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Permanente begins with a Mass for the victims of the pandemic

Cardinal Omella presided over a funeral Mass for the victims of the coronavirus in Spain, thus joining the chain of prayer of all the Episcopal Conferences of Europe for this intention. 

Maria José Atienza-February 23, 2021-Reading time: < 1 minute

The meeting of the Standing CommitteeThe event, which covers the days of today and tomorrow, began with the Eucharistic celebration presided over by Cardinal Juan José Omella Omella, Archbishop of Barcelona, in which the people who died of Covid19 in our country, their families and those who work on the front line to achieve the end of the pandemic were remembered.

During the homily of the celebration, the Archbishop of Barcelona stressed that "we are always very aware of the joys and sorrows of our people", and wanted to emphasize the closeness of the Church at this time: "during this time of pandemic we, pastors of the Church, have not been unaware of the pain of our fellow citizens for the loss of so many people victims of the coronavirus".

The president of the bishops wanted to pray for all those who have died, not only in this pandemic, but also for those who have died because of the Covid-19We also remember those who have died of other causes unrelated to the coronavirus and who, during the time of confinement, have not been able to receive the farewell they deserved. "Today we remember them all, whether they were believers or non-believers, natives of our Hispanic geography or from other places. We feel that we are brothers to all of them and we share the pain of all their families and friends".

With this celebration, the Spanish Bishops' Conference joined in the prayer chain for the victims of the pandemic of the Covid-19, an initiative proposed by the Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe (CCEE).

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The passage of the pandemic through the United States

Among the elements to understand how the pandemic is affecting the U.S., it is worth noting the response that the federal and state governments offered to respond to this health crisis. 

Gonzalo Meza-February 22, 2021-Reading time: 5 minutes
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In March 2020, the world was stunned by the tragedy that COVID-19 was leaving in its wake in Italy. Hospitals with no beds available for the sick, a health structure on the verge of collapse, deaths numbering in the thousands and a government overwhelmed by the economic consequences caused by a virus whose origin is not well known, let alone the planetary repercussions it would have.

Many countries, including the United States (U.S.), believed that a drama similar to the Italian one would not occur in their borders, and if it did, it would be like a simple flu, controllable in a few weeks. They miscalculated. Almost a year after the first outbreaks of COVID-19, in Wuhan and then in Italy, more than 109 million coronavirus infections have been recorded worldwide, of which two and a half million have died.

Government response

THE U.S. LEADS THE WORLD IN DEATHS AND INFECTIONS. The U.S. leads the list of dead and infected people in the world. In mid-February 2021, the number of cases in that country reached 28 million with half a million dead. This is a figure that exceeds the number of deaths caused by the American wars, a number surpassed only by the U.S. Civil War. The most affected states are California, Texas, Florida and New York. 

How can this happen in the most powerful country on the planet, which has the best hospitals in the world and is a powerhouse in medicine and technology? It will take several years to answer this question with certainty. Part of the answer will be up to researchers, doctors and scientists.

Today it is only possible to offer a few elements for understanding the pandemic in the U.S. Among them, it is worth noting the response that the federal and state governments offered to respond to this health crisis. At the federal and state levels, the U.S. government miscalculated and failed to take early prevention measures, even when there was time to act.

The first cases of COVID-19 in the United States occurred between January and February 2020. These were people who had been to Hubei Province, China (whose most populous city is Wuhan). By the end of February, coronavirus cases began to occur in people who had not been outside the U.S. By mid-March, transmission was widespread and by April almost 800,000 cases were reported in the country.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention

One of the first government agencies to detect the danger posed by Covid-19 and to take the necessary actions to avoid a disaster was the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This agency is responsible for developing and implementing nationwide actions for disease prevention and control. Among other actions, this agency monitored, followed up and published a series of recommendations for the prevention and control of covid. These documents were prepared by leading physicians and scientists and were intended to present information that could be applied in different contexts, e.g. schools, workplaces, public places.

