the Eucharist without haste. When I celebrate only the Holy Mass, I do it very slowly, enjoying the texts: the preparation for communion, the thanksgiving....

For me, the Eucharist and prayer are the most important moments of the day. They are the supernatural foundations on which the day is built. If I don't pray, something is missing. I need prayer, the peace of prayer, dialogue with the Lord as I need to breathe or eat. "We are what we pray"St. John Paul II said to the priests in Gift and mystery And so it is. What saves us, what constitutes us as Christians is prayer.

I make a prayer full of names. A pastor must bring to prayer the pains, sorrows and joys of his faithful.

Msgr. Juan José Asenjo.Apostolic Administrator of Seville

In summer, many times, I like to go out to pray in the countryside. I admire the wonders of nature, as the psalms say, I like to contemplate "the wonders of his hands".

At this time, above all, my prayer is one of thanksgiving: for all that he has done for me, since I was a child, by giving me a Christian family. For the example of my parents, good Christians who were generous with others. I also thank him for having been born in such a beautiful city as Sigüenza. I am convinced that my feeling with art, with heritage, has much to do with the city in which I was born, where, almost without realizing it, one enters into communion with beauty, materializes the Via Pulchritudinis and, through it, one arrives at the beauty of God.

My prayer is very simple. I pray a prayer full of names. A pastor has to bring to prayer the pains, sorrows and joys of his faithful: the suffering of the unemployed, the disconnection of young people..., I have a prayer full of names in a warm dialogue with the Lord.

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RelatedRelated NewsJosé Ángel Saiz Meneses is the new Archbishop of Seville.Related NewsBishop Asenjo: "I will tell my successor to dedicate time to the Brotherhoods".
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Miracles of the Gospel: the first multiplication of the loaves and fishes

The author analyzes some details of the first miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fishes in the lake of Galilee.

Alfonso Sánchez de Lamadrid Rey-April 18, 2021-Reading time: 6 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsRelics of Our Lord: the holy places

The Gospels narrate two miracles of multiplication of loaves and fishes. This text studies the species of fish, the date and the possible places where the first one occurred; in a following text I will refer to the second multiplication. 

Our hypothesis is that the first multiplication occurred in the early spring of the year 29, in the present Taghba and Jesus multiplied the sardine from the lake, Mirogrex terraesanctaepreserved in salted fish.

Lake Galilee

We will begin by giving some basic information about the place of the miracle. 

The Lake Galilee (also called Lake of Gennesaret, Tiberias or KineretThe lake (see figure 1) is the main freshwater body in northern Israel, and is considered subtropical. The lake is -210 meters below sea level: it is the lowest lake on earth. It is roughly elliptical in shape, and measures 21 kilometers at its longest point in the north-south direction, and 12 kilometers wide in the east-west. Its depth is variable, reaching up to 42 meters. It is crossed by the Jordan River from north to south. 

The climate is semi-arid Mediterranean, with 380 mm of rainfall/year on average. The water temperature ranges between 15 and 30º C, and its salinity is 0.27 g/l. The conditions of the lake are very beneficial for a high fish production, and since ancient times it has had a constant fishing exploitation, especially in the northern area, and numerous ports on its shores. In addition, its environment is suitable for agriculture.

Figure 1. Lake Galilee in first century Palestine.

The first multiplication

The first multiplication of the loaves and fishes is the only miracle of Jesus reported in the four Gospels. The Lord did it for the Galileans in the area (Mt 14:13-21; Mk 6:30-44; Lk 9:10-17 and Jn 6:1-15).

We quote the version of John, a disciple of Jesus who, besides being the only evangelist who was a fisherman by profession (Mt 4:21; Mk 1:19; Lk 5:10), was most probably present at the miracle: "After this, Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). Many people followed him, because they had seen the signs he did for the sick. Then Jesus went up the mountain and sat there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and when he saw that many people were coming, he said to Philip, 'Wherewith shall we buy bread, that these may eat? He said this to test him, for he well knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, 'Two hundred denarii of bread are not enough to give everyone a piece. 

One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, says to him, 'Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that for so many?'" Jesus said, 'Tell the people to sit down on the ground.' There was plenty of grass in that place. They sat down; the men alone numbered about five thousand. Jesus took the loaves, said the thanksgiving, and distributed them to those who were sitting down, and likewise as much as they wanted of the fish. 

When they had eaten their fill, he says to his disciples, 'Gather up the pieces that are left over; let nothing be lost.' They gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves that were left over from those who had eaten. The people then, when they saw the sign that he had done, said, 'This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.' Jesus, knowing that they were going to take him away to proclaim him king, withdrew again to the mountain by himself."

Place of the first multiplication

The place where the first multiplication of the loaves and fishes occurred has been discussed by specialists, since neither the location of the ancient city of Bethsaida, near which the miracle took place according to the Gospel of Luke, is clear, nor are the narratives of the four evangelists in complete agreement.

Among the various opinions, we are inclined to the one by Baldi (1960) y Pixner (1992), which situate the site in the present-day Tabghabased on a tradition consistent with some of the Gospel accounts (Figure 1).

The main argument is the written testimony of the Spanish pilgrim woman Egeriaat the end of the fourth century. She cites a stone, already venerated by the first Christians, on which the Lord would have rested the food: "Not far from there [Capernaum] you see the stone steps on which the Lord stood. Right there, above the sea, there is a field covered with grass, with plenty of hay and many palm trees, and beside those, seven springs, each of which provides abundant water. In that meadow the Lord satisfied the people with five loaves and two fish. It is good to know that the stone, on which the Lord placed the bread, has now become an altar". 

Tabgha means "seven fountains", some of which are still preserved today. It is necessary to consider that the one of Egeria would be one of the first pilgrims to the Holy Land, since until 313 and the peace of Constantine, Christianity was forbidden in the Roman Empire.

In addition, there are archaeological remains that demonstrate the presence of a church in this place in the fourth century. Pixner (1992), well acquainted with the geography of the place, gives a further argument in favor of this location.

He explains that the Gospel of Mark (6:31-33) describes that the crowd fed in the miracle arrived at the place before Jesus. They followed him on land while Jesus went by boat with his disciples "seeking a secluded place" in which to rest. In spring the Jordan is very high, and difficult to ford quickly. Therefore, the area of the miracle must have been close to the main towns in the area, Capernaum, Chorazin and Ginnosaras in the case of Tabgha.

Today there is a Byzantine church in this place where the miracle is commemorated, and which preserves a stone that could be the one described by Egeria, and a Byzantine mosaic of the sixth century alluding to it (figure 2). 

Fig. 2. Mosaic of the church of multiplication in Tabgha. 

Multiplied fish species

To make a hypothesis regarding the species used by Jesus in the first multiplication of loaves and fishes, we start from the current fishing data of the Lake of Galilee and from the data of the Gospels. Among the current fish species, allochthonous species must be ruled out. There is evidence of the introduction of some foreign species of mugilids in 1958, of silver carp, and of the introduction of some other species of fishes. Hypophthalmicthys molitrix in 1969 and common carp Cyprinus carpio. 

Moreover, it is certain that the Jews would not eat species present in the lake but considered impure by the Old Testament (Lev 11:9-12), such as eels and silurids, which have no scales (properly speaking, the scales of eels are microscopic).

If we discard the species of no fishing interest, six species remain (Figure 3): Sarotherodon galilaeus (Linnaeus, 1758) or Tilapia mango, Oreochromis aureus  (Steindachner, 1864) or St. Peter's fish, Tristramella simonis simonis  (Günther, 1864), the barbels Barbus longiceps  (Valenciennes, 1842), y Carasobarbus canis  (Valenciennes, 1842) (grouped in the graph as Barbus sp.) and Mirogrex terraesanctae (Steinitz, 1952) or Lake Galilee sardine.

Figure 3. Current fisheries catch data for Lake Galilee from: Sarotherodon galilaeus, Oreochromis aureus, Tristramella simonis simonis, Barbus longiceps y Carasobarbus canis (grouped in the chart as Barbus sp.) and Migrogrex terraesanctae. 

If we take the original Greek text of John's narrative, it uses the word opsaria (John 6, 9 of the original Greek, small fish) instead of ichthyes (fish). This word comes from optos, which means food seasoning and is used especially for salted and dried fish. Of the six species considered, only one is small in size in the adult state, the lake sardine Mirogrex terraesanctae (Figure 4). 

It is a pelagic fish that lives near the surface of the lake water in large schools, and is about 14 centimeters long on average (fishbase.org). It is a native and endemic species of the lake, as expressed in the word "endemic". terraesanctae, which translated from Latin means "from the holy land", from the country sanctified by Jesus.

Although our reasoning is not conclusive regarding this species, we assume that it is the species used in the miracle, rather than juveniles of the other species. There are several reasons for this.

The use of this salted species as a regular food for the population is documented, as it was fished seasonally and in large quantities, up to 10 mt daily, the sardine was salted. In addition, there are archaeological remains of the salting industry in Magdala, a city south of Tabgha.

Finally, in practice it would be complex to feed fresh fish to such a large number of people, because it would be very difficult in a deserted place like the one described by the Gospels to make a large number of fires to roast so many fish.

At present, sardine catches have decreased radically, not because the resource has disappeared, but due to the lack of profitability of the purse seine fishing fleet, the main way of catching this species, which has practically disappeared, with only one boat remaining at present. 

Figure 4. The sardine of Lake GalileeMigrogrex terrasanctae, Migrogrex terrasanctae 

Date of the miracle

It is John's account that specifies that the miracle happened before the second Passover of Jesus' public life (the Passover is celebrated on the first full moon of spring, in March-April), and that probably places it in spring of the year 29 of our era, one year before his death.

The authorAlfonso Sánchez de Lamadrid Rey

Priest and Doctor in Theology and Marine Sciences.

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The Gospel of marriage and the family

José Miguel Granados collects in this new volume the fruit of the course he has taught for years on marriage and the family in the light of the Theology of the Body of St. John Paul II.

Juan de Dios Larrú-April 18, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsThe "Amoris Laetitia Family" year begins, in the wake of DublinRelated NewsSecond century educational keys for a 21st century Religion curriculum.

In this monograph, Professor José Miguel Granados offers us the fruit of the course he has taught for years at the Faculty of Theology "San Dámaso" on marriage and the family in the light of the Theology of the Body of St. John Paul II.

Book

TitleThe Gospel of Marriage and Family
AuthorJosé Miguel Granados
Editorial: EUNSA
Year: 2021

Juan Antonio Reig, the author organizes the work in ten chapters that unravel in an informative and didactic way the treasure of the legacy of the holy Polish pope. The method of the catechesis on human love is very original. The convergence or circularity between divine Revelation and human experience makes it possible to delve into the rich meanings inscribed in the human body, marked by sexual difference.

The first three chapters of the volume explain the contents of the triptych of the Theology of the Body. The three principal mysteries of our faith-creation, redemption and resurrection-become three foci of light to penetrate the mystery of man, male and female. Once the main features of the proper anthropology have been explained, in the fourth and fifth chapters, the spousal vocation is broken down into the twofold modality of virginity (and celibacy for the sake of the kingdom of heaven) and marriage. Both vocations illuminate each other. 

The sixth and seventh chapters analyze the love of conjugal communion and its characteristic notes: fidelity, exclusivity, indissolubility and fruitfulness. Taking as its main source the sixth cycle of the catechesis, which is dedicated to commenting on the encyclical Humanae vitae. The logic of self-giving is the key to penetrate the mystery of fruitfulness. All true love is fruitful and children are the most precious fruit of conjugal love.

Finally, in the last three chapters of the work, the social protagonism of marriage and the family as the vital cell of society, cultural deformations and the influence of certain ideologies, as well as the meaning of the ecclesial identity of marriage and the family, are addressed.

The volume offers as a colophon an explanatory list of fundamental concepts, as well as a select bibliography. In this way, readers are offered a work of very accessible reading for the general public, where the Gospel of marriage and the family is clearly and orderly presented, following the main intuitions of the magisterium of St. John Paul II, which have found their prolongation in the pontificates of Benedict XVI and Francis.    

The authorJuan de Dios Larrú

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RelatedRelated NewsThe "Amoris Laetitia Family" year begins, in the wake of DublinRelated NewsSecond century educational keys for a 21st century Religion curriculum.
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José Ángel Saiz Meneses is the new Archbishop of Seville.

The Holy See made public, at 12:00 noon on Saturday, April 17, the appointment of Archbishop José Ángel Saiz Meneses as the new Archbishop of Seville.

Maria José Atienza-April 17, 2021-Reading time: 4 minutes

Saiz Meneses, 64, succeeds Bishop Juan José Asenjo Pelegrina, who has held the reins of the diocese for the past 12 years and who will be 75 years old on October 15, 2020.

Saiz Meneses has been, until now, the first bishop of Tarrassa, a diocese created in 2004, and in which he has promoted, among others, the Diocesan Major Seminary of St. John the Baptist and the Diocesan Minor Seminary of Our Lady of Health.

Saiz Meneses will take possession of the see of Seville on June 12, when he will become the pastor of the Archdiocese of Seville, with a long history and a varied Christian life in which, naturally, the deep-rooted tradition of faith of the Brotherhoods and Confraternities throughout the diocese stands out.

"You have to love the Brotherhoods and dedicate time to them".

Photo: Migel A. Osuna (Archisevilla)

In an interview with Omneswhich will be published in its entirety on Sunday, April 18, Bishop Juan José AsenjoHe gives some hints about the figure of his successor in the see of Seville. Referring specifically to that "great dam against secularization that are the Seville Brotherhoods" he stressed that "I am convinced that despising the Brotherhoods is a very arrogant and unintelligent position. To my successor I will always tell him to love them, to appreciate them and to know them, to dedicate time to the Brotherhoods".

Bishop Asenjo, who in October 2020 had presented his resignation to the Holy See at the age of 75, had asked on several occasions that the succession process be accelerated due to his physical limitations and the appointment of Santiago Gómez Sierra as Bishop of Huelva, thus leaving Seville without an auxiliary bishop.

Biography of Msgr. José Ángel Saiz Meneses

Born on August 2, 1956, Bishop José Ángel Saiz Meneses was born in Sisante (Cuenca). At the age of 9, the family moved to Barcelona, where, three years later, he entered the Minor Seminary of Our Lady of Montalegre. He studied Psychology at the University of Barcelona between 1975 and 1977 and, from that year on, he studied Philosophy, Spirituality and Theology at the Major Seminary of Toledo (1977-1984).

Ordained a priest in the Cathedral of Toledo on July 15, 1984, that same year he obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Theology from the Faculty of Theology of Burgos.

His first years of pastoral work took place in the diocese of Toledo where he served as rector in Los Alares and Anchuras de los Montes and later as vicar of Illescas (1986-1989). Likewise, he was also a zone councilor of the Teams of Our Lady, zone councilor of the Movement of Christian Teachers and professors and religion teacher in the School of FP La Sagra in Illescas.

In 1989 he returned to Barcelona. There he was appointed vicar in the parish of Sant Andreu del Palomar, and in 1992 parish priest of the Church of the Virgin of the Rosary in Cerdanyola and exercised a remarkable work in university environments as Head of the University Pastoral at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, responsible for SAFOR (Service of Assistance and Religious Formation) of the Autonomous University of Barcelona and Head of the CCUC (Christian Center of University Students of Cerdanyola del Vallès).

In 1995 he was appointed Diocesan Consiliary of the Cursillos in Christianity Movement, a movement that this prelate knows in depth.

He obtained his degree from the Faculty of Theology of Catalonia in 1993.

In May 2000 he was appointed Secretary General and Chancellor of the Archbishopric of Barcelona and a year later, member of the College of Consultors of the same archdiocese.

Bishop of a newly created diocese

On October 30, 2001 he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Barcelona and consecrated on December 15 of the same year in the Cathedral. Three years later, on June 15, 2004, he was named the first bishop of the newly erected diocese of Terrassa and Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Barcelona and the new diocese of Sant Feliu de Llobregat. On July 25, he was solemnly installed in the Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Spirit in Terrassa. He arrives in Seville after the resignation of Bishop Asenjo, having reached 75 years of age, as established by the Code of Canon Law in canon 401 §1.

EEC positions

In the Spanish Episcopal Conference, Bishop Saiz Meneses is a member of the Executive Commission, a position to which he was elected on March 3, 2020. He is also a member of the Permanent Commission.

He was a member of the Episcopal Commission for the Secular Apostolate and Episcopal Commission for Pastoral Ministry since March 2017. Previously, he has been president of the Commission for Seminaries and Universities. In addition, he has been a member of the Commission for Teaching and Catechesis from 2002 to 2005. From 2005 to 2008, he was a member of the Commission for Consecrated Life.

He has written several books, including "Los Cursillos de Cristiandad. Genesis and theology" or "Row out to sea" in which he collects the Sunday letters of the first three courses of the new diocese of Terrassa along with the catechesis given by the first bishop of Terrassa at the World Youth Day in Cologne.

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Bishop Asenjo: "I will tell my successor to dedicate time to the Brotherhoods".

ADVANCE - The Archbishop of Seville has granted an interview to Omnes in which he recounts in detail much of his life and of which we offer a small preview. 

Maria José Atienza-April 17, 2021-Reading time: < 1 minute

In an interview with Omneswhich will be published in its entirety on Sunday, April 18, the Archbishop of Seville, Bishop Juan José Asenjospoke about his work in the Secretariat of the Episcopal Conference, his time in the see of Cordoba and, very extensively, his years as head of the Church of Seville. In the interview, the Archbishop also gives a few hints about the figure of his successor in the see of Seville.

Bishop Asenjo will stay in Seville, "except in summer when, because of the heat, I will go up to Sigüenza". A sign of the affection he has for the Andalusian land and that, despite the hard beginnings "in which there were those who spread the falsehood that he did not love the Andalusians", is reciprocated: "the Sevillians tell me that they are happy that I stay here".

Asenjo, who has asked the Holy See to accelerate his succession, is happy with the work done in recent years in Seville, in which he highlights the Seminary, the work of delegations such as family or migrations or the erection of the Faculty of Theology "that Seville deserved".

The role and strength of the Brotherhoods and Confraternities is, evidently, one of the topics that the Archbishop of Seville talks about in this interview. Referring to the Brotherhoods, which he considers a "great dam against secularization", he emphasizes his conviction that "to despise the Brotherhoods is too arrogant and unintelligent a posture". In this sense, he launches a statement for the future: "I will always tell my successor to love the Brotherhoods, to appreciate them, to know them and to dedicate time to them".

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EEC reiterates its commitment to the development of safe environments for minors

The Spanish Episcopal Conference has published a note in which it regrets the unfair accusation launched by a political representative in the context of the approval of the Law against violence against children.

Maria José Atienza-April 16, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

The Spanish Episcopal Conference has published a note in which it regrets the unjust accusation launched by a political representative in the context of the approval of the Law against violence against children. It also recalls the work being done by the Spanish Church in the field of prevention and reparation of child abuse.

Note from the Cee

Yesterday, the Law against violence against children was approved in the Congress of Deputies. It is good news that the Congress echoes a problem that affects Spanish society. During the parliamentary debate, the Minister for Social Rights and Agenda 2030, Ione Belarra, accused the Church of being an accomplice to these abuses through cover-up. It is a seriously unfair accusation that seeks to sully the activity of millions of people for decades and that does not correspond at all with the truth.

Recent independent studies have highlighted the seriousness of this problem in our country. These studies have pointed out that 0.2% of the cases have occurred in religious activities, something that being serious for us, shows the magnitude of the problem and points out the environments in which abuses mostly occur, which should have special attention and protection.

The Church and its commitment to the protection of minors

The Catholic Church began a long process of updating its protocols and code of law as early as 2002, especially in matters of statutes of limitations for these crimes and the prevention of abuse in the present and in the future, aspects that are now incorporated into Spanish law. Since that year, protocols and safe environments for minors have been developed in the places where the Church carries out its activity. Religious congregations have deployed a significant number of initiatives to care for minors in a safe manner and the diocesan Church is also following this path and has set up offices for the protection of minors and the prevention of abuse in all Spanish dioceses.

As part of its mission, the Church is firmly committed to the integral promotion of minors and develops thousands of initiatives each year that seek to form them in values as relevant as solidarity, respect for differences, service to the common good or care for the environment according to the principles of Christian humanism.

Thousands of lay people, priests and religious work for this purpose with effort, training, dedication and responsibility. Their work cannot be tarnished either by the actions of some of its members who are unworthy of that work or by the assessments of politicians who, prey to a rancid anticlericalism, use the Church for political confrontation in a strategy of rupture and confrontation.

Finally, we want to renewing the commitment from the Church with the protection of minors that it will continue to take steps forward and thank the work of all those inside and outside the Church who work in the care of minors and in their formation, for a better future.

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Spain

Plenary topics: living will, education and appointments

This Plenary Assembly, the 117th, will study the lines of pastoral action of the Bishops' Conference for the five-year period 2021-2025 and will address topics such as the euthanasia and the proposal of a new draft of the living will, as well as the work carried out in different areas in relation to the new education law.

Maria José Atienza-April 16, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsMigration crisis and education at the center of the Plenary AssemblyRelated News"Thou shalt not bring about death, but on the contrary, thou shalt take care."

The Spanish Episcopal Conference has announced the topics that will focus the work of the Bishops during the Plenary Assembly to be held from April 19 to 23, 2021. 

Topics of study and information from the commissions

This Plenary Assembly, the 117th, will study the lines of pastoral action of the Episcopal Conference for the five-year period 2021-2025. One of the key topics to be studied during these days will revolve around the report on the euthanasia and the living will and the proposal of a new wording of the living will presented by the Episcopal Commission for the Laity, the Family and Life. In addition, this same Commission will be in charge of reporting on aspects related to the "Amoris Laetitia" Year of the Family and on the consultation on the "Pastoral Care of the Elderly", at the request of Rome.

The Episcopal Commission for Education and Culture will report on the work done in various areas in relation to the new education law. It should not be forgotten that a little more than a month ago, the EEC developed an online conference with Religion teachers from all over the country for the elaboration of the Religion curriculum within the framework of the LOMLOE.

For its part, the Episcopal Commission for the Liturgy will present for possible approval the funeral ritual; the Missal and Lectionary for the Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary; and the translation of the Liturgical texts of the Free Memory of the Blessed Virgin Mary Loreto.

As usual in the first Plenary of the year, the intentions of the Spanish Episcopal Conference for the year 2022 for which the Pope's Apostleship of Prayer-World Prayer Network prays will be approved.

Other matters

The following topics will also be discussed during this plenary session:

  • Implementation of the letter of Pope Francis for the institution of lay men and women as readers and acolytes.
  • Implications for the Church in Spain of the obligation of regulatory compliance.
  • Information on the current status of Ábside (13 TV and COPE).

In addition, the bishops who are members of the Plenary Assembly are expected to elect the new president of the Episcopal Commission for Social Communications. The election of the Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical University of Salamanca is also scheduled. As usual, the approval of the various National Associations will take place.

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RelatedRelated NewsMigration crisis and education at the center of the Plenary AssemblyRelated News"Thou shalt not bring about death, but on the contrary, thou shalt take care."
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ColumnistsCelso Morga

Ramadan and interfaith dialogue

During this month, a holy time for Muslim believers, let us remain united by the bonds of brotherhood as sons and daughters of Abraham and let us once again make the decision to be instruments of the peace that is God.

April 16, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

Ramadan, a time of fasting and prayer for Muslims, began this Tuesday, April 13, and will last until May 12.

In this world of ours there are no longer isolated spaces; we cannot turn our backs on many realities that were once alien, even hostile, to us. In the field of beliefs, it is perhaps easier to seek common ground with anyone who professes a faith, especially a monotheistic one, as is the case with Jews and Muslims, than with those who deny any kind of transcendence.

We Christians have never felt far from the Jews, who share with us part of the Holy Scriptures. St. John Paul II became the first Pope to visit a synagogue and called the Jews the "elder brothers" of Christians. They are the chosen people, the people of the Covenant which, for us, reaches its fullness with Christ.

Pope Francis has not stopped building bridges with Islam. He was the first Pope to visit the Arabian Peninsula, cradle of the Islamic religion. In May 2014 he was in Jordan, the first stage of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and in November he visited Turkey "as a pilgrim, not as a tourist", as he himself said.

In 2015, in the Central African Republic, he visited the Central Mosque of Bangui and proclaimed that "Christians and Muslims are brothers. We have to consider ourselves as such, to behave as such". The following year, he was in Azerbaijan to proclaim forcefully: "Never again violence in the name of God! His words have been endorsed with deeds: at the end of 2017 he visited Bangladeh and Myanmar to try to appease the human crisis of the Rohingya Muslim minority Muslim ethnic group.

Pope Francis has continued his travels in Muslim countries: Egypt, Morocco... and, the last and very significant, Iraq. There, on the plain of Ur, the birthplace of the patriarch Abraham, father of the three monotheistic religions, he proclaimed in an interreligious meeting: "God is merciful and the most blasphemous offense is to profane his name by hating one's brother. Hostility, extremism and violence are not born of a religious spirit; they are betrayals of religion". He defended the same idea in Mosul, which had been a stronghold of the self-proclaimed Islamic State: "If God is the God of life - and he is - it is not licit for us to kill our brothers in his name. If God is the God of peace - and he is - it is not lawful for us to wage war in his name. If God is the God of love - and he is - it is not licit for us to hate our brothers and sisters," the Holy Father said.

Photo: ©CNS photo/Paul Haring

In this country he made history once again by visiting the city of Najaf, one of the holiest for Shiite Islam, where he met with Grand Ayatollah Al-Sistani and again called for "mutual respect and dialogue between religions". For his part, the Grand Ayatollah defended "peace and security" for Christians in Iraq.

During this month, a holy time for Muslim believers, let us remain united by the bonds of brotherhood as sons and daughters of Abraham and let us once again make the decision to be instruments of the peace that is God.

The authorCelso Morga

Archbishop emeritus of the Diocese of Mérida Badajoz

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Integral ecology

What does the Church do for employment?

The numerous initiatives promoted by Church institutions at the local, regional and national levels emphasize training and preparation for employment, facilitation of agreements and employability, and social awareness of the need for decent employment for all people.

Maria José Atienza-April 16, 2021-Reading time: 5 minutes
RelatedRelated News"Church for Decent Work" calls for decent job creation policiesRelated News"On the street you don't know what to do, or where to go."

The history of the Catholic Church has had examples of what we would know today as job placement initiatives for centuries, many of them linked to the training and preparation of men and women for various tasks.

However, it will be after the publication of the encyclical Rerum Novarum The encyclical of Leo XIII when the Church's commitment to the working world took shape and numerous committed faithful, especially lay people, started up brotherhoods, associations and projects that, in addition to being a channel for evangelization in the working world, pursued the dignification and improvement of workers' conditions and access to decent employment. An encyclical that would update, almost a century later the Laborem exercens of St. John Paul II and whose central theme: work, would be a key part of the Fratelli Tutti of Pope Francis.

In Spain, the response to this encyclical would come from the hand of Guillermo Rovirosa with the foundation of the Hermandad Obrera de Acción Católica, which celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2021. As members of HOAC recalled in an interview granted to Omnes and collected in the January 2021 issue, "The evangelizing commitment of the working class world has been advancing at the pace of the same evolution of society". At present, the labor crisis resulting from the effects of Covid 19 has accentuated the gap that had been dragging on, especially since the 80s, between the different employment sectors, exacerbating the problems of those who already started from a precarious position, as HOAC points out.

The situation of millions of people affected by redundancies, layoffs and salary reductions is a sign of the "throwaway society" as Pope Francis has expressed it: "this discarding is expressed in many ways, such as in the obsession to reduce labor costs, which does not take into account the serious consequences that this causes, because the unemployment that is produced has the direct effect of expanding the frontiers of poverty" (FT, 20). (FT, 20)

In view of this situation, the initiatives that the Church, through different organizations, carries out in favor of employability and the dignity of people through employment, stand out.

DATO

57.574.350 €

They were allocated by Caritas in 2020 to projects in the area of Employment, Fair Trade and Social Economy.

Caritas

The Caritas 2020 report includes the task of social and labor insertion itineraries, where people are accompanied in the development of actions necessary to improve their level of employability, together with the promotion of insertion companies, special employment centers and other social enterprises, with which protected employment is created for people who do not find an opportunity in the labor market.

Last year Caritas allocated 17% of its resources, some 57,574,350 €, to Employment, Fair Trade and Social Economy, being the second area of investment after shelter and assistance.

Some examples of these projects developed by Cáritas in different Spanish dioceses are the "Sementeira formación laboral" project in Ourense, aimed at the training and employability of people in situations of social exclusion, the Work Center for people with disabilities in Urgell or the Tabgha Restaurant School in Cordoba, which trains and qualifies people at risk of social exclusion in the hotel and catering sector through a social economy.

Church for decent work

This initiative is promoted by Christian-inspired entities and organizations: Spanish Conference of Religious (CONFER), Hermandad Obrera de Acción Católica (HOAC), Justice and Peace, Young Catholic Students (YCS), Young Christian Workers (YCW) and Caritas, was born in 2015 with the aim of promoting dynamics of awareness, visibility and denunciation on a central issue for society and essential for the lives of millions of people: human labor and to publicize the concept of decent work.

ITD aims to be a loudspeaker for local initiatives in favor of employment and social awareness. It prepares and disseminates materials for prayer, reflection and work that are made known through the various entities and their circles of work and pastoral action.

This year, following the worsening of working conditions as a result of Covid, Church for Decent Work is engaged in the campaign "Now more than ever, decent work", through which they want to raise awareness in society that the time has come to adopt policies and commitments in favor of decent, sustainable and inclusive jobs.

Diocesan initiatives and conferences

There are many Spanish dioceses in which, in recent years, joint projects have been articulated to address the issue of employment as part of the work of the Church.

In Seville we find Joint Action against unemployment. An initiative of the delegations of Social Pastoral - Justice and Peace, Migrations, Diocesan Caritas, Worker Pastoral, Prison Pastoral, Cardinal Marcelo Espínola Foundation, Worker Brotherhood of Action (HOAC), Worker Brotherhoods (HHTT), Christian Cultural Movement (MCC), Focolare Movement and the representation in Seville of the Spanish Conference of Religious (CONFER). Acción conjunta contra el parojo develops a work of analysis, reflection and joint construction of alternatives in parishes, movements and other ecclesiastical instances that promote a new organization of work from the Social Doctrine of the Church (DSI), acting on the injustices that cause job losses, promoting the creation of concrete jobs and taking care of the close relationship with the unemployed. Its actions include training and reflection courses on work and its evangelical and social dimension in different parishes, traveling exhibitions on decent work, meetings with entrepreneurs in search of employability alternatives and the preparation of awareness-raising materials.

Madrid and Bilbao are other dioceses that, during these days, will celebrate days to raise awareness of the need for decent employment.

In the case of MadridIn 2020, the diocesan Caritas reported that 60% of the people assisted by Caritas were unemployed and, in the first months of 2021, the number of economic aids processed was more than double that of the same period of the previous year. A situation that has led the Employment Service of Caritas Madrid to launch a series of projects that offer an accompaniment and response to these difficult situations and encourage reflection and help insofar as possible. As Cardinal Osoro pointed out in the pastoral letter on the occasion of this day: "The news of rampant unemployment, shameful employment, business closures, the ruin of small businesses and economic uncertainty lead us to think about the need for a reorganization and a review of our structures".

Bilbao has also joined in this reflection and action for work with the celebration of the First Diocesan Day for Decent Work on April 18. Manuel Moreno, Delegate for Charity and Justice, points out that this day should be an "opportunity to place our gaze as believers on the humanizing meaning of work. Work makes us people, it enables us to share gifts, establish relationships, care and grow as a human family" and he encouraged the parishes of Biscay to pray, work and spread this reality.

RelatedRelated News"Church for Decent Work" calls for decent job creation policiesRelated News"On the street you don't know what to do, or where to go."
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Newsroom

Ziarrusta, Bursar of Bilbao: "The economy is not important, but it is a necessary means".

We interviewed José María Ziarrusta, manager-economist of the diocese of Bilbao, one of the most transparent dioceses in Spain. 

Diego Zalbidea-April 16, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
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In a new interview for Sustainability 5G, we talk to José María Ziarrusta Abásolo, manager-economist of the Bilbao diocese since 2008. Passionate about teamwork, he has surrounded himself with a large group of professionals and volunteers from all walks of life and together they have launched programs which they are pioneers. They have recently taken first place, shared with the Diocese of Burgos, in a ranking on transparency of dioceses. 

Why is the diocese of Bilbao, together with the diocese of Burgos, the most transparent of all?

Transparency has been and continues to be one of the priority projects included in our strategic plan and we have dedicated a lot of effort to it, involving different diocesan areas. Transparency seems to us to be fundamental in an institution such as the Church, which is sustained by the commitment of the faithful.

Transparency seems to us to be fundamental in an institution such as the Church.

José María ZiarrustaManager of the Diocese of Bilbao

What do the best performing parishes do financially?

I am going to point out some key points that a parish priest, who is a reference for good practices, told me:

Teamwork and good collaborators.

Systematic work that is reviewed and improved.

Eyes and ears attentive to what the faithful ask and to what others do better than we do.

Accessibility, face-to-face and also via internet or networks.

Know the parishioners and identify them in different groups: catechesis, couples, youth, seniors, etc.

Communication, both spiritual and economic issues and others that have to do with the parish. To have channels of communication for different groups.

Transparency.

Who are the most generous of the faithful?

Those who know the most about the life and needs of the parishes, that is why communication and transparency are fundamental since they facilitate the commitment of the faithful. It is difficult for a person to commit himself if he does not know what he can contribute and the value of his contribution, whether in time, talent or money.

What worries a bursar?

We are concerned about having good information, planning, learning, developing management tools, engaging people who can collaborate, to take care of obtaining resources and managing them in an adequate way, at the service of the pastoral activity of the Church. The economy is an instrument of the pastoral task.

What does a bursar dream of?

With many things, but to put one that has to do with our economic vision, it would be self-financing, that is, that we can be a Church supported exclusively by the faithful, although any other help is welcome, but without being dependent on them.

A book?

The most widely read book in the world: the Bible.

How have you reinvented yourselves this year to serve the faithful?

This year of pandemic has been a time of accelerated learning for which we have had some technological bases that have helped us. Some of the keys are:

Communication and transparency to involve people.

Assistance in the use of digital technologies.

Document digitalization and computer applications to work on-line.

Contacts and databases for communication with loyal customers.

Use of media, social networks, streaming broadcasts.

Meetings, online training and teleworking.

In general, adapting to the new situation from all parishes and diocesan institutions, without losing personal contact with those most in need.

Why is it so hard for us to adapt to change?

Because changes create insecurity, but they are necessary to move forward. Many times we change because we are forced by the situations we live in, but it is better to anticipate events so that we will be prepared to respond to new needs that arise.

It is difficult for us to adapt to changes because they create insecurity, but they are necessary to move forward.

José María ZiarrustaManager of the Diocese of Bilbao

How does a treasurer evangelize, always among the material?

Like everyone else, sharing your faith, from your daily practice. The material or the economy is not the important thing, but it is a necessary means that is at the service of evangelization. The way you obtain economic resources and the way you manage them is also a way of living your faith.

Does God need money to build the Kingdom?

God surely does not need it, but for people, today it is necessary to have economic resources to develop the pastoral and evangelizing task and not only with money, but with our time and our knowledge. It is an exercise of co-responsibility.

What have you enjoyed the most during these months?

There is a phrase that I like "don't waste a good crisis". Crises make us reflect and I think this pandemic has taught us many things. Apart from what we have learned, I liked the involvement and commitment of people in all areas. Many times the irresponsible behavior of a few people hides the good work of the great majority and we have seen that a crisis like the one we are living has activated many people to collaborate to reduce its effects, also collaborating in helping others.

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Books

Faith and dialogue with Christ

César Franco's new book aptly uses the dialogues of Jesus with some of his contemporaries to speak to the reader, who is encouraged to accept the challenge of faith.

Andrés García Serrano-April 15, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsImage pedagogyRelated NewsThe University of Navarra publishes an audio book of the BibleRelated News"I wanted to explain what it's like to feel like a foreigner in a big city."

Independently of the typically Johannine vocabulary ("to know, to bear witness, to abide, truth, glory", etc.), one of the main characteristics of the composition of the IV Gospel, unlike the Synoptics, is the presence of frequent dialogues of Jesus with different characters, dialogues that sometimes end with a monologue of Jesus. Precisely for this reason, the commentators of the Gospel according to John call Jesus "the master of dialogue", since he very often dialogues during the day, as with the Samaritan woman, or during the night, as with Nicodemus.

Book

TitleThe challenge of faith
AuthorCésar Franco
Editorial: Encounter
Pages: 201
Year: 2021

This characteristic of the Gospel according to John is rightly emphasized by the author of this monograph, who takes advantage of the dialogues of Jesus with different characters to dialogue with and challenge the reader. Just as Jesus tries to lead his contemporaries to faith, the author helps the reader to embrace faith.

Indeed, "the challenge of faith" runs through the entire book, from its first page to its last. Faith comes from listening and César Franco aptly uses the dialogues of Jesus with some of his contemporaries to speak to the reader, encouraging him to accept not only the challenge of faith, but also the very dynamics of faith, to accept Jesus in his full identity and truth, as the different dimensions of Jesus come to the fore in his dialogues.  

In this sense, César Franco uses all the tools that pragmalinguistics offers. That is to say, he analyzes the linguistic expressions, which try to appeal not only to Jesus' interlocutor, but also to John's interlocutor, that is, the reader of all times. In this way, the author, being faithful to the biblical narrative, exhibits, once again, his pastoral dimension, making the Word of God effective in the heart of every reader. 

In addition, the author naturally engages in another type of dialogue, the dialogue between word and answer, between Revelation and Tradition. In the opinion of J. Ratzinger, in his famous article "Wort und Antwort", the key to human exegesis lies in this dialogue between the Word that God has pronounced and the response that this Word has provoked when it was received, especially in the first Christian generations.

In fact, without this response, no communication would be possible, since all communication requires both a sender who transmits it and a receiver who receives it. This is what is usually called "reception history". Very often, the author brings in apt texts from the Fathers of the Church, which help to extract all the spiritual dimensions present in the Johannine text. 

St. Cyril of Jerusalem defined the Gospel according to St. John as "the spiritual Gospel", underlining the particular character of this Gospel because of its theological depth. However, we often find commentaries on it that are not very spiritual, that leave the soul cold. It is striking that from such a spiritual text such unspiritual commentaries are born. This is not the case here. The easy and profound pen, to which we are accustomed by the author, extracts the theological and spiritual consequences of such a lofty text. 

Origen already affirmed that "no one can grasp the meaning of John's Gospel unless he has rested on the breast of Jesus". The author of this commentary certainly encourages the reader to rest his head on the Master's breast in order to "embrace Jesus," which is the essence of the act of faith, according to the famous definition of St. Irenaeus. In this sense, this book helps us to have the same experience as those who were able to see, hear and touch Jesus, in order to be able to embrace him in all his truth, that is, to believe in him.

The authorAndrés García Serrano

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Cinema

Minari. Love is for everyone

In the Omnes film section we review Minari, the latest film by Lee Isaac Chung.

Patricio Sánchez-Jáuregui-April 15, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
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Minari

Original title: Minari
AddressLee Isaac Chung
ScriptLee Isaac Chung
Country and year: United States, 2020

Lee Isaac Chung (1978), American director of immigrant parents, takes another step forward in his eminently social filmmaking career with Minari. His career has been acclaimed and awarded since the release of his first film, Munyurangabo, where he already laid the foundations of what would become a filmmaking committed to the deepest aspects of life. Awarded at Sundance and with six nominations for the 2021 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor (Yeun), Minari is a strong bet for a sensitive, polished script and great performances. 