As in other countries, frequent sanitization of public places, social distancing and the use of masks, among other measures, were recommended. In view of the novelty and seriousness of the circumstances, the CDC did its scientific and informative work; however, the federal executive did not take it very seriously.

The greatest threat

The U.S. intelligence system also sent reports since the beginning of 2020 to the Federal Executive and some government agencies, warning of the possible lethality of the Coronavirus in the United States. One of the intelligence memos of January 30, 2020, sent to President Trump stated: "This will be the greatest national security threat facing your term in office". 

A few days later, the President declared that in the event that COVID-19 reached American soil, it would be like a simple flu and that the "Chinese virus" would not seriously affect the country. At that time, the former president contented himself with closing the US borders to Chinese citizens (later it would be the turn of the European Union) and implementing the detection and monitoring of Americans returning to the US from China.

Despite this ineffective management of the pandemic at the federal level, it is not possible to say that all the responsibility fell on the U.S. executive branch. The states also played a preponderant role.

Of the 50 states, few adopted drastic, mandatory and lasting containment measures, including California (CA) and New York (NY). Other states were content to propose (as a suggestion) sanitary protocols and provide information and testing. These states include Texas (TX) and Georgia (GA). In these places, strict containment lasted only a few weeks. 

The most populated states

California and Texas are the states that represent the contrasting American paradigm adopted in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. California and Texas are the most populous states in the nation, home to one-fifth of all Americans. The rest of the states adopted some model similar to these two paradigms.

Why was it not possible to centrally enforce severe national containment measures and mandatory protocols in the U.S., as was done in countries such as Italy and France? Because of the configuration of the American political system. The U.S. is a federal constitutional republic that operates under separation of powers, checks and balances and judicial review. The states enjoy sovereignty and have as their highest law the U.S. Constitution. When the founding fathers drafted it, they wanted to avoid a monarchical system of the English type, where the central power dominated over the various jurisdictions.

The federalist system

Between 1787 and 1788, debates took place before and during the drafting of the American Constitution, which provoked a struggle between Federalists and Anti-Federalists. The result was the current American federalist system. Thus, in the event that the executive branch enacted a law that a state considered unacceptable, the case would end up in the Supreme Court, which has the power to reverse the law, declaring it inadmissible.

Therefore, it is very difficult that even under the worst health crisis the U.S. has ever experienced, the executive power can dictate coercive laws, mandatory throughout the national territory (there are exceptions, for example in case of war). Supranational institutions such as the European Union with a central bank and other central mechanisms are unthinkable in the USA. 

Texas and the economy

Since its birth as a state, Texas has always been skeptical of government intervention in private affairs or in the economy. In many Texas cities, confinement lasted only a few weeks. In fact, Governor Greg Abbott left the decision to enforce sanitary measures (including the use of mouth covers) to the counties and cities. Thus, Texas and Georgia reopened their businesses and commercial activities some time before most of the states. Not only businesses, but schools returned a few months later to start the academic cycle. Thus, many people returned to a deconfined lifestyle.

Which was more important, the health of the population or the health of the state economy? In this dilemma, Texas has historically opted for the latter. Today Texas is the second most Covid-affected state in the U.S. The top spot is held by California.

California crackdown

In contrast, California has distinguished itself as a more liberal state open to government intervention. It was one of the first states to enact very severe mandatory confinement measures. Today, nearly a year into the pandemic, many of those rules are still in place. Unlike other states, California only allows certain types of businesses to open under certain conditions, such as restaurants that offer take-out food or have outdoor eating areas.

Likewise, education in that state continues to be delivered online, as many educational institutions still do not allow students on their campuses. One of the paradoxes is that, despite the fact that California has taken the most severe control and containment measures in the country, it is the state that tops the list of contagions and deaths at the national level.

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Spain

The defense of life is the focus of "Artisans of life and hope".

Maria José Atienza-February 22, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes

The interreligious meeting promoted by the Spanish Episcopal Conference brought together leaders of the main religious confessions present in the country to pray and express their commitment to the defense of life.