After a decade working along the West Coast, the Yi family moves to Arkansas, where the father seeks to fulfill his dreams: to buy and farm land so he can set up on his own. This will plunge us deep into the psyche of the father, a brilliant Steven Yeun who plays Jacob, a man as patriarchal as his name, proud and rational. This character will be torn between his pride, his dreams and keeping his marriage to Han Ye-ri, which breaks lances in favor of sanity and rescue the lost confidence in her husband. And this is, in the director's words, the main theme: the story of a marriage. Their life will change even more with the arrival of her mother, an intelligent and plain mother-in-law who takes life with philosophy, being a source of inexhaustible affection. 

Minari is an American feature film written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung. It is a semi-biographical drama about marriage, the struggle for dreams, the search for roots and the importance of family. It highlights uprootedness and the search for community. In this vein, the Church plays an important role, but he confines it to a communal role, along the lines of Byung-Chul Han's philosophical collectivism. Within marriage he creates a classic situation that pits rationalism and faith against each other, and adds to this superstition, in a struggle where no one wins. He also creates a considerable religious concoction (it makes no difference to go to one church or another, he equates faith with superstition) with some veiled criticism of institutional religions. 

The cinematographic style of the film is well cared for and has a leisurely pace, with instrumental and discreet musical themes by Emile Mosseri (Kajillionaire). A refined and simple shooting style, with a moderate but powerful use of the sequence shot. 

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Latin America

Crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border

Since the beginning of Joe Biden's administration, the number of people trying to reach the United States without the necessary documents has increased dramatically. A number that has led to an overflow in the capacity of the temporary detention centers at the border.

Gonzalo Meza-April 15, 2021-Reading time: 4 minutes
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In recent days, the image of a person throwing two children from the top of the U.S.-Mexico border fence has spread in the media. They were abandoned to their fate. They are just two of the thousands of minors who arrive in U.S. territory undocumented and unaccompanied.

A drastic increase

Since the beginning of President J. Biden's administration, there has been a very dramatic increase in the number of people trying to come to the U.S. without the necessary documents. The largest group is unaccompanied minors. Their parents probably paid thousands of dollars to a "coyote" (human smuggler) to take them with other family members into U.S. territory. Some arrive at the border, where they are abandoned to their fate or left with adults they do not know. This is the plight of unaccompanied minors at the U.S.-Mexico border. There were almost 19,000 in the month of March alone.

DATO

172.000

undocumented immigrants were intercepted in March.

In recent weeks, undocumented immigration in the U.S. has reached levels not seen in twenty years, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP). As of March, 172,000 people had been intercepted and detained, an increase of more than 71% over the previous month. The majority of these individuals are adults from Mexico and Central America, fleeing violence, poverty, lack of opportunity and natural disasters in their home countries.

Turn of political discourse

This increase in undocumented crossings has many causes, one of them being the new immigration approach of President Biden, who changed the anti-immigration and nativist discourse of Donald Trump for a policy with a "humanitarian spirit". The radical change in the political discourse generated the impression that the new administration was granting possibilities to migrate. 

A good part of the people intercepted at the border without documents are deported (103,900 in March 2021); however, unaccompanied children, by law, cannot be expelled, but must remain in custody until they find relatives or are transferred to specialized child care units. This is a slow bureaucratic process.

An overflow

The drastic increase in these cases has caused an overflow in the capacity of the temporary detention centers at the border. There is an overcrowding of available places. This problem is compounded by the pandemic and the health protocols that must be taken, which further reduces available space. As of mid-March 2021, CBP housed 4,200 children between the ages of 7 and 13 in its temporary detention centers. Other minors are housed in Catholic Charities shelters or other specialized centers in agreement with the authorities.

DATO

4.200

children between the ages of 7 and 13 have been housed in CBP centers in the month of March alone.

To address this crisis, the U.S. federal government has been working with border state authorities to expand the capacity of reception centers and open temporary shelters. It is also working with the Mexican government. President Biden appointed former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Roberta Jacobson as Southern Border Coordinator. And although the official, a career diplomat, will only remain in that position until the end of April, she has undertaken a series of actions to alleviate the crisis, including a visit to Mexico to dialogue with her counterparts and seek solutions to the immigration problem. She was very clear.

"Don't make the trip."

In a March 23 message Jacobson told those intending to migrate irregularly: "Do not come to the border. The border is closed. People who attempt to travel to the United States irregularly risk becoming victims of crime and human trafficking. It is a dangerous journey. I know many may be enduring pain and hardship, but I must emphasize that the U.S. border is closed. Do not make the journey.

A few weeks later, on April 7, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris held a virtual conversation with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Marcelo Ebrard, Secretary of Foreign Affairs. During the meeting, they discussed measures to address the migration phenomenon in order to promote safe, orderly and legal migration. They also discussed economic cooperation projects for southern Mexico and Central America. Both governments agreed on the urgency of implementing emergency humanitarian aid programs in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador in order to prevent the emigration of nationals from those countries to the North. 

Bishops alert

Faced with this humanitarian crisis, the Mexican and U.S. bishops of the border dioceses expressed their concern about the events and called for solutions that preserve life and provide safe and orderly immigration. The prelates of both nations urged political leaders and civil society to work together to welcome and integrate immigrants while respecting their dignity and preserving family unity.

"We ask that special attention be given to particularly vulnerable populations, such as children. We strongly urge that structures be put in place and reforms in our laws to promote a welcoming culture for migrants, while respecting sovereignty and security in our countries. We pledge our continued support for the efforts of our respective governments to protect and care for families, as well as individuals, who feel compelled to migrate. To accomplish this, we commit ourselves to the ongoing work of Catholic organizations on the border and in other places that are generously served by lay, consecrated and clergy."

We strongly urge the implementation of structures and reforms in our laws to promote a welcoming culture for migrants.

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

A fundamental problem

The border problem and its dramas will not be resolved in a few weeks. In the meantime, we will continue to witness tragic images of children abandoned at the border. The U.S. immigration system stopped working decades ago. It can be temporarily contained and alleviated with the help of both governments, civil and religious associations. It is not a matter of walls, nor of shelters, nor of successful bilateral meetings. It is a fundamental problem that has to do with the identity, the past and the future of the United States as a country. Solving it requires economic and political capital that no party or civic leader is willing to pay for at this time.  

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Spain

"We have to have the courage to explain faith."

Tracey Rowland, theologian and professor at the University of Notre Dame in Australia, together with Professor Pablo Blanco of the University of Navarra, was the main speaker at the Omnes Forum, held on the morning of April 14.

Maria José Atienza-April 14, 2021-Reading time: 6 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsOriginal paper by Dr. Tracey Rowland in Omnes. Contemporary theology and cultureRelated NewsContemporary Theology and Culture. Dr. Rowland's presentation at the Omnes Forum.Related News"If Catholics take on fads, they become mere 'children of their times'."

Tracey Rowlandwinner of the Ratzinger Prize 2020, was the keynote speaker at this meeting in which Pablo BlancoThe forum was introduced and moderated by the priest and professor at the University of Navarra, Spain.

In her speech, after presenting the speaker's curriculum vitae, she emphasized how, with the appearance of the publications "Hochland y Communiothe theological airs are changing. In the Anglo-Saxon sphere, as Rowland proposes, the theological Radical OrthodoxyRadical Orthodoxy, a movement that emerged in Cambridge in the nineties of the last century, and which proposed something as unenlightened and postmodern as the value of the liturgy as a theological place, among other proposals".

Blanco also pointed out that "Tracey Rowland reminds us that Joseph Ratzinger's proposal is not only a Christianization of culture, but a 'Trinitarianization' of it: a Trinitarian reading of culture".

Hochlandan integrating vision

The 2020 Ratzinger Prize in Theology, Tracey Rowland, began his speech by recalling how the relationship and interest between theology and culture dates back to the last years of the 19th century and, especially, to the beginning of the 20th century with the founding of the magazine Hochland by Carl Muth who sought to achieve in Germany what he had experienced in France where "believing Catholics moved with great freedom in the intellectual elite of the country, participating in the great discussions as equal partners". HochlandThe magazine, Professor Rowland recalled, "was published between 1903 and 1971 with a five-year closure between 1941-46 due to Nazi opposition to its editorial line.

Hochland differed from other Catholic journals in that it published articles from across the spectrum of the humanities, not only essays on theology and philosophy, but works on art, literature, history, politics and music. It was, then, one of the first attempts to offer reflections on cultural life through the lens of theology and philosophy and other humanities disciplines." A publication, as Rowland defined it, "open to the integration of disciplines and a worldview composed of multidisciplinary elements".

"Hochland was one of the first attempts to offer reflections on cultural life through the lens of theology."

Tracey Rowland. Ratzinger Prize 2020

Communio: International Review

Hochland would be the precursor of Communio: International Review, founded by Hans Urs von Balthasar, Henri Lubac and Joseph Ratzinger, of which one of its distinctive features is "its attention to the relationship between faith and culture and the offer of theological analyses of contemporary cultural phenomena". Racey Rowland has pointed out "the close synergy between the line of Communio and the movement of the Radical Orthodoxy (Radical Orthodoxy)", to which names such as John Milbank, Catherine Pickstock or Graham Ward belong.

Magazine: Communio: International Review
FoundersHans Urs von Balthasar, Henri Lubac, Joseph Ratzinger
Starting year: 1972

Both these and the drivers of Communio "they want to dialogue with culture, but "they refuse to dialogue with culture in non-theological terms." In this line, Rowland has taken up the affirmation of Bishop Robert Barron, of Los Angeles, that "when it comes to thinking about the relationship between theology and culture, the most fundamental question is that of whether Christ positions culture or whether culture positions Christ".

"Ratzinger - Dr. Rowland continued - advocates a complete Trinitarian transformation of culture, not only a Christological transformation, but a Trinitarian transformation. One finds the fundamental principle of this transformation expressed in the document 'The Trinitarian Transformation of Culture'.Faith and Inculturation'.published by the International Theological Commission then under the direction of Ratzinger".

Rowland has brought up Aidan Nichols OP's expression, "Trinitaria cabs".to describe "how the domains of culture can be appropriated by the different Persons of the Trinity" so that "cultures can be analyzed theologically by asking questions such as: what are the origins and goals of this culture? How are the elements that make up the culture integrated or related to each other? And, what spirituality/ies governs the moral ethos of this culture?

The mass man and evangelization

The names of Christopher Dawson and Romano Guardini are key in the development of these concepts. Especially Guardini, Rowland has continued, some of whose works "especially his Letters from Lake Como, The end of the modern world y Freedom, grace and destinyexplain how the culture of modernity has the shape of the machine and how the mass mandisconnected from the culture of the Incarnation, has become culturally impoverished by systematically lowering its spiritual horizons". Rowland has underlined how in his work "''The end of the modern worldGuardini established a connection between the character of the mass man and the problems of evangelization in the contemporary world. He described the mass man as an unwilling person, vulnerable to ideological manipulation, and identified the cause of this disposition as a causal relationship between the lack of a fruitful and elevated culture."

Rowland has pointed out another theological element of the Trinitarian transformation of culture present in Guardini's work: the precedence of the Logos at ethos. For this theologian, the opposite fact, i.e., the priority of the ethos on the Logos is the cause of what he knew as the pathological dimensions of the culture of modernity. "Once the importance of ontology is denied there is no way to link the faculties of the human soul such as intellect, memory, will, imagination and the heart understood as the point of integration of all these faculties with the theological virtues (faith, hope and love) and the transcendental properties of being (truth, beauty, goodness and unity)."

The trinitarian transformation of culture

"If the human person is made in the image of God to grow in the likeness of Christ, then Trinitarian theology is absolutely foundational to any theology of the human person and any theology of culture." Rowland has not denied that "although the the theology of culture of Joseph Ratzinger and his colleagues of Communio could be described as 'principles for a Trinitarian transformation of culture', and while there may be many aspects of this theology that are shared with scholars in Radical Orthodoxy circles who come from Reformed ecclesial communities, there are, nevertheless, alternative and indeed antithetical approaches to the relationship between theology and culture currently in the 'marketplace' such as the correlationist theology promoted by Edward Schillebeeckx.

The professor of the University of Notre Dame also referred to the positions developed by Hans Urs von Balthasar, a follower of Guardini, contrary to the notions of correlationism since it presupposes an extrinsic relationship between Christ and the world while, according to Urs von Balthasar: "Christians do not need to reconcile Christ and the world with each other, nor mediate between Christ and the world: Christ himself is the only mediation and reconciliation. He also recalled another criticism of this theologian, what he called the "distillation of values" and which refers to a process that "distills" so-called Christian values and "sells" them to the world "without burdening non-Christians with the theological beliefs from which the values were distilled. once the so-called 'values' have been distilled from Christian doctrines, they tend to 'mutate', take on new meanings and serve anti-Christian ends. Numerous scholars have pointed to the fact that the most violent forms of anti-Christian ideology are always parasitic on Christian teaching."

The iconoclastic danger

Rowland has dwelt, finally, on what "Ratzinger calls the danger of 'iconoclasm'. It is the fear of affirming beauty and high culture. An idea that Tracey Rowland recalled "has had a strong presence in Protestant theology. In this sense: "beauty and high culture were associated with Baroque and Counter-Reformation Catholicism, and since Baroque scholasticism was not fashionable, everything that went with Baroque scholasticism became unfashionable. In some parts of the Catholic world this included solemn liturgy and its replacement with what Ratzinger calls 'parish tea party liturgy'. In other parts of the Catholic world, solemn liturgy and beautiful ecclesiastical furnishings, vestments and sacred vessels, became associated with the world of upper class Catholicism and were considered incompatible with the preferential option for the poor". This iconoclasm "is not a Christian option, as Ratzinger declared, since the Incarnation means that the invisible God enters the visible world".

"The theological vision of Communio circles works for a new Trinitarian transformation of all dimensions of our culture."

Tracey Rowland

"The theological vision of the circles of Communio"Rowland concluded, is "not to lower the horizons of faith to the dimensions of mass culture nor to enter into the counterproductive process of distilling Christian values from Christian doctrine, but to work for a new Trinitarian transformation of all the dimensions of our culture".

The meeting closed with a lively colloquium between spectators and speakers in which topics such as the "re-contextualization" of faith in the culture of post-modernity, the role of the media in this relationship between theology and culture or the consistency of proposals such as those of the recently deceased Hans Küng with his world ethics were discussed.

Regarding the relationship between social theories and theology, Professor Rowland pointed out during the colloquium that the necessary role of these theories must be recognized. However, in accordance with the thesis that it is Christ who "positions" culture and not the latter to Christ, the tradition of faith cannot be left aside when evaluating them. The Lord himself sent the disciples to convert everyone, and not simply to compare the values of different religious groups. "Faith is not just another commodity in the marketplace," Rowland said. Therefore, "if the Catholic intellectual elite simply assume fashionable beliefs, the end result would be that Catholics would become children of their time, and nothing more. They would lose their connection to the truth, and that would be a terrible tragedy, especially for the younger generation. We have to have the courage to explain the faith."

 

RelatedRelated NewsOriginal paper by Dr. Tracey Rowland in Omnes. Contemporary theology and cultureRelated NewsContemporary Theology and Culture. Dr. Rowland's presentation at the Omnes Forum.Related News"If Catholics take on fads, they become mere 'children of their times'."
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The Vatican

Pope assures that teaching how to pray is an essential task of the Church

Pope Francis reflected on the Church as a teacher of prayer, and affirmed that "without faith, everything collapses; and without prayer, faith is extinguished." 

David Fernández Alonso-April 14, 2021-Reading time: 5 minutes
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This morning's General Audience was held at 9:15 a.m., as usual, in the Library of the Vatican Apostolic Palace. We miss those audiences with the public, in which the Pope personally addresses the faithful gathered in the Paul VI Hall or in St. Peter's Square.

The Pope, continuing the cycle of catecheses on prayer, focused his meditation on the theme: "The Church, Teacher of Prayer". After summarizing his catechesis in the different languages, the Holy Father addressed special greetings to the faithful of different languages. The General Audience concluded with the recitation of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic Blessing.

The Church is a teacher of prayer

"The Church is a great school of prayer," Francis began. "Many of us have learned to say our first prayers from the knees of our parents or grandparents. Perhaps we cherish the memory of our mother and father, who taught us to say our prayers before going to bed. Those moments of recollection are often those in which parents listen to some intimate confidences of their children and can give their Gospel-inspired advice. Then, along the path of growth, there are other encounters, with other witnesses and teachers of prayer (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2686-2687). It is good to remember them.

"The life of a parish and of every Christian community is marked by the times of liturgy and community prayer. That gift which we received in childhood with simplicity, we realize that it is a great patrimony, a very rich patrimony, and that it must be deepened in the experience of prayer more and more (cf. ibid., 2688). The garment of faith is not starched, it develops with us; it is not rigid, it grows, even through moments of crisis and resurrection; in fact, you cannot grow without moments of crisis, because crisis makes you grow: it is a necessary form of growth to enter into crisis".

Prayer is our strength

"And the breath of faith is prayer: we grow in faith as much as we learn to pray. After certain passages of life, we realize that without faith we would not have been able to move forward and that prayer has been our strength. Not only personal prayer, but also that of our brothers and sisters, and that of the community that has accompanied and supported us, that of the people who know us, that of the people we ask to pray for us".

Without faith, everything collapses; and without prayer, faith is extinguished. Faith and prayer, together. There is no other way. Therefore, the Church, which is the home and school of communion, is the home and school of faith and prayer.

Pope FrancisGeneral Audience of April 14, 2021

"For this reason too," the Pontiff continues, emphasizing the Church's teaching on prayer, "communities and groups dedicated to prayer are continually springing up in the Church. Some Christians even feel the call to make prayer the principal activity of their day. In the Church there are monasteries, convents and hermitages where people consecrated to God live and which often become centers of spiritual irradiation. They are communities of prayer that radiate spirituality. They are small oases where intense prayer is shared and fraternal communion is built day by day. They are vital cells, not only for the fabric of the Church, but also for society itself. Think, for example, of the role that monasticism has played in the birth and growth of European civilization, and in other cultures as well. Praying and working in community moves the world forward. It is a driving force.

Where is the prayer?

"Everything in the Church is born in prayer, and everything grows in prayer. When the Enemy, the Evil One, wants to fight against the Church, he does it first of all by trying to dry up her sources, by preventing her from praying. For example, we see it in certain groups that agree to carry out ecclesial reforms, changes in the life of the Church... There are all the organizations, there are the media that inform everyone... But prayer is not seen, it is not prayed. "We have to change this, we have to make this decision that is a bit strong...". It is interesting the proposal, it is interesting, only with the discussion, only with the media, but where is the prayer?"

"Prayer is what opens the door to the Holy Spirit, who inspires us to move forward. Changes in the Church without prayer are not changes in the Church, they are changes in the group. And when the Enemy - as I said - wants to fight the Church, he does it first of all by trying to dry up its sources, by preventing it from praying, and [by making it] make these other proposals. If prayer ceases, for a while it seems that everything can go on as usual - by inertia - but before long the Church realizes that it has become an empty shell, that it has lost its backbone, that it no longer possesses the source of warmth and love."

The Pope reflected on the life of the saints: "Holy men and women do not have an easier life than others; on the contrary, they also have their own problems to face and, what is more, they are often the object of opposition. But their strength is prayer, which they always draw from the inexhaustible "well" of Mother Church. With prayer they feed the flame of their faith, as was done with the oil of the lamps. And so they go forward, walking in faith and hope. The saints, who often count for little in the eyes of the world, are in reality those who sustain it, not with the weapons of money and power, of the media and so on, but with the weapons of prayer".

The oil of prayer

"The lamp of the Church's true faith will always be lit on earth as long as the oil of prayer exists. It is what carries the faith and carries our poor, weak and sinful life, but prayer carries it surely. It is a question we Christians must ask ourselves: do I pray? do we pray? how do I pray? like parrots or do I pray with my heart? how do I pray? do I pray sure that I am in the Church and do I pray with the Church, or do I pray a little according to my ideas and let my ideas become prayer? This is a pagan prayer, not a Christian prayer. I repeat: we can conclude that the lamp of faith will always be lit on earth as long as there is the oil of prayer".

Praying and teaching to pray

And almost in conclusion, Francis affirmed that "this is an essential task of the Church: to pray and to teach how to pray".

"Transmit from generation to generation the lamp of faith with the oil of prayer. The lamp of faith that illuminates, that really puts things right as they are, but that can only go on with the oil of prayer. If not, it goes out. Without the light of this lamp, we could not see the way to evangelize, indeed, we could not see the way to believe well; we could not see the brotherly faces to approach and serve; we could not illuminate the room where we gather in community... Without faith, everything collapses; and without prayer, faith is extinguished. Faith and prayer, together. There is no other way. Therefore, the Church, which is the home and school of communion, is the home and school of faith and prayer".

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Sunday Readings

Readings for Sunday III of Easter

Andrea Mardegan comments on the readings for Sunday III of Easter and Luis Herrera offers a brief video homily. 

Andrea Mardegan-April 14, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

The two disciples of Emmaus had experienced Jesus' delicate way of entering into their conversation, and the luminosity of his explanations: what happened to Jesus of Nazareth was in the Scriptures. It is not death and defeat, but life and victory. 

Arriving at the goal, which comes quickly when one goes in good company and conversations are open to a future of hope, they invite him to stay with them because it was getting late. Jesus remains, breaks the bread, distributes it and disappears. Then they understand that he is risen and alive, and the evening is no longer late, and their feet are no longer tired: they fly to give the good news to Peter and the others. They meet their brothers and sisters in faith, no late hour is too late, and they communicate to them their experience of life and salvation. 

Just at that moment, they see Jesus again: in the fraternity of the Church and in communion, He is always present. The first word he says is "peace". He brings peace, and peace is one of the signs of his presence. As happened in the storm on the lake, they are filled with fear and think they see a ghost. A disembodied human spirit is frightening, because we have had no experience of it, and because it suggests death to us. Jesus, almost surprised by their surprise, asks: "Why are you afraid, and why do you admit such thoughts into your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself. Feel me and understand that a spirit has no flesh and bones as you see I have.. And having said this, he showed them his hands and feet.". First they saw, then they touched. The Lord's body is so important that Jesus allows himself to be touched without fear. 

Then, Jesus sees that "they didn't believe because of the joy."Perhaps because we are not used to thinking that such great joy can be true: that our master, who had died, has come back to life. That death has been conquered forever, that the future is the kingdom of life: if we have such joy we are dreaming. 

Then, knowing the great power of communion and the force of reality that eating together has, he asks them for food, they give him a roasted fish and he eats it in front of them. Then he repeats the discourse he made to those at Emmaus, adding quotations from the Psalms. So important is the Scripture, which is quoted three times in a few sentences: "Everything written in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.", "opened their understanding so that they might understand the Scriptures.", "he saith unto them, Thus it is written.". The Scriptures and their prophecies, their living experience and the word of Jesus, make them witnesses of conversion and forgiveness of sins throughout the world. And us with them. 

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ColumnistsAntonio Moreno

The road is life

I remember that voice that told me "the road is a metaphor for life. If you throw in the towel here, you will throw in the towel in life. If you get ahead here, you will get ahead in life". 

April 14, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes

On paper, the Vigo-Redondela stage is relatively easy, but something told me that it was going to be a complicated day. Indeed, the blister on the sole of my foot began to rise and a fine but freezing rain began to overshadow the dreamy and idyllic walk among pines and oaks overlooking the Atlantic. The previous night's dinner had not sat very well and some intestinal sensations made me foresee an emergency stop or two on the way. I cursed the hour when I said yes to that pilgrimage to Santiago.

After a few kilometers, I became detached from the group so that I could only hear my breathing and the slight crackle of fine droplets on the hood of my raincoat.

After a bend where the trail narrowed and the forest thickened, I plunged into a thick fog and instantly heard someone calling my name:

-Psst, stop it!

-Excuse me? -I answered without knowing where to look.

-Can't you see that you are sick, wounded, wet and alone? Nearby there is a bus stop. You take one and in 20 minutes you're at the hostel having a beer.

The voice was very familiar, it reminded me of my best friend from high school. We got to chatting and he seemed, indeed, to have known me all my life. He agreed with me about almost everything and suggested some brilliant solutions to some problems in my life. Suddenly, the fog lifted and, in front of me, the bus stop appeared. What a great sight!  

While I was waiting, I went to a nearby fountain to refill my bottle with fresh water. There was a girl there doing the same thing who, as soon as she saw me, asked me:

-What? Have you had a chat with the voice yet?

-What voice?

-Come on, don't be absent-minded, that voice..." he smiled, tapping his index finger on his temple.

-It is a voice that tells you that suffering is meaningless, that it is not worthwhile to set big goals, that the only thing that counts is to enjoy the here and now, that there are easy solutions for everything... Look, the road is a metaphor for life. If you throw in the towel here, you will throw it in life. If you get ahead here, you'll get ahead in life. Good road! -He said goodbye, threw his backpack over his shoulder again and set off on his way.

Back at the bus stop, the girl's words made me reflect on my lack of faith when things don't go my way. So much so that, when the bus appeared, I let it pass and continued the stage and the road to the end.

Camino santiago

It is time to think about what to do this summer. We must not forget that this year the Holy Year of Compostela and the Holy Year of Guadalupe coincide. Either of these two pilgrimages offer us the possibility of walking in nature without crowds, time to reflect, to put our ideas in order, time to believe... If you are going through a thick cloud, forget other voices and go in search of the voice of the Lord. Perhaps you will hear it, as it happened to me, next to a fountain, on the road of life.

The authorAntonio Moreno

Journalist. Graduate in Communication Sciences and Bachelor in Religious Sciences. He works in the Diocesan Delegation of Media in Malaga. His numerous "threads" on Twitter about faith and daily life have a great popularity.

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Integral ecology

Strong condemnation of euthanasia by Canadian bishops

The Canadian bishops have strongly condemned euthanasia and assisted suicide, rejecting the recent extension of the existing law in the country. It is "a deliberate killing of human life," they say.

Rafael Miner-April 14, 2021-Reading time: 4 minutes
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"Our position remains unequivocal: euthanasia and assisted suicide constitute the deliberate killing of human life in violation of God's commandments; they erode shared dignity by preventing the consideration, acceptance and accompaniment of those who are suffering and dying. Moreover, they undermine the fundamental duty we have to care for the weakest and most vulnerable members of society."

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has thus rejected the recent passage of the nominee bill C-7, known as "Medical Assistance in Dying" (MAiD), which expands the possibility of receiving medical assistance to end life, previously reserved only for those who had "reasonable foresight of natural death."

In fact, the new legislation also includes people who may not be at risk of imminent death, but who have reached a state of "intolerable physical or psychological suffering, due to an incurable illness or disability". The note is dated April 8 and was signed by Archbishop Richard Gagnon, Archbishop of Winnipeg and President of the Canadian Conference of Bishops, on behalf of the members of the Standing Commission, which represents all of the nation's bishops (https://www.cccb.ca/).

Pressures on disabled persons

The text adds that "human life must be protected from conception to natural death, at all stages and under all conditions". The potential pressures that will be placed on people with mental illness or disabilities resulting from legislative changes are all too real, dangerous and potentially destructive."

Canada is one of the few countries in the world to have legalized euthanasia, along with the Netherlands, Colombia and now Spain, as reported by omnesmag.com. Archbishop Gagnon's letter recalls that "just as happened before the 2016 legislation that decriminalized these practices across Canada, the Catholic bishops of Canada have consistently opposed such a law, and more recently its expansion through Bill C-7."

The Catholic Hierarchy shows its support and gratitude to all "compassionate" healthcare workers and volunteers, so that they "continue to defend life, resisting euthanasia and assisted suicide, promoting care for family members, friends and loved ones in their suffering, or assisting the sick and dying."

The president of the Canadian bishops also states that "our advocacy must continue for rapid access to mental health care, social support for people with such illnesses and suicide prevention programs. It must include management and support for people with chronic and/or degenerative illnesses and people living in isolation in our long-term care facilities."

50 religious leaders against

Late last year, more than 50 leaders of religious denominations in Canada demonstrated against this bill. "We feel compelled to express our great concern and opposition to Bill C-7 which, among other things, extends access to euthanasia and assisted suicide to those who are not dying," the representatives of religious traditions stated in a letter, calling for life "to be defended at all costs," Vatican News reported.

"We feel compelled to express our grave concern and opposition to Bill C-7 which, among other things, expands access to euthanasia and assisted suicide to those who are not dying," they wrote." "Our collective reflection centers on the fact that we have come so far as a society, but at the same time have regressed so seriously in the way we treat the weak, the sick and the marginalized."

Moreover, they affirmed the value of the dignity of the human person and the need for palliative care. "We are convinced that a robust palliative care system available to all Canadians is a far more effective response to suffering and in protecting the sacred dignity of the human person; palliative care addresses pain in a loving and caring environment, where people do their best to provide comfort and convenience."

The letter was signed and promoted by the CCCB, Rabbi Reuven P. Bulka, the Canadian Council of Imams, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at Canada.

Bishop Paglia: "to be human".

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, commenting on the approval of the euthanasia law in Spain, said, "We must respond to the spread of a true culture of euthanasia, in Europe and in the world, with a different cultural approach."

"The suffering and despair of the sick," he added, "must not be ignored. But the solution is not to anticipate the end of life. The solution is to deal with physical and psychological suffering. The Pontifical Academy for Life supports the need to spread palliative care, which is not the prelude to euthanasia, but a true palliative culture of care for the whole person, with a holistic approach," the official Vatican agency noted.

"When we can no longer heal, we can always care for people. We should not anticipate the dirty work of death with euthanasia. We must be human, be at the side of those who suffer, not leave them in the hands of a dehumanization of medicine or in the hands of the euthanasia industry," concluded Monsignor Paglia.

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Vocations

Priest Saints: St. Vincent de Paul

The French priest developed a spirituality centered on God, the Church and the poor, and in his works he deals preferentially with ascetic themes. "He was a true giant of charity and a genius of organizational capacity."

Manuel Belda-April 14, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
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Vincent de Paul was born in 1581, in the French village of Pouy, now called Saint-Vincent-de Paul.

Your life

Not much is known about his youth. He was ordained a priest on September 23, 1604, having obtained a bachelor's degree in theology.

He arrived in Paris in 1608 and during the period between 1608 and 1617 underwent a profound inner transformation under the influence of Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle. In 1617 his "conversion" to the unevangelized poor and the most needy took place. 

In 1625, he founded a community of priests dedicated to the evangelization of poor peasants, which responded to a concrete need, since in France at that time 85 % of the population lived in the countryside. This community was also dedicated to the formation of the clergy. He called it Congregation of the MissionIt is popularly known as "Missionaries of St. Vincent", "Vincentians", or "Lazarists" (because the House of St. Lazarus in Paris was the Mother House of the Congregation until the French Revolution). The Congregation was approved by Pope Urban VIII on January 12, 1633, with the Bull Salvatoris nostri.

She also founded, together with St. Louise de Marillac, a women's community of service, named Daughters of Charity.

St. Vincent de Paul was a true giant of charity and a genius of organizational ability. His charitable works were conceived with the strategy of a battle plan. He also had the merit of knowing how to choose and train his collaborators very well.

St. Vincent de Paul died in Paris on September 27, 1660, and was canonized by Clement XII on March 16, 1737. His feast is celebrated on September 27, the anniversary of his death. dies natalis.

His works

His works are collected in the classic edition by P. Coste, Saint Vincent de Paul. Correspondance, entretiens, documents14 volumes, Paris 1920-1925. They are almost exclusively letters and notes taken by those attending his conferences. He wrote about 30,000 letters, of which only 2,500 have come down to us.  

Its spiritual doctrine

It can be affirmed that the spirituality of St. Vincent de Paul was influenced by both Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle and St. Francis de Sales. He elaborates a very personal synthesis of the spiritual doctrine of these two great authors.

Their spirituality is centered on God, the Church and the poor, and deals preferably with ascetic themes: humility, charity, prayer, etc. Its aspiration is to achieve a thorough practice of the Christian virtues in the circumstances of daily life. 

The God he contemplates is the Incarnate Word, whom he sees present in the poor. That is why he writes: "God loves the poor, and therefore loves those who love the poor; for when one loves a person very much, one feels affection also for his friends and servants. Thus, the little company of the Mission tries to dedicate itself with love to the service of the poor, who are God's favorites; for this reason we have reason to hope that, out of love for them, God will love us. Let us dedicate ourselves with renewed love to the service of the poor, indeed, let us seek out the most miserable and abandoned, let us acknowledge before God that they are our masters and that we are not worthy to render them our humble services".

For St. Vincent, his spiritual sons should be "Carthusians at home and apostles in the field. From St. Francis de Sales he takes the idea that perfection does not consist in ecstasies, but in the fulfillment of God's will. According to St. Vincent, "affective" love must become "effective love", which consists in "doing the things that the loved one commands and desires. This is what Our Lord intends to speak of when he says: Si quis diligit me, sermonem meum servabitIf anyone loves me, he will keep my word".

Effective love is the surest proof of all love: "Let us love God, brethren, let us love God, but at the cost of our arms, by the sweat of our brow. For very often so many acts of love, of benevolence, and other similar affections and practices of a tender heart, though they are most good, yet they are suspect when they do not come to the practice of effective love. For many, being full of great sentiments, think they have done everything; and when they find themselves in the occasion to act, they draw back. Many are content with the gentle conversations they have with God in prayer, but when they come out of it, if it is a question of working for God, of suffering, of mortifying themselves, of helping the poor, of seeking the lost sheep, of bearing hardships joyfully, of accepting sickness or any other misfortune, they lack the necessary courage." 

St. Vincent wants his spiritual sons and daughters to be people capable of finding in the service of others what they had had to abandon in prayer: "One does not leave God for God".

The vocation of the Missionary of Charity and of the Daughters of Charity is to love God and to make him loved: "It is not enough for me to love God if my neighbor does not love him". 

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Books

Image pedagogy

The book recommended by Julio de la Vega-Hazas is an open door to the detailed examination of all the wealth enclosed in the stained glass windows of the cathedral of Segovia.

Julio de la Vega-Hazas-April 13, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsTraining, the task of a lifetimeRelated News"I wanted to explain what it's like to feel like a foreigner in a big city."Related NewsThe University of Navarra publishes an audio book of the Bible

We live in a new digital era, in which images are largely replacing the written word as a method of learning. But while the technology may be new, this pedagogy is by no means new. In a world where only a part of the population knew how to read, from the Middle Ages onwards the temples took on the task of catechesis through images. If in the Romanesque, in addition to sculpture, this was done mainly with mural paintings, in the Gothic it was transferred to stained glass, with the advantage for us that these are much better preserved. And, as it could not be otherwise, the stained glass windows of the cathedrals stand out by far - for their number and quality. 

The cathedral of Segovia is one of the best examples of this catechesis of the image. Its late Gothic style leaves many spaces for the stained glass windows. At the same time, the date of its completion meant that the stained glass windows are of a later style -mainly Mannerist-, with the consequent improvement in the quality of the images and the leaded glass. And Segovia took good advantage of it, with a significant economic effort for the time. In its windows we find a magnificent journey through the Old Testament, through the life of the Lord, through the figure of the Virgin Mary, through a selection of the Fathers of the Church (the representation of Tradition could not be missing at a time of counter-reformation). 

Book

TitleThe light of the mysteries. Stained glass windows of the Cathedral of Segovia.
AuthorJosé Miguel Espinosa Sarmiento
EditorialArtiSplendore : ArtiSplendore
Pages: 158
Year: 2019

This book, authored by José Miguel Espinosa, canon of the cathedral of Segovia, is an open door to the detailed examination of all that wealth enclosed in its stained glass windows. Its main success, as noted in his prologue the Bishop of Segovia, D. Cesar Franco, is that it does not focus on the historical and artistic study of the same, although not lacking the corresponding references, but in its meaning and what they want to convey. In other words, Espinosa recreates the catechesis that was intended to be given with the images and, in doing so, provides the most substantial part of their historical value. 

One by one, the images parade through its more than 150 pages, with color photographs of very good resolution (some of them needed the help of a drone to obtain the required quality). And, next to each one, its explanation, its teaching, its meaning, not only as a singular work but also in its role within the whole. 

Those who get their hands on a copy, especially if they acquire it during a leisurely visit to this magnificent cathedral, will be able to learn - and take away with them - not only a historical explanation of the stained glass windows and their value, but above all a catechesis, which, added together, turns out to be surprisingly complete.

The authorJulio de la Vega-Hazas

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The Vatican

More than thirty new recruits for the Swiss Guard

The traditional swearing-in ceremony for the new recruits of the Pontifical Swiss Guard will be held on May 6, in compliance with health restrictions.

David Fernández Alonso-April 13, 2021-Reading time: < 1 minute
RelatedRelated NewsGeorg Gänswein: "Benedict XVI prays for the universal Church".Related NewsNew bishop in Switzerland, ordained on St. Joseph's Day

Due to the current situation of the coronavirus pandemic, and in agreement with the superiors of the Swiss Guard, the traditional act of solemn oath of the Pontifical Swiss Guard will be held without external public and in accordance with the protection norms in force.

Therefore, 34 Guardsmen will take their solemn oath, according to tradition, on May 6, 2021 before their parents and siblings. In addition to them, representatives of the Swiss Confederation and the Swiss Army, the Swiss Episcopal Conference and the Foundations of the Pontifical Swiss Guard will also be present.

DATO

34

new Swiss Guardsmen will be sworn in on May 6.

As communicated by the press representative of the Swiss Guard Corps, external guests will not be able to attend. On the other hand, the Holy Mass in the morning and the Oath of Allegiance in the afternoon will be broadcast live.

On Thursday, May 6, 2021, at 7:30 a.m., Holy Mass will begin with the Guards taking the Oath in St. Peter's Basilica. At 5:00 p.m., the Oath Ceremony will take place in the Cortile San Damaso, which in case of bad weather will be moved to the Paul VI Hall.

A more detailed announcement will be provided at a later date, with information on which guards will be sworn in and how the ceremony can be followed.

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Omnes-April 13, 2021-Reading time: < 1 minute

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Initiatives

Torreciudad: from the 11th to the 21st century

The current sanctuary of Torreciudad in Huesca was inaugurated in 1975. From this corner located at the gates of the Pyrenees, a devotion of the eleventh century continues and spreads throughout the world, which enters the twenty-first century taking advantage of all the technical and digital possibilities of our time.

Maria José Atienza-April 13, 2021-Reading time: 5 minutes

Nestled along the Cinca River, the sanctuary of Our Lady of the Angels of Torreciudad has been, for ten centuries, a center of faith and Marian devotion. Throughout her life, many people have turned to the intercession of Our Lady under this invocation. Her devotion spread, especially after the construction of the new sanctuary promoted by St. Josemaría Escrivá, which opened its doors in 1975.  

Torreciudad is now a large space that integrates faith, culture, ecology and education. The sanctuary and its surroundings have been renovated, both in its facilities and in new projects such as mobile applications, to offer visitors a complete and up-to-date faith experience. All this with a double objective, as Antonio Qintana, Torreciudad's Development Director, points out: "To adapt the Shrine to the pilgrim of today and to facilitate an authentic and personal experience of encounter with Our Lady. And at the same time, to make possible what the Holy Father indicates that shrines should be: a place of consolation.". 

St. Josemaría Escrivá inherited the Marian devotion that, for almost a thousand years, has led thousands of people to pray before the image of Our Lady of the Angels of Torreciudad. His impulse for the new shrine sought to "The Virgin will want to give all those who come to visit this millenary image an abundance of graces. And this is what we see here every day. On the other hand, we have to make understandable and palpable all this spiritual wealth that is manifested in each brick of the sanctuary and, therefore, we have applied a new museography and help anyone to capture that personal encounter with the Virgin", Quintana stresses. 

The new areas of Torreciudad

Live the experience of faith

The space Live the experience of faith is located in a space on level -1 under the esplanade. This space offers the visitor a surprising multimedia immersion in which, through 5 areas, various questions and reflections on the great issues of human life are posed: God, freedom, happiness, the Virgin Mary, love... All this to explain the nature of the sanctuary and facilitate an experience of inner renewal. 

The space Live the experience of faith. Photo: © ganasdevivir.es

The "video-mapping" of the altarpiece

One of the most characteristic elements of the new sanctuary of Torreciudad is its altarpiece, made in alabaster by the sculptor Joan Mayné and whose images represent different moments in the life of the Virgin Mary. In the center of the altarpiece is the same Romanesque carving of Our Lady of Torreciudad that was in the old chapel, as well as the tabernacle.

A moment of the "video-mapping" of the altarpiece.

The current possibilities have given rise to a mapping, respectful of the presence of the Blessed Sacrament in the altarpiece, which narrates, in the form of a dialogue between Our Lady and St. Josemaría, the different scenes that make up this altarpiece. The basic idea of this great audiovisual projection is love and the different ways in which it manifests itself: through service, sacrifice, work and dedication. 

"An ancient devotion"

The exhibition space has also undergone changes in recent years. An ancient devotion. The old historical exhibition on Torreciudad has completely renewed its contents and has opted for an interactive presentation in dialogue with the visitor. The tour begins with the medieval origins of the devotion to Our Lady of Torreciudad, a Romanesque carving of great beauty and serenity in which the Child is shown seated on the knees of his Mother as if on a throne, and which was enthroned in 1084. The written, photographic, infographic and audiovisual information of these ten centuries of devotion is combined with agility to provide an attractive and lasting experience of knowledge. 

The Virgin in the center

Another of the spaces that have been renovated in the project of the sanctuary is the gallery of images of the Virgin from all over the world. For decades, groups of pilgrims have been bringing to Torreciudad images of various advocations of Our Lady: from Our Lady of El Rocío, to the Virgin of Guadalupe, etc. This gallery is one of the most valued and visited places of the sanctuary where pilgrims can contemplate a wide selection of images grouped according to geographical and mariological criteria. They also have at their disposal two large touch screens where they can search for photographs of the rest of the Patronesses that have been delivered to the sanctuary over the years. 

The sanctuary is part, along with the sanctuaries of Pilar, Lourdes, Meritxell (Andorra) and Montserrat, of the well-known "Marian Route". It is one of the most important religious tourism destinations in Europe and forms a route that combines culture and devotion, art and spirituality, and nature.

Marian devotion also gave rise, in 2002, to the Mariological Institute of Torreciudad, fruit of an agreement between the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarra and the Patronage of Torreciudad. Its purpose is to promote Mariological studies and to contribute, from a scientific perspective, to the dissemination of Marian devotion, and its main activity is the publication of the yearbook Scripta de Maria.

The sanctuary on the cell phone 

Entering the Sanctuary of Torreciudad is now much easier and interactive thanks to its mobile application. It is a complete guide designed to facilitate the preparation and the maximum use of the visit. Pilgrims and visitors can easily access information and photographs of all the places of interest in Torreciudad. With the GPS and Bluetooth functions activated, the application itself informs the user about what is being contemplated in each place.

The application is especially useful in those parts of the sanctuary with images based on Christian devotions, such as the mysteries of the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross or the Sorrows and joys of St. Joseph, which are scattered throughout the environment. For these pious exercises, texts are offered that help to meditate on these scenes and to dedicate some time to prayer. It also explains how to live the custom of lighting candles to the Virgin and tying ribbons next to her image, both traditional acts of the visits to the sanctuaries of the Virgin. 

The sanctuary of Torreciudad receives, every year, thousands of people from all over the world who come to the feet of the Virgin on pilgrimage, convivences or private visits. The Family Days are especially well known, at the beginning of September, when hundreds of families gather at the sanctuary. With the arrival of the pandemic, "MisaTorreciudad" became one of the main Google searches. Thanks to the digital media, thousands of people continued their life of piety with daily or Sunday Mass from the Shrine. Antonio Quintana recalls that "Before the confinement, we had already set up the streaming system to make it easier for people with disabilities to participate in the Mass. When the total confinement came, we arranged things so that we could offer several Masses a day. The Council of European Bishops' Conferences took notice as we were one of the few to offer it in streaming, reaching more than 2.5 million people. Later, thank God, other parishes and shrines joined in, expanding the offer so that anyone who wanted to could attend, even virtually. It was overwhelming to see the church closed and empty, but at the same time, knowing that millions of people were listening to us and that we were giving a great service to the Church. We still continue to do so, especially for the countries of South America that still live in severe confinement. We have received many messages every day of gratitude and conversions, of return to Christian practice and of desires to come, as soon as possible, to thank Our Lady for so many favors. The Virgin of Torreciudad, even telematically, always showers her graces.".

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Spain

The bells tolled in the face of depopulation. What now?

Numerous temples in Aragon, Extremadura and Castilian towns rang their bells at the end of March to make visible the "emptied Spain". Now it is time to go deeper into the messages.

Rafael Miner-April 13, 2021-Reading time: 5 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsPastoral care in a hollowed-out Spain. Diary of a Serrano priest

The objective was to make visible the problem of an emptied Spain, wounded by depopulation and abandonment. And the bells of the churches of Zaragoza, including the Basilica del Pilar, rang for five minutes in the middle of Holy Week, on March 31, in solidarity with the social platforms that denounce the situation in which the villages of the so-called 'emptied Spain' find themselves.

Bishop Carlos Escribano had requested a ringing of bells in the parishes of the diocese, coinciding with the second anniversary of the demonstration that a year ago went through the streets of Madrid, A ringing of bells to make visible the problem of depopulation in the rural world.

The Archbishop of Saragossa has stated that he continues to "very current" the pastoral letter Nazareth was a small townpublished by the bishops of the six Aragonese dioceses in December 2019, on the Church in Aragon at the service of the rural world.

"The joys and hopes, the sorrows and anxieties of the people of our time, especially the poor and those who suffer, are at the same time the joys and hopes, the sorrows and anxieties of the disciples of Christ," wrote Bishop Escribano, recalling the message of the Second Vatican Council.

Alert also in Extremadura, León and Zamora

The ringing of the Aragonese bells was preceded by those of the parishes of the ecclesiastical province of Merida-Badajoz, which joined the request made by the bishops of the dioceses of Extremadura to ring the bells at 11 o'clock on Easter Monday, the 29th, as a sign of alert to reflect on the situation of the emptied Extremadura.

With the bells, the Archbishop of Merida-Badajoz, Celso Morga; the Bishop of Plasencia, José Luis Retana, and the diocesan administrator of Coria-Cáceres, Diego Zambrano, called to "analyze our reality and to organize ourselves to influence it," they said in the note that was read out over the weekend in the parishes. Two of the temples that rang their bells were the Co-cathedral of Santa Maria and the Basilica of Santa Eulalia in Merida (Badajoz), among many others.

Extremadura is one of the Spanish regions with the highest number of "calls for special attention", The note points out, which offered, for example, these data: "37.7 % of the population lives at risk of poverty, being the region with the lowest income in the whole country, with 115,455 people at the bottom of the unemployment line"..

On the other hand, the text stressed the idea that "our towns are aging, with hardly any children or young people; the countryside is increasingly suffocating", and "we are an empty space for communications (internet, highways, trains). A total of 88 municipalities have lost a quarter of their population".

The bishops of Extremadura look at "this situation with realism, but also with Christian hope, which is not overcome by pessimism, and from our ecclesial mission we want to give positive and hopeful answers to this situation". And they encourage to work "some from the faith, which moves us to work for the Kingdom of God; others, from their human values. And all of us as part of this land that suffers, but that has so many resources to get out of its situation, that can put into action so many capacities. It has so much future to build"..

On that day, parishes of Castilian municipalities also made their presence felt. The bells of several towns of León rang on the 31st in Villavante and in other towns such as Valderrey, Santa Marina de Torre, Celadilla del Páramo, Villares de Órbigo, Villarejo de Órbigo, San Andrés de las Fuentes, etc., and the bells were also heard in more than a hundred towns in the counties of Zamora.

Pastoral responses

In Spain there are approximately 8,130 municipalities[MRB1]  according to official data at the end of 2019, and slightly more than 23,000 parishes, according to the report of the Episcopal Conference. And the problems of the 'emptied Spain', largely due to the low birth rate and the emigration of young people to the cities, do not remain in the civil and economic sphere.

More from the half of the villages in Spain have less than one thousand inhabitantsA good part of them are at risk of immediate depopulation, but the Church is not abandoning these small, aging rural communities and is studying the possibility of implementing new formulas for pastoral care.

As Juan Carlos Mateos, director of the secretariat of the Episcopal Commission for the Clergy and Seminaries of the Episcopal Conference, explained, priests today are fewer in number and older than in the past, and their parishes are often left with few faithful.

The effort that some priests, usually younger, must make to attend to their parishioners is enormous and sometimes exceeds their strength, especially in autonomous communities such as the two Castillas, provinces of Galicia, Asturias, territories of Aragon, Extremadura, areas of Andalusia, etc. And this is not to mention what Juan Carlos Mateos has called "Unbelief and secularization, which are not a phenomenon alien to rural Spain either."

Formulas under study

In this context of "pastoral response" Abilio Martínez Varea, bishop of Osma-Soria, formulated in a forum of the magazine Palabra, now published in the Spanish language. Omnesheld at the end of 2019, the proposal for the "to mature the possibility of considering as a single parish community the group of parishes entrusted to the pastoral care of a priest and to act accordingly in pastoral terms. Our present pastoral organization, with many small parishes scattered over a very large territory, requires a profound rethinking. A serene reflection is therefore necessary at all levels in the diocese".

The Forum took place in Madrid with the presence of the engineer Alejandro Macarrón, consultant and director of Renacimiento Demográfico, who moderated the event; the bishop of Cuenca, Monsignor José María Yangüas; vicars from other affected dioceses, such as Coria-Cáceres; Castilian parish priests who attend up to 30 or 35 parishes; and various experts such as José Luis Pascual, director of Computer Systems and Networks of the archdiocese of Burgos for many years.

Very low birth rate

"We are moving from a country where one grandparent looked after four grandchildren to a country where four grandparents look after one grandchild."The average ageing of the Spanish population, which is very worrying in terms of its magnitude and rate of growth, has reached very high levels in a large part of Spain," said the engineer Alejandro Macarrón at the Forum, with words by Tomás Burgos, former Secretary of State for Social Security. The average ageing of the Spanish population, which, in the consultant's opinion, is very worrying in terms of its magnitude and rate of growth, is reaching very high levels in a large part of Spain.

"The main cause of depopulation in rural provinces in the last 40 years has been and continues to be the insufficient birth rate. The cases of Soria and Jaén are very illustrative.", said Alejandro Macarrón. "Jaén, with much more net emigration than Soria since 1975, has lost far fewer inhabitants, and its population is much less aged. This is due to the fact that its average fertility rate has been much higher than Soria's in the past decades (not anymore).".

"On the underlying problem of births in Spain", adds Alejandro Macarrón, "as long as there is no change in mentalities and laws in favor of the birth rate and the formation of stable families with several children, no substantial changes can be expected. But at least the fact that there is no additional 'super-surge' due to the pandemic would already be something positive, a small relief after the catastrophic birth data of December and January".

Some initiatives

In recent times, initiatives to repopulate rural Spain have begun to be revitalized. For example, the Repuebla plan, which focuses on the provinces of Castilla y León, has two phases, as reported by the Cope radio station. The first phase involves contacting local councils to create a bank of free housing. In the second phase, these homes are rented or sold to those users willing to move to the area (www.planrepuebla.es). You can also see ideas of various types and styles at www.españadespoblada.es or in www.volveralpueblo.org.

RelatedRelated NewsPastoral care in a hollowed-out Spain. Diary of a Serrano priest
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Education

Second century educational keys for a 21st century Religion curriculum.

"The glory of God is that man should live; the life of man is to contemplate God." (St. Irenaeus of Lyons, C. H., book 4,20:7

Javier Segura-April 13, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes

Now that we are rethinking the new Religion curriculum it is worthwhile to take a deeper look and discover the keys that will help us to ensure that this curriculum really fulfills its teaching-learning mission.

Thinking about this, the famous phrase of St. Irenaeus of Lyons came to my mind, 'the glory of God is that man should live', and I think it gives us a suggestive vision. Especially if we do not remove the second part of the holy bishop's sentence, 'the life of man is to contemplate God'.

In this exercise that is the school teaching of Religion, there are two banks of a river that must be united: God and mankind. The curriculum must get it right in the way of doing so, and therein lies its important and, at times, complicated mission. Perhaps at other times we have started too much from a theological content that we had to adapt and explain to children and adolescents. A content that the Religion teacher made an effort to make meaningful, and in this he spent a lot of his energies.

In the school teaching of Religion there are two banks of a river that must be united: God and mankind, and that is the mission of the Religion curriculum.

Javier Segura

The sentence of St. Irenaeus invites us to walk this path between man and God, but in another direction. To approach man first, with all his desire for life and life in fullness. To listen to his concerns, his struggles, his wounds, his aspirations... and to help him discover that God himself wants to fulfill these longings. That his story is not alien to him. That the glory of God is that this child reaches full life, that this young person lives with all the power that God himself sowed in his heart. Jesus said 'I have come that they may have life and life in abundance' (Jn 10:10).

This will lead us to a curriculum with a purely educational focus, whose central objective is the full and integral maturity of the student, based on the keys provided by Christianity.

But this project must be based on two basic assumptions, which, if not well directed, can make the curriculum and school religious instruction itself unsuccessful.

The curriculum must have a purely educational focus, whose central objective is the full and integral maturity of the student based on the keys of Christianity.

Javier Segura

On the one hand, we must listen well to the saint of Smyrna and also emphasize the second part of the sentence. Truly God wants man to live, but man's life is to contemplate God. That deep longing of the heart that all human beings feel has a name, it is God. He is the source of life, and if we take God away from the human being, we are not taking away a more or less interesting idea, but we are taking away the origin of his own life. Because perhaps this is the great problem of the transmission of Christianity, that we have turned God himself into an idea and Christianity into an ideology, when it is something very different. God is a person and Christianity is an encounter. Therefore, at the center of the curriculum, at the same time that the young person and his maturation must be at the center, it must be considered that in the personal encounter with God is the fullness of all the dimensions of his being.

The second pillar on which the project should be based is a correct anthropology. And this is not something abstract or merely speculative. From erroneous anthropological visions we arrive at incomplete and unstructured realizations of persons that generate frustration. We must offer our young people a vision of the human being that serves as a reference for the full and mature integration of all the dimensions of their lives. But this means that the curriculum itself must have this clear vision at its core. As so often happens, we must not take anything for granted, we must put the bell to the cat, and have a clear proposal of what model of person we have.

Perhaps St. Irenaeus of Lyons himself sheds new light on this when he tells us that "because of his infinite love, Christ has become what we are, in order to make us fully what he is."

That horizon of what we are called to be, the best anthropological model that we can present to our young people, the center of the curriculum in whatever direction we walk the bridge that unites man and God, is none other than Jesus Christ.

The best anthropological model we can present to our young people is none other than Jesus Christ.

Javier Segura

If we are clear about these principles, man and his maturation, God as the fullness of life and a clear anthropology that has Christ as the definitive reference point, religious education in schools can contribute much to the educational system and to the lives of children and young people.

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The Vatican

The task of the Secretary of State: a "clear voice" for unity

The Secretariat of State of the Holy See deploys an apparatus of structures to guarantee unity through diplomatic relations with the States.

Giovanni Tridente-April 12, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
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128 apostolic nunciatures for the 174 countries that have diplomatic relations with the Holy See, 12 apostolic delegations to the local Churches and 17 international organizations. These are the structures of liaison between the Secretariat of State of the Holy See and the Churches dispersed in all parts of the world, which constitute what is called "pontifical diplomacy", for the development of friendly relations between the Apostolic See and the various States in the service of the common good.

This emerges from a report published yesterday in L'Osservatore Romano, which for the occasion also published an interview with the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Card. Pietro Parolin.

The unity of the human family

In the current situation, made even more complex by the pandemic, "a clear voice is more necessary than ever to encourage nations not to forget the mistakes and horrors of past conflicts and also those that, unfortunately, are ongoing," explained Parolin. It is therefore essential to echo the teaching of Pope Francis, who never misses an opportunity to recall the unity of the human family, "and therefore the need for the international community to face the challenges in a concerted and multilateral way.

The Vatican body that closely collaborates with the mission of the Supreme Pontiff is currently divided into three Sections: General Issues (correspondence, pontifical documents, translations, organization of apostolic trips); Relations with States (diplomatic relations with States and other subjects of international law to promote concord, religious freedom and peace among peoples; and the last one created by Pope Francis in 2017, called. for the Diplomatic Staff of the Holy SeeThe program is aimed at those who work in the diplomatic service in the 128 pontifical representations.

Three sections

The first Section is headed by a substitute (Venezuelan Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra) and an advisor (Italian Monsignor Luigi Roberto Cona). The second section is headed instead by the secretary (English Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher) and by two undersecretaries, Polish priest Mirosław Stanisław Wachowsk (bilateral sector) and, since January 15 of this year, Italian laywoman Francesca Di Giovanni (bilateral sector), the first woman to assume a managerial role in the Secretariat of State. Finally, the third section, headed by a secretary for pontifical representations (Polish Archbishop Jan Romeo Pawłowski) and an undersecretary (Colombian priest Mauricio Rueda Beltz).

An eloquent testimony

Like its leaders, the service staff is also made up of people of diverse nationalities and backgrounds, totaling more than 100 lay people, half of whom are women employed in various tasks. "The fact that people with different histories, cultures and sensibilities can work together is an eloquent testimony to the possibility of building fraternal and peaceful relations among all peoples," said Card. Parolin.

As regards ordinary and extraordinary expenses in support of the entire international network on which pontifical diplomacy relies, in 2020 they totaled 23.8 million euros, with an expected reduction of about 4 million euros compared to the previous year.

Speaking of these aspects, as will be recalled, earlier this year the entire management of financial investments and real estate owned by the Secretariat of State, including the Obolo di San Pietro, was transferred to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), in application of a specific motu proprio of Pope Francis.

RelatedRelated NewsGeorg Gänswein: "Benedict XVI prays for the universal Church".Related NewsPaul R. Gallagher: "Europe needs a mechanism to distribute the reception of migrants".Related News"I dream of a Europe where the person is a value in itself."
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The World

Europe celebrates twenty years of ecumenism

The Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe (CCEE) and the Conference of European Churches (CEC) are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the "Charta Œcumenica".

David Fernández Alonso-April 12, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
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The "Charta Œcumenica - Guidelines for increasing cooperation between the Churches in Europe."signed in 2001 by the presidents of the CCEE and the CEC, is a fundamental document that seeks to preserve and develop the fraternity between the European Churches.

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Charter, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, president of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE), and Rev. Christian Krieger, president of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), have issued a joint statement in which they rejoice and thank God "for the peace we have experienced and for the achievements of the worldwide ecumenical movement."

Together in spirit

"As the Churches redefine their ministry in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic," the two presidents reaffirmed "together and in a spirit of unity our commitment to witness to Christ as our Savior and His promise of a life transformed in the power of the Holy Spirit," mindful that "old and new divisions in the Church need healing, social and economic inequalities require transformation of our attitudes and structures."

Continuing threats to democracy and the natural environment demand renewed attention to the totality of life. The resurgence of armed conflicts and terrorist attacks in some parts of the continent in recent years calls for repentance, forgiveness and justice."

May we be instruments of unity

Finally, they invite us to pray that all may be one: "we want to be instruments of this unity and commit ourselves anew to strengthening ecclesial communion through common prayer and action, while offering our service to the world for the promotion of justice and peace".

An ecumenical anniversary event

As part of the celebrations of this anniversary, CCEE and CEC have organized an online ecumenical meeting on April 22, 2021 from 19:00 to 20:30 (CEST).

All churches and ecumenical partners are invited to participate in the event, entitled: "Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer", inspired by the verse from St. Paul's letter to the Romans 12:12.

For the occasion, a booklet will be published with materials from the ecumenical gathering, as well as reflections on the Guidelines. The booklet, which can be downloaded free of charge from the CCEE and CEC websites in English, French, German and Italian, is intended for the churches and can be used throughout the year for local celebrations.

We publish below the Joint Declaration of the Presidents of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences and the Conference of European Churches:

Twentieth anniversary of the Charta Œcumenica

"In the last twenty years, the European continent has generally experienced a period of peace, along with an improvement in ecumenical relations. This has been demonstrated in areas of everyday life such as common witness, action in local ecumenism, as well as interfaith marriages. Several theological agreements have been reached and a new generation of theologians has been formed ecumenically. Various interfaith initiatives have flourished. Churches have strengthened their work for a just and peaceful world, not least because of the growing movement of people from other continents, and have increased their efforts to care for creation. The message of the Charta Oecumenica has contributed and reinvigorated all this growth and transformation. For the peace we have experienced and the achievements of the worldwide ecumenical movement, we rejoice and give thanks to God our Creator.

As we strive for the Kingdom of God, our societies and Churches continue to be challenged by our human sin and all kinds of division. Old and new divisions in the Church need healing, social and economic inequalities require transformation of our attitudes and structures. Continuing threats to democracy and the natural environment demand renewed attention to the totality of life. The resurgence of armed conflicts and terrorist attacks in some parts of the continent in recent years calls for repentance, forgiveness and justice. In the face of these realities, as churches redefine their ministry in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, let us reaffirm together and in a spirit of unity our commitment to witness to Christ as our Savior and to his promise of a life transformed in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Following the will of our Lord expressed in John 17 and in the Charta Oecumenica "that they may all be one," we are aware that Christian unity is not only the result of our human efforts. At the same time, this unity, for which Jesus prayed and suffered, must be perceptible in this world. In this sense, we want to be instruments of this unity and commit ourselves anew to strengthening ecclesial communion through common prayer and action, while at the same time offering our service to the world for the promotion of justice and peace."

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ColumnistsRafael Miner

What is happening in the digital world?

If we took a quick poll about the real world, people might answer: vaccines, AstraZeneca, lots of unemployment, political battles... But the digital world is just as real. Come and see.

April 12, 2021-Reading time: 6 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsRethinking faith in the digital age

Five or six thought-provoking joint news items have caught my attention in recent weeks. They have to do with freedoms and also with the digital world in which we live.

1) Songs in Cuba. Cuban singer Yotuel, from the group Orishas, has released a video titled 'Patria y vida' (Homeland and Life). Singing alongside him are the duo Gente de Zona, musician Descemer Bueno and rappers Maykel 'Osorbo' Castillo and El Funky, who are part of the Cuban dissident movement San Isidro. They blame the government for the economic crisis, lack of food and pressure against those who think differently, reports France24. Although he does not sing, Luis Manuel Otero, coordinator of the San Isidro Movement, formed in 2018 to promote freedom of expression on the island, also appears.

The artists directly oppose the well-known phrase coined by Fidel Castro in March 1960, 'Fatherland or death,' and call in their song to change those words to 'fatherland and life,'" the lyrics say.

2) Big tech dominance. The so-called 'big tech' companies are consolidating their global dominance and exceeding $1 trillion in revenues for the first time, boosted in 2020 by the strong digital pull of the hardest year of the pandemic. We are talking about Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google) and Facebook.

At the same time, the CEO of Renta 4 Banco, Jesús Sánchez Quiñones, emphasized two things in 'Expansión':

a) the six largest companies in the S&P 500 (on Wall Street) are all technology companies: those mentioned above, plus Tesla; and individually, Apple, Microsoft or Amazon are worth more on the stock market than the entire Spanish Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

And b) the latest actions of some of them "limiting the free speech of thousands of people and driving a Twitter competitor like Parler out of the market, marks a turning point," to the point that "the Texas attorney general has launched an investigation."

3) News about Twitch. The media are increasingly talking about Twitch, defined as "the Youtube of video games" by vozpopuli.com. It is mainly focused on the broadcasting of videos related to video games, and unknown to most people, but not to the followers of Ibai Llanos, for example, nor to the markets.

Amazon bought Twitch in August 2014 for 735 million euros. At the time of its purchase, it had 55 million users. Today it has 525 million (17.5 million per day) with an average audience of more than 1.5 million viewers.

This platform has recently updated its policies to prohibit serious misconduct and misconduct that may affect its community of users, even if it occurs outside the platform, especially those related to hate speech and harassment, as reported by ABC. The regulation will be applied whenever there is "verifiable evidence available", also in other social networks, and even outside the Internet.

To cite a third mention, the youtuber and eSports presenter, Cristinini, explained on the program Zapeando, on laSexta, what Twitch is all about, "It's a site where your children see other people playing video games and doing live broadcasts," she explained. What engages young people is improvisation, "without scripts, or staircases. You go live and let it be what God wants. That's what they like", says lasexta.com.

4) The tornado of the social networks. On Sunday, April 11, El País published an analysis with this headline on the front page: "La tecnoutopía que se convirtió en una ciénaga" (The technoutopia that turned into a swamp). Inside, the title seemed more constructive: "How to get social networks out of the swamp". The lead notes that Facebook has been denounced by Reporters Without Borders in France for allowing the spread of "disinformation and hatred." "We are going through an era of disenchantment with the networks, born as a technoutopia of freedom of expression. Perhaps, warn some experts, we have ceded too much power to this oligopoly," he adds.

The first lines say, textually, that "Donald Trump was left in January without accounts in most of the social networks. The decision frightened even many of those who are against his messages full of capital letters. Some critics believe that these platforms have become an oligopoly of public debate and that they should not have so much power as to leave the former president without a voice. Others point out that this certifies the end of a technoutopia that we should never have believed in, and that we should never have turned social networks into our preferred support for public debate". The rest of the analysis is pay-per-view.

5) Youtube cancels EWTN's account in Spain. Easter Monday,

EWTN, the world's largest religious content TV network, which broadcasts in more than 145 countries, reported that Youtube, owned by Alphabet (Google), had cancelled, or censored, its account on the platform.

The alleged reason was "inappropriate content", or "inadequate". The president of the TV channel in Spain, José Carlos González Hurtado, informed in a family email, on the eve of Easter celebrations, that the "inappropriate content" referred to "a documentary about the truth of abortion and the RU 486 abortion pill".

After the Youtube Live account was reinstated, it was definitively cancelled for another "inappropriate content". This time it was a cartoon, "Saints and Heroes". "We created a Facebook Live account and started broadcasting from there. The next day they suspended our account. I think we have the honor of being the first Catholic site to have been censored by Youtube and Facebook in Spain...", added the president.

The reason given by Youtube for the cancellation was "violating the Community Standards". Youtube has more than 2 billion users per month, and states among its Rules that "the reasons for which we can cancel an account or a channel are to repeatedly violate the Community Standards". Community Guidelines or the Terms of Service (e.g., when a user continually posts videos or comments that are abusive, harassing, or hateful), regardless of the type of content; or engage in a serious case of misuse, even if only once (e.g., when a user behaves in an abusive manner, send spam or share pornography).

Internet, exposed place

In recent times, the debate on the goodness of the new technologies, and particularly on the network and its platforms, has increased notably, as seen in the above-mentioned report from El País, but we could also mention El Mundo and its digital version, elmundo,es, leader in the network, or ABC and abc.es, etc., or La Vanguardia, etc.

Pope Francis, in his Message for World Communications Day in January 2019, clearly pointed out the openness to the net. "For as long as the internet has been available, the Church has always sought to promote its use at the service of encounter between people and solidarity among all, and invites reflection."

The network is a resource of our time, he added, and "constitutes a source of knowledge and relationships that was unimaginable until recently. However, it has become "one of the places most exposed to misinformation and to the conscious and planned distortion of facts and interpersonal relationships, which often take the form of discredit".

The Pope acknowledged that "on the one hand, social networks are useful for us to be more in contact, to meet and help one another; but on the other hand, they also lend themselves to a manipulative use of personal data for political and economic advantage, without due respect for the person and his or her rights."

Francis also referred to the fact that the web "is an opportunity to foster encounters with others, but it can also increase our self-isolation, like a spider's web that traps us".

Distinction between dominion and abuse of dominion

At the beginning of these lines, we referred to a reflection common to several of the news items mentioned above. It is the following. One thing is the legitimate dominance of a position in some field, be it economic, market, social, political, etc., and quite another is the abuse of that position of dominance, which must be proven. The legislative texts on Competition Law and others clearly reflect this.

José Carlos González-Hurtado argues, following the latest news, that 'big tech' "is neither neutral nor controlled by any public authority". "To draw several parallels, it is as if the electricity company decided to cut off electricity because it did not approve of the use made of that electricity. Or as if the water company were to shut off the supply for ideological reasons."

The issue would take some time to be debated, because the European Commission announced at the end of the year that it had considered imposing fines of up to 10 percent of their revenues on some large technology companies for alleged abuse of dominant position (lainformacion.com).

Moreover, German Chancellor Angela Merkel herself has declared that "it is up to legislators to set the rules governing freedom of expression, not private companies". According to several experts, this is a debate that will grow on both sides of the Atlantic.

For the time being, the network is a field that is little regulated in the world. In addition to the benefits it has brought to the world in terms of social communications, advancing in its regulation is a pending challenge that will be up to the jurists to face.

The authorRafael Miner

Journalist and writer. Graduate in Information Sciences from the University of Navarra. He has directed and collaborated in media specialized in economics, politics, society and religion. He is the winner of the Ángel Herrera Oria 2020 journalism award.

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"In the European churches we would like to see the testimony of their faith."

François Saleh Moll is one of the protagonists of the Day of Prayer for Native Vocations Campaign and has shared with Omnes his vision of this day and how we can be part of this construction of the Church in mission territories.

Maria José Atienza-April 12, 2021-Reading time: < 1 minute
RelatedRelated News"We are all called to ask ourselves "Who am I for?"

Together with lay people, priests, consecrated women... etc. François Saleh Moll is one of the voices of this year's Campaign for the Day of Prayer for Native Vocations promoted by CEE, CONFER, CEDIS and Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS), with the slogan "Who am I for?".

This Xaverian Missionary, a native of Chad who lives in Morocco, wanted to share with Omnes a message of encouragement and hope on this Day. For Saleh Moll, "when we speak of native vocations, the most appropriate term would be vocations from the local churches".

This missionary reminds us that in continents like Asia or Africa "there is a positive response to evangelization. There are many conversions and vocations. A response that, he stresses, "gives meaning to our vocation, to our Christian existence".

How can Days of Prayer for Native Vocations help the development of local Churches in countries of new evangelization? In addition to the necessary economic contribution, Saleh Moll points out the importance of the "testimony of faith" and notes: "Today there is talk of a loss of European faith. The encouragement we would like to see in the European churches is that they themselves give witness to their faith, that they live the Sacraments and support it with prayer".

A call for encouragement

You can do it too! This is how François Saleh Moll bids farewell to the readers of Omnes, because "in each of your local churches you are also native vocations".

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St. Teresa of Jesus "knew how to transfer heaven to earth, making her life a dwelling place of God".

The congress dedicated to the first woman doctor of the Church began with Holy Mass in the Church of St. Teresa. During the celebration a message from the Holy Father was read on the occasion of this congress.

Maria José Atienza-April 12, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
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In his message, read at the beginning of the Eucharistic celebration of the International Congress "St. Teresa of Jesus, Exceptional Woman", the Pope recalled that the appointment of Doctor of the Church "recognizes the precious magisterium that God has given us in her writings and in the witness of her life".

Example of the role of women in the Church and society

The pontiff also stressed that "despite the five centuries that separate us from his earthly existence, the flame that Jesus lit in Teresa continues to shine" and wanted to point out, especially, "his courage, his intelligence, his tenacity, which joined a sensitivity for the beautiful, are an outstanding example of the role that women have played throughout history in the Church and in society".

The Pope encouraged the participants in this congress to deepen "the message of the saint and to spread her teaching. It is beautiful to remember that her mystical experiences transferred her to heaven, but she knew how to transfer heaven to earth, making her life a dwelling place of God in which everyone had a place.

International figures

The congress, which will be held from Monday, April 12 to 15 of the same month, will count, among others, with the participation of Card. Aquilino Bocos who will speak on "The Teresian reform and our reform. The unforgettable lesson of the first Doctor of the Church", the interventions of Dr. Silvano Giordano ocd and Professor Marianne Schlosser as well as the final touch of Card. Dr. Ricardo Blázquez Pérez who will speak on "St. Teresa of Jesus "Teacher of Spirituality" for our time".

The congress can be followed through its website and of the Youtube channel of the Catholic University of Avila.

It is important to remember that this International Congress also has a charitable purpose, since the amount of all registrations will be donated to the monastery of the Annunciation of the Lord of Alba de Tormes, which was the eighth foundation of Mother Teresa of Jesus, where he spent his last 15 days of life.

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The Vatican

An international theological symposium to reflect on the priesthood

In a context of changing times and change in the Church, the Holy See is convening an International Theological Symposium to reflect on the reality of the priesthood and the challenges facing priests today.

David Fernández Alonso-April 12, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
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On Monday morning, April 12, the Press Conference for the presentation of the International Theological Symposium entitled "For a Fundamental Theology of the Priesthood", organized by the Congregation for Bishops, to be held in Rome from February 17 to 19, 2022, was held live from the Holy See Press Office.

Among the speakers at the press conference were His Eminence Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops; Prof. Vincent Siret, Rector of the Pontifical French Seminary in Rome, in remote connection; and Prof. Michelina Tenace, Professor of Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

Extending the reflection initiated

"A theological symposium," Cardinal Ouellet stated during his address, "does not pretend to offer practical solutions to all the Church's pastoral and missionary problems, but it can help us to deepen the foundation of the Church's mission. The understanding of Divine Revelation on the priesthood of Christ and the Church's participation in this priesthood is a crucial question for our time".

The understanding of Divine Revelation on the priesthood of Christ and the Church's participation in this priesthood is a crucial issue for our time.

Marc OuelletPrefect of the Congregation for the Bishops

Ouellet assured that during "the synods on the family, on youth and on the Church in Amazonia, the questions concerning the priesthood and synodality were raised in all their magnitude, insisting on the reality of baptism, the basis of all vocations. The time has come to prolong the reflection and to promote a vocations movement that facilitates the sharing of the various ecclesial experiences throughout the world.

Professor Michelina Tecina summarized some of the topics that will be discussed during the Symposium: the importance of ordained ministers, the theology of vocation, the question of celibacy, the relationship with the sacred...

The days of the Symposium

Professor Vincent Siret, Rector of the Pontifical French Seminary in Rome, presented the Symposium in a more concrete way. The days are divided in such a way as to address the different themes. Each half-day is presided over by a cardinal. The day of February 17 is entitled "Tradition and New Horizons" and will be presided over in the morning by Cardinal Ouellet and in the afternoon by the Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy.

The presentations on February 18 will be grouped around the trio "Trinity, Mission, Sacramentality". The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments will preside in the morning and the Congregation for Catholic Education in the afternoon.

On Saturday 19, Holy Mass will be presided over in the morning by the Secretary of State, Cardinal Parolin, in St. Peter's Basilica. Then, the work will gather under the themes "Celibacy, Charism, Spirituality", under the presidency of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in the morning and, in the afternoon, that of the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life. Pope Francis will speak that same afternoon to give some impetus to the mission of the participants.

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Photo Gallery

The young worshipper Jorge Bergoglio

Jorge Bergoglio appears on a sign-up sheet for Nocturnal Adoration at the Basilica of the Blessed Sacrament in Buenos Aires. An image that moved the Pope as it reminded him of his time as an adorer when he was between 18 and 19 years old.

Maria José Atienza-April 12, 2021-Reading time: < 1 minute
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Latin America

A snapshot of freedom of education in Canada

In provinces such as Alberta and Québec, the educational curriculum is being rethought, which, among other things, has sparked a debate on academic freedom. 

Fernando Emilio Mignone-April 11, 2021-Reading time: 5 minutes
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In Alberta, after a year of consultations with families and educators, the provincial government gave details on March 29 of a new curriculum for the first six grades of schooling, which respects certain family values and Canadian citizenship and history "ignored" by the previous curriculum, according to the provincial education minister, Adriana LaGrange. Parents and teachers will have a whole year to give their opinions, and it will not be implemented until September 2022.

Meanwhile in Quebec, the curriculum of a very controversial subject of Ethics and Religious Culture, which is compulsory in 10 grades and which many parents think forces the teaching of relativism, is under review. Although 10 % of the schools are private, they too must teach this subject. Protests by Jewish, Catholic and other parents have reached the highest courts. In the Loyola High School of Montreal versus Quebecthe Canadian Supreme Court upheld religious freedom against state secularism. Pyrrhic victory, as the government continues to force the teaching of religious ideas. à la mode on sexuality and gender. But, on the other hand, it resists for the time being the cancel culture - the tendency not to have students read the classics of Québec literature.

Alberta and Quebec are two (quite opposite) examples in this ancient, transcontinental, democratic-parliamentary federation. A country with 40 % of Catholics (compared to less than 25 % in the United States).

The "secularist" East and the free West 

The border between the provinces of Quebec and Ontario delimits in a certain way two Canadas, as far as freedom of education is concerned. To the west, a lot; and to the east, secularism.

The history of this country explains this difference. Quebec and Ontario originally had Catholic and Protestant public education systems. And by "constitutional symmetry", after the founding of the country by the British North America Act (of Parliament) of July 1, 1867, the provinces of Ontario and others further west also had religious state schools. 

But there were dramatic changes in the last decades of the 20th century, towards secularism on the one hand and freedom of education on the other. As we said, in the five provinces located west of the Ontario-Québec border (Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia), there are still today Catholic schools and some Protestant schools, fully or partially subsidized by each province. These 5 provinces have 27 million inhabitants, compared to the 12 million inhabitants of the more "secularist" provinces of the East, especially Quebec and Newfoundland. The latter have abandoned public religious schools (although there are private schools, religious or not). In fact, Quebec, after its "French revolution" in the 1960s, has established a sort of "civil religion" through its Ministry of Education.

Thanks to the pandemic, however, home schooling is on the rise in Québec, even though the proportion is below the percentage in the United States. home schooling than in the majority English-speaking provinces (i.e., all other provinces). Across the country, approximately 1 % of students are home-schooled; and home schooling has always been legal throughout Canada.

Brett Fawcett says

Brett Fawcett, from Edmonton, Alberta, teaches in the Canadian International School of Guangzhou in China, and is a scholar of Canadian Catholic education. He has done some research whose conclusions come as a perfect fit here. In dialogue with me, he explains that the basic constitutional principle with respect to "denominational" schools (let's not forget Protestant state schools, even though they are now dying out) is this: if a province joined the Canadian federation in 1867 or later with explicit legal protections for such education, provincial legislatures cannot repeal them without a constitutional amendment. Thanks to the cultural invasion from the south, Canada is "tyrannized" by American ideas of political philosophy. But Canada's founders established an educational system very different from that of the USA, "for very good reasons".

Fawcett has investigated Catholic state education and proves that students almost always learn more, drop out less, are more respected if they are indigenous, etc. In other words, he proves that this type of education brings many advantages to society, in addition to saving money for the treasury. He says that, in the specialized articles, the phrase "Catholic school advantage" describes this phenomenon in three words. "I suspect," says Fawcett, "that those who criticize Catholic subsidized education concede its successes without contradicting them because they don't want anyone to take too much notice. If people were to take more notice, and see how much good it does young people, all the arguments against it that seem so persuasive would suddenly seem weaker. And it is not from now; it is from always that Catholic schools have been better, and that in spite of constant opposition, skepticism and disadvantages."

These advantages are summarized by Fawcett as follows: better academic results; warmer and more welcoming communities (e.g., for indigenous people, immigrants, non-Catholics); and the decisive fact that many parents (including Muslims, non-Catholic Christians and others) choose these schools. Fawcett argues with a global view. He explains that the same thing happens in many other countries, such as the United States (Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor told the New York Times that African-American and Latino children like her were able to rise from humble origins to successful careers thanks to Catholic schools), Chile, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, etc.

In addition, he has made a historical analysis in which he points out the struggles since the beginning of the country to establish and maintain these schools. In this regard, he highlights the Irish Catholic immigrant Thomas D'Arcy McGee, a Montreal politician who in the 1960s was instrumental, together with a Protestant political opponent, in incorporating the above-mentioned constitutional principle into the Canadian constitution.

Fawcett adds that Canadian multiculturalism - a political philosophy distinct from the American "cultural melting pot" - relies heavily on religious state schools. Dominant cultures are much more "assimilationist" when they... dominate! This is proven in Quebec today, when governments, having abolished in 1997 the religious state schools, impose the ideologies of the day (gay, gender), ignoring the concept of the right of parents to the education of their children.

Fawcett quotes John Stuart Mill: the English philosopher had already warned that educational diversity is of untold importance.

"Canada always wanted to be a multicultural society. The reason French and English populations of British North America were willing to join together to form a nation, despite the tensions between them, was that they wanted to protect their respective civilizations from being absorbed into the shredded flesh of the United States."

"Catholic schools preserve the valuable diversity of cultures, including, for example, the fact that Muslim students can say their prayers in a Catholic school in Toronto."

"The great Canadian philosopher George P. Grant, in his book. Lament for a NationThe 1965 edition of the Canadian Journal of 1965 reminded its readers that Canada was founded by two religious civilizations that wanted to preserve themselves from the encroaching liberal society of the United States. The reason they had to form another nation was to resist the United States, because it was imperialistic. It was a seductive and attractive nation, it eradicated other cultures and imposed its own."

"Grant argued that since liberalism sees the atomized individual and his or her desires as the primary good, it is linked to technology, which in turn is linked to the satisfaction of the individual's desire. A society based on technological liberalism judges everything in relation to the utility of technology. If a culture hinders technology, that culture is unceremoniously swept away."

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The World

Iraqi refugee youth grateful for Pope's visit

The stories of Soleen and Sheet show how faith in Christ is a fundamental support in difficulties, even when they are as serious as the approach of death. 

José Luis Domingo-April 11, 2021-Reading time: 4 minutes

Refugees who had to leave Iraq following the 2014 Islamic State outbreak are beginning to return home. The Pope's visit has encouraged young people, a particularly at-risk group and, at the same time, a group of great support for this task.

Soleen was born in Qaraqosh (ancient Nineveh, Iraq) on July 19, 1998, into a Christian family. She grew up in an environment where Aramaic was spoken at home and the faith was lived daily, both at home and in the city. "During each religious feast, everyone would go down to the streets or go up to the roofs of the houses to follow the processions or attend the mass that was celebrated in the church squares and broadcast over the loudspeakers to all of Qaraqosh.", recalls the young woman. "As in all public schools, we had religion classes according to the religion of the students.".

However, throughout 2014, Soleen's life changed, like that of thousands of Christians in Iraq. On June 9, Daesh soldiers entered Mosul, Iraq's second largest city. The city's Christians and Jews were left with only one choice: convert to Islam or accept the status of dhimmi (protected), the name given by Muslims to a Christian or a Jew living in a country where the state religion is Islam; the dhimmi is tolerated but is considered a second-class citizen. The Christian dhimmi can live his faith, but without being seen to do so. He can no longer work and must pay a tax set at 250 euros per month by Daesh. Churches are closed and masses are forbidden. Threatened with beheading if they did not submit to this new rule, the Christians of Mosul decided to flee and take refuge in Qaraqosh. But on August 6, after having bombed the city several times, Daesh entered Qaraqosh.

Drop everything

Leaving everything that was their life, Soleen's parents set out with their four children and grandmother to flee to Erbil, a city in Iraqi Kurdistan some 60 kilometers away. Erbil was submerged by an uninterrupted flow of families. Parks, empty lots, schoolyards, gymnasiums, buildings under construction: every available space was occupied. "In the center of the camps, the families placed the images of Our Lady that they had been able to bring with them.".

Until then, Soleen had never doubted her faith. But that day, for the first and only time in her life, she lost confidence in God. "I remember telling my mother that God had abandoned us. My mother answered me that no, He had not abandoned us, that He would never abandon us and that He would continue to watch over us. It was not easy, but I tried to think that maybe God was sending us this test to make us grow in our faith, so that we would never lose confidence in Him and that we would know how to thank Him for everything. To help me, I have often reread these words of Christ: 'Men will hand you over to be tortured and put to death; all peoples will hate you for my sake. At that time many will abandon the faith... But he who stands firm to the end will be saved'. This Gospel gives me great strength to remain faithful, to love God always and to forgive Daesh.".

Arrival in Europe

After two months in Erbil, Soleen's family was one of the first to be able to leave for Grenoble (France), thanks to a person who, knowing Soleen's uncle (a priest in Baghdad), managed to find them a host family. 

And it was then that Soleen met the Lanfrey Center. "My prayer had been answered! At Lanfrey I discovered formation activities and spiritual accompaniment that allowed me to learn many things and to grow in my faith.". Thanks to the friends she made there who took turns teaching her French, Soleen not only discovered a taste for the French language, but also rediscovered a taste for life. She learned the vocabulary of faith and how to speak of God to others in France. Today, although nothing will ever be the same because she misses many of her loved ones, Soleen knows that she and her family were very lucky.

Witness of faith to change society

The story of Sheet, a 26 year old student from l'Ecole de Management EMD from Marseille, is similar. He recalls the night they had to escape from Qaraqosh amidst the bombs, leaving behind their belongings at the mercy of the looting that quickly took hold of the city. He confesses to having lived through the same experience of helplessness and dashed hope upon arriving in France. "Arriving at Charles De Gaulle airport, we crossed Paris at night to get to the station where we would take the train. Seeing from the outside the magnificent and numerous churches of the city we were happy thinking that we were arriving in a Christian country where there was no war. The shock came when we entered the churches for mass and discovered that they were empty in contrast to the completely full churches of Qaraqosh where you always found the priests available. Thanks to my parents we have kept our faith alive". Sheet today feels the need to witness to his faith and to transform French society.

Looking to the future

"The Pope's trip was a great moment for all of us. His message was one of peace: we are all brothers; before rebuilding houses and cities, we must rebuild the bonds that unite us with others, rebuild trust. Because today in Iraq there are problems between the Shiites, the Sunnis and the Kurds, and we Christians are in the middle. Reconciliation is the first step to rebuild Iraq."Sheet adds.

A certain mistrust is installed among Iraq's Christians towards Muslims whom they consider still impregnated with Daesh ideology. It will take time and lasting peace to rebuild the damaged ties between the communities that make up Iraq.

According to Soleen, "Daesh has succeeded in taking away our home, our family, our friends, but it has not succeeded in robbing us of what is essential: our faith in Christ. When I think of Daesh, I pray that God will forgive them.". It's hard to hear these words, and yet for Soleen it's very important!

The authorJosé Luis Domingo

Omnes correspondent in France.

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ColumnistsJosé María Calderón

Vocational spring

The Day of Prayer for Native Vocations unites the Church's petition and thanksgiving for those young people in Asia and Africa who respond to God's call and need financial support to carry out their studies and pastoral work.

April 11, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

For many years now, I don't know how many, the months of March and April have been months in which we have been invited to pray for vocations. I am sure that the feast of St. Joseph has influenced this... 

It is also at this time, in the springtime, that the Church presents us with a precious reality: the emergence of numerous vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life in Africa, America and Asia. 

Yes, in Europe we are dry and we must pray and we must ask, because the fact that there are or are not vocations is not a mere anecdote; it is really a snapshot of the spiritual situation of our Church in these places.

On the other hand, in those countries that we call mission countries, the reality is quite different: the novitiates and seminaries show a precious vitality. Many young people are generously considering giving themselves to God and to the Church, and it is a great gift to be able to share with them a time of prayer, a moment of conversation, the Eucharist!

Thanks to the Holy See, through the Pontifical Missionary Work of St. Peter the ApostleIn this way, these novitiates and seminaries can be opened every day and can be provided with trained teachers, theological libraries and means of support, so that these vocations are not lost, as Pope St. John Paul II asked.

Many priests and many Christians collaborate with formation scholarships so that one of these young people can do his formation studies without anguish. Is there anything more beautiful than knowing that a young man, a young woman is, in some mission country, praying for me, because I have sponsored him in his studies?

This is called feeling the weight and responsibility of the Church, this is called helping the Pope so that the Church in mission lands grows and develops. 

In order to promote this awareness, in Spain we will celebrate on April 25, the Day of Native Vocations, so that everyone, each one in his concrete situation, knows that we can/should be an active part in the strengthening of the mission territories and their vocations. 

The motto chosen for the 2021 World Youth Day was given to us by Pope Francis: For whom are you?...for God, for the Church, for my brothers! May none of them be lost for lack of means!

The authorJosé María Calderón

Director of Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) Spain

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Vocations

Vocations from here and there: a constant need in the Church

The upcoming celebration of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations and the Day of Native Vocations highlights the commitment of the whole Church to those who respond to a special call from God.

Maria José Atienza-April 9, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes

On April 25, a joint celebration will be held of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations and Native Vocations Dayorganized by CEE, CONFER, CEDIS and the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS).

This day focuses, in a special way, on the work of the Pontifical Work of St. Peter the Apostle - one of the four Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) - which has been the Pope's instrument for over 130 years to channel the help of all Catholics in the world and support the formation of native vocations who, on many occasions, have serious difficulties to continue their formation due to economic problems.

"Who am I for?"

This was the theme chosen for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations and the Day of Native Vocations. A question taken up by Pope Francis in the Christus vivitMany times in life, we waste time asking ourselves: 'But who am I? And you can ask yourself who you are and spend a lifetime searching for who you are. But ask yourself: 'Who am I for?'". You are for God, no doubt. But He wanted you to be for others, too."

Union with Native vocations

The Day of Prayer for Vocations is celebrated in our country in conjunction with Native Vocations. In this way, it is intended that young people accept the possibility of the vocational call as a valid path of life and, in addition, that the Christian community and society in general promote vocations of special consecration with prayer and accompaniment, and finally to collaborate economically in the formation of vocations that arise in mission countries. As explained by OMP, "if it is important to dedicate at least one day to pray for vocations, a Christian -who necessarily has a Catholic, universal heart- cannot fail to think also of vocations in those countries where Christian life is beginning to become a reality".

Web, Prayer Vigil and Song for the Day

The promoters of this Day have planned several actions to publicize this day in our country. The first of these has been the launching of a own website in which various testimonies, prayer materials, the Pope's message for this Day and ways to collaborate with native vocations are collected.

On Saturday, April 10, the events surrounding this date will begin with the presentation of the song "Who am I for?The "Hakuna" group composed and performed by the group Hakuna and on the 24th is scheduled the broadcasting of a Prayer Vigil at 20.00h. through its YouTube channel.

The conference will be presented at a press conference on April 20.

Vocations in Spain and around the world

Currently, according to data from the Episcopal Commission for Clergy and Seminaries of the CEEIn the last year, there are 1,066 major seminarians in all the Spanish dioceses (62 less than the previous year) and 126 were ordained priests (2 more). And in the minor seminaries of our country there are 827 seminarians (last year there were 890), of whom 25 went to the major seminary (3 more than the previous year).

With regard to religious institutes and societies of apostolic life, according to the statistics of CONFER as of October 2020, its members number 37,286: 28,323 religious sisters, from 302 congregations (counting 659 juniors); and 8,963 religious, from 109 (with 260 juniors). This represents a decrease of 1,402 with respect to 2019. As a reality and hope for the future, 207 novices and 90 novices, not counted in the above-mentioned total.

As of January 2021, the figures for CEDISthe Spanish Conference of Secular Institutes, speak of 2,354 members (36 less than at the beginning of 2020). Of these institutes, 26 are of Spanish foundation, while another 14, founded outside our borders, have members present in our country.

DATO

76.759

Seminarians can pursue their studies and pay for their living expenses thanks to the Pontifical Work of St. Peter the Apostle

The Pontifical Work of St. Peter the Apostle

The Pontifical Work of St. Peter the Apostle is entrusted by the Holy See with the care of all seminaries in mission territories. It annually supports 76,759 seminarians (one out of every three seminarians in the world) and 8,094 novices in their first canonical year. In 2020, OMP Spain allocated almost 1.5 million euros to help 52 seminaries in 19 countries. This contribution benefited 3,535 seminarians and 183 formators. This money also contributed to the formation of around 500 novices.

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Latin America

Dominican Republic: towards the Jubilee Year

The recent presentation of two official documents in 2021 of the Dominican Episcopal Conference (The Pastoral Letter and the Message on the occasion of the month of the homeland) set the tone for Catholics during this year.

José Amable Durán-April 9, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
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Each year the Dominican Episcopal Conference (CED) issues two official documents: a pastoral letter published on January 21, on the occasion of the feast of Our Lady of Altagracia, protector of the Dominican people, addressed to all the parishioners in which it deals with a theme of faith from the biblical-doctrinal and theological-pastoral aspects; and a Message published on February 27, National Independence Day, addressed to all Dominicans, in which she deals with issues of national interest, proposing and suggesting wise socio-political orientations from the light of faith and the social doctrine of the Church. In this brief article I would like to present the two documents published this year 2021.

The Pastoral Letter

The Pastoral Letter of January 21, 2021 is entitled: "Our Lady of Altagracia, a gift from God to the Dominican people". It is a document with two clear objectives: to bring words of encouragement and hope to our people (in the face of the various sufferings caused, in a special way, by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic) and to prepare the hearts of Catholic Christians for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the canonical coronation of Our Lady of Altagracia, which will be celebrated with a Jubilee Year that will begin, God willing, on August 15, 2021 and will conclude on August 15, 2022. 

To achieve these two objectives, the bishops recall the gift that the Lord has given us from the very origins of our history, in the miraculous image of Our Lady of Altagracia, while highlighting the Marian devotion of the Dominicans. On the other hand, in accordance with the Aparecida document, they present the Virgin as "model of missionary disciple and intercessor on behalf of her children. Finally, they invite us to renew our faith through an ardent devotion to our spiritual mother, welcoming like her the Kingdom of God, while entrusting all the Dominican people to her powerful protection.

Message for the month of the homeland

The message of February 27, 2021, is entitled: "The message of February 27, 2021.And let us show the world that we are brothers". In this brief document, the bishops, as shepherds of our people, drawing inspiration from the encyclical Fratelli Tuti of Pope Francis, and in one of the poems of the patrician Juan Pablo Duarte, from which they take their title, they try to answer a key question: what does it mean to build fraternity on Dominican soil today? And they respond by making the following statements: 

Home

In the first place, the fraternal spirit is built in the home, but they denounce that not all families have the same possibilities, hence the duty of the state to create the necessary conditions for all families to develop healthily in a stable environment. In this sense, as a concrete action, they invite the Catholic universities to organize an open symposium to help define an authentic family policy suitable for the whole Dominican society.  

Secondly, in the face of the drama of abortion and the "throwaway society", they emphasize that there is no true fraternity without caring for human life in all its stages and expressions.

A universal fraternity

Thirdly, the construction of a universal fraternity. In this sense, they motivate to cultivate a healthy nationalism, that is, a sense of Dominicanity that does not close in an exacerbated national feeling and closed to the foreigner or the different, much less from our reality as believers; in this tenor, in communion with the Holy Father, they encourage to overcome the fear that today provokes the encounter with migrants and foreigners, and rather, to let ourselves be enriched and complemented with their gifts and talents. 

Fourth, corruption breaks with fraternity as a nation. The Bishops recognize that Dominicans, as a demand for justice and vindication of their personal dignity and that of the people, have gradually become more aware of this scourge. However, they also call not only to claim their just rights, but also to make an examination of personal conscience so as not to fall into the bad practice of only seeing the speck in another's eye (cf. Mt 7:3-4). 

Show that we are brothers

Finally, "...And let us show the world that we are brothers". Today, as yesterday, independence remains a pending task, "which must be carried out patiently and courageously on the basis of the right of all peoples". However, the right is not enough, it is necessary to raise "universalizable political emotions" that serve as an engine for political commitment. In this sense, our national anthem reflects this feeling in one of its stanzas when it says: "No people deserves to be free if it is a slave, indolent and servile, if in its breast the flame does not grow that tempered the virile heroism". Finally, our pastors recognize the spirit of welcome and solidarity that characterizes us as Dominicans, while carrying a message of hope exhorting us not to lose faith in the midst of difficulties and to continue "showing the world that we are brothers."

The authorJosé Amable Durán

Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

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Evangelization

Boring homilies? At that time... let's make the most of it.

The effect "I come to talk about my book" is often recurrent in some Sunday homilies. It is worthwhile to make an examination of conscience and truly believe that the Word of God is alive and loquacious.

Javier Sánchez Cervera-April 9, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
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At that time... let's make the most of it.. With these words a group of priests summed up the other day the temptation that some of us have to make the Gospel say what seems to me. And when I say "what seems to me" I am referring to an outlet for a personal problem, to a topic I feel comfortable with without thinking about it, to an article I read in the office, to a pamphlet I bought at the Paulinasor anything else. 

let's make the most of the time

The effect "I come to talk about my book" is verified over and over again when I have my topic -usually my mono-topic- and no matter what the readings, the liturgy, the people or the mummy of Tutankhamen say, I don't get out of there and I push, squeeze and shake the Word of God as much as it takes to make it end up supporting my moves. 

In such cases, the words of the Gospel could properly be applied to us: "To whom shall I compare this generation? It resembles children who sit in the marketplaces and reproach their peers: 'We have played for you the flute and you have not danced; we have sung lamentations and you have not mourned.' For John has come, who neither eats nor drinks, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man has come, who eats and drinks, and they say, 'Behold, a man who eats and drinks, a friend of tax collectors and sinners'" (Mt 11:16-19).

The problem with the gospel is that it doesn't complain. You can use it as a paperweight, or you can manipulate it to beat -literally or figuratively- the people. In any case, the problem would not be, in any case, of the Gospel, but of the one who manipulates it since, as the Apocalypse says: "If anyone adds anything to them, God will send upon him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes away any of the words of this prophetic book, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city described in this book" (Rev 22:18-19).

What this last warning contained in the Bible emphasizes is that we are servers of the Word of God and not owners and, therefore, we are asked for an attitude of detachment from our own ideas, neurasWe have to kneel before God who speaks to us in order to give us an eternal, intimate truth, necessary to know Him and ourselves. 

The prerequisite is, of course, an act of faith: believing in ourselves. for sure that it is the Word of God that is "lively and effective, sharper than a double-edged sword". (Heb 4:12-13) and it is not our word, nor our eloquence, that convinces and transforms people. Believed for sure In the words of St. Thomas: "Contemplata aliis tradere", to shine in order to illuminate, to contemplate in order to communicate (STh, II-II, q.188, a.6, c.). In the words of St. Thomas: "Contemplata aliis tradere," to shine in order to enlighten, to contemplate in order to communicate (STh, II-II, q.188, a.6, c), to be, in short, transparent so that-as St. Josemaría liked to say-he alone can shine forth. 

So here we have, brother preacher, a point for our examination of conscience. How much of me is in my preaching and how much of Christ and how to do so that "He grows and I diminish." (Jn 3:30), lest my sermon of seven words become seven thousand, of which six thousand nine hundred and ninety-three are mine.

Yes, Bartimaeus was blind and Christ cured him, but I don't know if the message is that that's why we should buy more ONCE lottery tickets...; and Lazarus came out of the tomb after several days, but from there to make a defense. by machete of the need to take care of the parish cemetery... You know what I mean. 

It is a matter of putting aside - for the moment - our ideas, our sensibility, our tastes and immersing ourselves in the eternal of the Word of God, sifting through it the circumstantial and anecdotal until we find, like a nugget of gold in the pan, the message that the Lord wants to communicate to us in the preaching of each day. 

I believe that a good mechanism -the oldest of all- for this batting of the Word of God is the Lectio DivinaWe will talk about it in the next publication. 

Happy Easter!

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Chapel of the Encounter of the Diocesan Seminary of Coria-Caceres

Its design is reminiscent of the "tent of meeting" where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, the presence of the Lord among the people.

Maria José Atienza-April 9, 2021-Reading time: < 1 minute
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The Vatican

Francis presides at the Mass of Divine Mercy Sunday

The second Sunday of Easter is known as Divine Mercy Sunday. It is a devotion strongly recommended by recent Popes.

David Fernández Alonso-April 8, 2021-Reading time: < 1 minute
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On Sunday, April 11, Pope Francis presided, for the second time, at the Mass for the Feast of Divine Mercy in the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia in Rome. The Holy Mass was celebrated in private at 10:30 a.m. and, at the end, from the church itself, the Pope led the prayer of the Regina Coeli, from there, and not from the Library of the Apostolic Palace, as he is doing the last Sundays, because of health restrictions.

Both the Holy Mass and the Pope's Regina Coeli prayer on Sunday, April 11, were broadcast live on television by Vatican Media and transmitted by Vatican News with commentary in Italian, French, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic.

The feast of Divine Mercy comes from the message of God's mercy received by Sr. M. Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938), which calls for trust in God and an attitude of mercy toward one's neighbor. It calls to proclaim and pray for Divine Mercy for the world, including the practice of new forms of worship. 

Devotion to the Divine Mercy grew very rapidly after the beatification (April 18, 1993) and canonization (April 30, 2000) of Sister Faustina and also due to the pilgrimages of Pope John Paul II to Lagiewniki (1997 and 2002).

In the year 2000 Pope John Paul II canonized St. Faustina and during the ceremony declared: "It is therefore important that we fully embrace the message transmitted to us by the Word of God on this Second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church will be designated 'Divine Mercy Sunday'". (Homily, April 30, 2000). Both Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have recommended this devotion.

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Family

The beauty and richness of the family

The journey we are undertaking with the year dedicated to the family will be watched over by St. Joseph, head of the Holy Family, and will serve as a preparation for the World Meeting of Families in 2022.

Giovanni Tridente-April 8, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes

Five years after the publication of the apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia On the beauty and joy of family love, since March 19, the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the whole Church has been living a year dedicated to the "good news" of the family and focused on the Christian proclamation of the family.

Close to families

This pastoral journey is intended to be a preparation for the X World Meeting of FamiliesThis time it will be held in Rome on June 26, 2022 in the presence of the Pope. It is also intended to be an opportunity to deepen the undiscovered richness of Pope Francis' special document. Among the strong objectives is that of bringing the Church closer to the families of the world, even more so in this time of pandemic, which tests their stability and their very happiness. 

There is another document that is also part of these celebrations. Gaudete et exultate, also published on March 19, 2018, addressed to the call to holiness in the contemporary world. 

DATO

3 years

Gaudete et exultate, on the universal call to holiness.

These two texts, therefore, highlight family love as a vocation and a way of holiness, and of understanding "...".the deep and salvific meaning of family relationships in everyday life".

The announcement of the year dedicated to the "Amoris laetitia Family" was made by Pope Francis during the Angelus on December 27 - not coincidentally, the feast of the Holy Family - placing it under the protection of St. Joseph. "caring husband and father".

Special Year of St. Joseph 

The figure of St. Joseph will not be alien to these events, since a few weeks earlier, on December 8, the same Pontiff had proclaimed a Special Year of St. Joseph for the whole year 2021, 150 years after the Decree of the Holy Father. Quemadmodum Deus with which Blessed Pius IX declared him Patron of the Catholic Church.

Along with the proclamation of the Special Year, the Holy Father has also published a moving Apostolic Letter, Patris corde, which, against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, highlights the importance of all those people who, like the saint, "far from the spotlight, they exercise patience every day and instill hope, sowing co-responsibility". 

St. Joseph, on the other hand, concretely expressed his paternity "...".by having made of his life an oblation of himself in love placed at the service of the Messiah". 

DATO

5 years

of Amoris laetitia, on the beauty and love of the family.

Another aspect highlighted by the Holy Father is the "creative courage". of Mary's bridegroom, that which arises especially in difficulties and which brings forth unexpected resources in man. "The Carpenter of Nazareth." -write- "He knows how to transform a problem into an opportunity, always putting trust in Providence".

World Grandparents Day

Returning to the Year of the Family, it is intended to encourage "a renewed and creative pastoral impulse to place the family at the center of the Church's and society's attention", as the Pope explained in one of the last Angelus.

This also includes the role of grandparents and the elderly, who are very much present in the Holy Father's intentions. It is not by chance that, as a result of this special Year of the Family, he also wanted to establish a specific World Day dedicated to them. It will take place every year on the liturgical memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, grandparents of Jesus, on the fourth Sunday of July. 

The Dicastery has created a website through which it is possible to be informed of all the initiatives planned for this special year: forums, projects, catechesis, pastoral proposals, which are promoted both in Rome and in the Bishops' Conferences around the world: www.laityfamilylife.va

The entire Holy Family is thus "represented" in this pastoral itinerary that began in the Church with the parents of Jesus, under the care of his adoptive father St. Joseph, up to his grandparents Joachim and Anne. An appeal to rediscover the importance and beauty of this primordial nucleus of society.

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Integral ecology

Latin America improves in palliative care, but it is insufficient

Seventeen Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Latin American countries, with 630 million people, have 1,562 palliative care teams. Progress is being made, but not enough.

Rafael Miner-April 7, 2021-Reading time: 5 minutes

At a time when Latin America is one of the places on the planet hardest hit by the Covid-19 virus, for example in countries such as Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru, it has been made public the Atlas of Palliative Care in Latin America 2020The report provides an overview of the state of this type of specialized care in the region. That is, care provided in a comprehensive manner to patients with severe suffering due to advanced disease.

The study provides information on 17 Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Latin American countries, inhabited by more than 630 million people, and offers a systematic review of the development of this specialized care, with the aim of promoting it throughout the region. The countries that participated in the study are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.  

Latin America has 1,562 palliative care teams, a ratio of 2.6 per million inhabitants. This is a rate that reflects progress in the number of services and in public policies in the region since 2013 in this area.

However, the improvement does not yet cover the needs of the population, as it is estimated that only 7.6 % of people in need of palliative care in Latin America receive it, although there are already five countries (Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico and Peru) that have a palliative care law, which Spain, for example, does not have.

Uruguay, Costa Rica and Chile, ahead

The countries with the highest rate of palliative care teams per million inhabitants are Uruguay (24.5), Costa Rica (14.74) and Chile (13.41). At the bottom are Guatemala, Honduras (both with 0.64) and Peru in last place (0.58). Of these services, 1,173 are integrated into hospitals. Bolivia (0.89) and Ecuador (0.83) have the highest rate of these resources. In El Salvador and the Dominican Republic, none have been recorded. 

As for pediatric palliative care, 123 teams have been detected, representing 7.9 % of the reported services. The countries with the highest rate per million population under 15 years of age are Uruguay (19.3) and Argentina (5.25). In Paraguay and Venezuela no teams have been identified. 

These are some of the data included in the Atlas, developed by the Latin American Association for Palliative Care (cuidadospaliativos.org); the International Hospice and Palliative Care Association (hospicecare.com), and the Global Observatory of Palliative Care of the University of Navarra, who belongs to the Atlantes research group of the Culture and Society Institute (ICS) of the same university. The work is part of one of the research focuses of the 2025 strategy of the University of Navarra, "Palliative Medicine", within "Personalized Medicine".

Another indicator analyzed is the distribution of potent opium-derived drugs, the so-called opiates, for pain relief. Brazil (1,385 kg), Argentina (762.7 kg) and Colombia (556.1 kg) top the list. The nations in which there is the best collaboration between those who prescribe these analgesics and those who regulate their use are El Salvador and Uruguay. Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay and Venezuela have the worst collaboration, according to the Atlas.

Physician training

The training of physicians is another key factor in promoting the discipline, according to the Atlas. Eight countries recognize palliative medicine as a specialty and/or subspecialty: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay and Venezuela. Chile is in the process.

Likewise, the promotion of specific laws is a fundamental indicator for observing the development of the specialty. According to this study, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico and Peru currently have a palliative care law.

On the other hand, Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile have reported a national palliative care plan or strategy, some explicitly for cancer patients. However, their scope and whether they have an adequate budget for their implementation is unknown. 

Care plans

The Lancet Commission on Global Access to Palliative Care and Pain Relief estimates that 3.5 million people in Latin America live each year with suffering from a serious illness. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that the global need for palliative care will continue to increase as a consequence of the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (cancer, cardiovascular pathologies...) and the aging process of the population.

DATO

3.500.000

Every year, people in Latin America live with suffering due to a serious illness.

When asked about this figure, Miguel Sánchez Cárdenas, researcher at the Atlantes group, stated that "this value is an estimate. Although the Lancet Commission has estimated that more than 3.5 million people require palliative care, the number of people who receive it is a calculation based on the access they will have to services and drugs, so we recommend using it in proportion and not in absolute numbers".

Regarding what would be an adequate percentage of people receiving specialized palliative care, Sánchez Cárdenas points out that the rate "varies according to the type of disease. For example, in cancer it is considered that 90 % of patients require palliative care and should receive it. In other diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, 65%; in dementias, 80 %; in chronic lung diseases, 80 %. This implies that health systems have broad access for this population and tools to identify who needs palliative care."

Valuation

Miguel Sánchez Cárdenas considers that compared to 2013, when the first edition of the Atlas was published, "the data and ratios have improved. There has been an increase in the number of services, educational programs and the existence of public policies in the region. Although it is necessary to indicate that they are still considered insufficient to meet the need.".

Dr. Tania Pastrana, principal investigator of the project, said that "to promote the development of Palliative Care in Latin America it is necessary to know the current level of the discipline and its progress over time. We are very pleased to see that this edition shows important advances in all Latin American countries." "With the information in the Atlas it is possible to design plans and programs adapted to the needs and conditions of each country," said Dr. Patricia Bonilla, president of the Latin American Palliative Care Association.

Comparison

The availability of a legal framework for palliative care is considered important by many specialists in view of the attempts to legalize euthanasia in some countries, as has recently occurred in Spain, although there are some States, such as Colombia, that have regulated both phenomena: euthanasia and palliative care. As has been pointed out, in addition to Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico and Peru already have palliative care laws.

Colombia is one of the few countries in the world that has decriminalized euthanasia, along with the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada, and some states in Australia and the United States. In Colombia, euthanasia is considered a fundamental right, and is applied to those over six years of age with an incurable disease.

Europa

In terms of other indicators, as reported by this portal omnesmag.com, the EAPC Atlas of Palliative Care in Europe 2019 reported that Europe has 6,388 specialized palliative care services, of which 47 % are concentrated in four countries: Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy.

Of the total number of teams, 260 are located in Spain, which represents an average of 0.6 per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC).. Atlas places Spain ranked 31st out of 51 European countries analyzed, at the same level as Georgia, Romania, Latvia or the Czech Republic.

The European Atlas was coordinated by Dr. Carlos Centeno, principal investigator of the ICS Atlantes Program and director of Palliative Medicine at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra. In a statement given to omnesmag.com, Dr. Centeno said: "Today euthanasia is demanded in society, even in law, for many things that have a solution. Medicine also has many things to say in the face of suffering that at times can be intolerable. Medicine has something, and I know it is effective, because I have seen it in action so many times".

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ColumnistsMaria José Atienza

The coward's minute of glory

Easter highlights the unfathomable magnitude of divine love manifested in forgiveness: God rises for the cowards who denied him.

April 7, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
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One reads the Gospels corresponding to the Masses of the first days of Easter and cannot help but think of the Apostles "what a bunch of cowards these guys were"; hidden, frightened, fearfully... These are phrases that are repeated in the passages of these days. And the most shocking thing is that Jesus Christ, being able to do so, did not change them for others to make his Church possible. Any coach of a regional team would have sent them to the bench, for being useless, and would have taken out a replacement when it was time to broaden the vision, to take the Church to the whole world and to suffer, in the flesh, for Christ.

Except for the Holy Women, who give the disciples a quite remarkable review of fortitude, even John, who had endured until the end, is now somewhat intimidated... In short, we can say that the stories of these Easter days are "the minute of glory of the cowards". And you don't know, Lord, what a relief.

It is not clear to me what each of us would have done if we had found ourselves in the shoes of the Apostles. Perhaps we would have blustered like Peter to run away from the accusation of an old gossip, or we would have been other children of thunder, judging others and "ordering" their execution by divinity, or perhaps quieter, less close, like Nicodemus, but with the courage to show our faces when everyone is hiding in the night.

Well, even so, the resurrection also goes for the cowards, or even "more" for the cowards, the realists, the "if I don't see, I don't believe", for us....

The Gospels of these days of Easter are somewhat paradoxical: why remember these miseries of our life on glorious days? The texts could have focused on the Instagram part of the story: apparitions, walks on the waters... And they do not. The stories of these days of joy, of alleluia, remind us that only God can judge the hearts, the stories, the Christian life of others; they bring to the forefront the reality that, although we believe that we are "on the team of the good", we also deny the Lord, sometimes even by arrogating to ourselves the divine power asking that "fire come down from heaven" in his name to eliminate "those who are not as good as we are".

Easter highlights the unfathomable magnitude of divine love manifested in forgiveness. God's logic is this, from beginning to end: Christ dies as an atoning victim for our sins, and this amazes us; but it is more astonishing that, even after seeing that we do not measure up, no matter how much we believe it or proclaim it, he continues to trust us, and it is our free response to this call that changes the course of history.

God who created us without us will not save us without us, in spite of our sorrows. This too is part of the great joy of Easter: the certainty that we cowards will also be resurrected.

The authorMaria José Atienza

Director of Omnes. Degree in Communication, with more than 15 years of experience in Church communication. She has collaborated in media such as COPE or RNE.

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ColumnistsMaria Laura Conte

The spell of the voice

One's own voice induces us to think that ours is different from any other and that it is invited to express itself, to exchange. This could be the beginning of a new awareness of what it means to be in the world.

April 7, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
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"But only your voice I hear and it rises / your voice with the flight and precision of an arrow". The voice has this practical power, as Neruda summarizes in these verses: it makes the word audible and special, and knows how to assign it its own singularity, a singularity proper to the person who pronounces it.

The voice, a combination of distinctive sounds, memory and emotions, matures inside us, rises from the lungs to the throat, until it shoots out of the mouth like an arrow towards its target, enters the common space and reaches others, revealing not only what we intend to say, but also what we would like to hide. In this the voice is loyal, too loyal to us, to the point of betraying us.

In Latin, vox means sound, tone, and is like a bridge that joins two shores, allowing a relationship. Often used as a synonym for word, judgment and sentence, vox also indicates singing, such as that of mermaids (Sirenum voices), and even enchantment: in Horace the voces sacrae are magic formulas, means of healing. A voice can also heal, the poet seems to suggest.

So intimate to us, it has ended up being plundered by a series of popular sayings: "pass the voice", "hear the voice", "give the voice", "give voice to the voiceless", all expressions that display their relational potential. Or we use the voice of the heart and the voice of the blood, as if our organs themselves wanted to be heard, directly, without mediation.

It is immediately understood that it is destined for the word. But in this destiny it exerts a particular magnetism: it defends words from drifting into abstraction, as if they were clouds that fly over our heads without us caring, good for making columns like this one, and frees us from the risk of logocentrism, making our way of speaking (precisely) concrete, corporeal. With its particular "thoroughness", the voice is the corporeality of saying that is situated between the body and the word, it is the exchange between the body and the word.

It poses only one condition: to ask to be listened to. And by presuming to listen, it opens itself to the recognition of difference: the word you address to me is not separate from the real, because you say it now. Unique as you, as the curiosity it feeds, as the relationship established with the other.

Once upon a time there was a king, Calvino tells us, who, in order not to risk losing his power, ended up reducing himself to a prisoner in his palace, sitting on his throne and clinging to his scepter. Blocked by the fear of being the victim of a conspiracy, he only devoted himself to one activity, that of listening, which soon became an obsession to control every little noise. Until he heard a voice singing... A voice that came from a person, unique and unrepeatable like all people. Calvino underlines: a voice that always manifests what the person has most hidden and truest.

That voice changed the destiny of the kingdom. How? On the strength of an intuition of the king: the voice pointed out that there was a living person, throat, chest and history, different from all the others, inviting him to get out of himself, out of his cage. And he listened to it.

It happens to a king and it can happen to us.

The pleasure that the voice produces in one's own existence attracts and moves us. It induces us to think that ours is different from any other and is invited to express itself, to exchange. It could be the beginning of a new awareness of what it means to be in the world, of what a relationship is.

The voice has one last characteristic: it resists time, it remains imprinted in the auditory memory and continues to keep us company even if its owner loses it or moves away. This must be its spell.

The authorMaria Laura Conte

Degree in Classical Literature and PhD in Sociology of Communication. Communications Director of the AVSI Foundation, based in Milan, dedicated to development cooperation and humanitarian aid worldwide. She has received several awards for her journalistic activity.

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The Vatican

Francis' diplomacy

The Pontiff, a true bridge-builder, seeks, in his meetings and travels, to dialogue, to console the afflicted, to defend religious freedom and the freedom of Catholics. Jean-Baptiste Noé, a Parisian specialist in geopolitics, explained this in a virtual colloquium.

Fernando Emilio Mignone-April 7, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
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In a virtual colloquium with Canadian priests, Jean-Baptiste Noé, a Parisian specialist in geopolitics, explained that the Pope can do what no other world leader can do. He was the first Pope to visit Iraq, one of the cradles of Christianity, consoling its crucified people, and on March 6 he had the third great personal meeting of his pontificate, this time with the Shiite Ayatollah Al-Sistani. Here are the keys to the diplomatic Francis.

A bridge builder

The Pontiff, a true bridge-builder, seeks, in his meetings and travels, to dialogue, to console the afflicted, to defend religious freedom and the freedom of Catholics. He wants to bring to the fore those who have fallen through the cracks of public opinion.

No other head of state could have visited today's Iraq as Francis did. It was a source of great pride for the Iraqis to be able to host him in a secure manner. Ayatollah Al-Sistani, 90 years old, does not appear publicly with anyone except Francis. Noé reiterated that Francis' meetings with the Egyptian Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayyeb, and especially their joint signing two years ago in Abu Dhabi of the Document on human fraternityThe meeting a month ago with Al-Sistani has created a bridge to Shiite Islam. 

Nuncios: the first modern diplomats

Noé, at 37, already excels in his field: he is a university professor, a prolific writer, editor-in-chief of the magazine Conflitsand director of the Institute of Geopolitics Orbis. He gave a masterful introduction to Vatican diplomacy. He explained that the nuncios were the first modern diplomats and that the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy was the first in the world to train diplomats.

Today only five countries do not have diplomatic relations with the Vatican, which is one of the states best informed about what is happening "on the ground" globally. He gave as an example, that in his memoirs, a former Japanese ambassador to the Vatican recalled that his posting as ambassador to the Vatican stood out in his diplomatic career, because to Rome all make pilgrimages, both the powerful and the powerless.

By dint of charisma and intelligence

As Noé explains in his book François le diplomate (Éditions Salvator, 2019), Francis, since his election eight years ago, has acted nimbly and effectively on the world stage. He has spectacularly reconciled Cuba and the USA. He visited refugees on the island of Lesbos. With no previous diplomatic experience, unlike his predecessors Pius XII, John XXIII and Paul VI, Francis has established himself with charisma and intelligence as a privileged interlocutor with world leaders. 

Of course, for more than a millennium and a half, many Popes have exercised an "international" role, in so many ways. The Argentine Pope, in spite of the turbulences the Church has gone through, manages to reinforce the global influence of the Vatican. His "foreign policy" pursues an evangelizing mission with other means.

Neutral, but not impartial diplomacy

Noé defended the controversial and secretive Interim Agreement between the Holy See and China On the appointment of bishops (signed in 2018 and extended in 2020):"très mauvais mais très nécessaire". Why? Because the Vatican is betting that it can "loosen the vice" of religious persecution in central China. The Agreement has not solved the problems, as Chinese President Xi Jinping mocks the Pope. But better something bad than nothing, diplomacy being very limited with a tyrannical government.

The diplomacy of the Holy See is neutral but not impartial. It seeks peace. For example, John Paul II avoided a war between Argentina and Chile over a border conflict, and, much closer in time, Francis sought peace, naturally and neutrally, in a recent war: the Second High Karabakh War (September-November 2020) between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

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