The hall of the Teresian Association in Madrid hosted this noon the interreligious meeting Artisans of life and hope driven by the Episcopal Subcommission on Interconfessional Relations and Interreligious Dialogue of the Spanish Episcopal Conference with the aim of extolling the sacred value of every human life and recalling the inestimable dignity of every person in every circumstance, whether poor or disabled, whether "useless" - such as the unborn - or "no longer useful" - such as the elderly.

The representatives of the different religious denominations spoke along these lines: Juan Carlos RamchandaniThe president of the Hindu Federation of Spain, was the first to take the floor to recall the need for cooperation between confessions in the times we are going through.

It has also been the central idea of the intervention of Moshe BendahanPresident of the Rabbinical Council of Spain and Rabbi of the Jewish Community of Madrid, who highlighted the Old Testament figure of Joseph as the man who went through different stages in his long life always with his trust in God.

Against the euthanasia law

More concrete were the interventions of  P. Andrey Kordochkinrepresentative of the Orthodox confessions and that of Msgr. Luis ArgüelloAuxiliary Bishop of Valladolid and Secretary General of the EEC, who focused their intervention on the need to defend life in all its stages. In particular, they referred to euthanasia, whose promotion the government wants to accelerate in the recently presented law.

Andrey Kordochkin recalled that human dignity is inviolable and that the "body of the dying person is neither the property of science nor of the state" and that it is necessary to provide comfort and palliative means that respect his life. Bishop Argüello also spoke along these lines, stressing that "weakness reminds us of our dependence on God and invites us to respond with respect for our neighbor.

Finally, Alfredo Abad de las HerasPresident of the Executive Committee of the Spanish Evangelical Church, and Mohamed Ajana, Secretary of the Islamic Commission of Spain have called for unity to alleviate the consequences that the pandemic is having in our society and in the defense of life.

To conclude, the following manifesto was read and signed by all the representatives:

Artisans of life and hope

The different religious traditions that have gathered in Madrid on this morning of December 11, 2020, wish to express our desire to collaborate in the construction of a renewed humanity in dialogue and reciprocal listening with the different fields of knowledge, so that the light of Truth may illuminate all men and women who inhabit our world.

Together we wish to proclaim our firm conviction that violence and terrorism are opposed to the true spirit of our religions. And in the face of this we condemn any return to violence in the name of God or religion.

As "architects of peace and fraternity" we commit ourselves to collaborate in the education of people in mutual respect and esteem, so that we can build a new fraternity and social friendship.

We commit ourselves to be close to those who suffer because of misery and abandonment and to make our own the cry of the discarded of our society, recognizing in the other always a brother.

We ask the leaders of nations and our rulers to build a society based on the inviolable value of human life and the dignity of the person, and to reject laws that threaten it. Today we are particularly concerned about the passage of the euthanasia law. In the face of this, we advocate for adequate legislation on palliative care. 

We are open to dialogue at all levels so that society also takes into account our vision of the human being and of the world, so that we can enrich ourselves.

We adhere to the Document on Fraternity, assuming together "the culture of dialogue as a way; collaboration as a conduct; reciprocal knowledge as a method and criterion".

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The Vatican

Women who make Church

In recent weeks, the names of some women, lay and consecrated, at the service of the Church and evangelization, throughout the centuries and also in our days, have been mentioned. Missionaries for the baptismal communion.

Giovanni Tridente-February 22, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
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Around the time of the First World War (1918), in Milan, a young woman barely 36 years of age took the lead of a group of other young women who met weekly in the bishop's palace to study theological and social problems in depth in order to create a dike of containment against the Marxist propaganda that was raging at the time. This experience was later repeated in all the Italian dioceses, bringing together many young women who, through personal formation and group life, lived baptism to the full, rediscovering also their dignity as women. 

This woman - a true pioneer in the field of Catholic laity at a time when women were not usually the forerunners of such initiatives - is called Armida Barelli, a devotee of the Sacred Heart, today Venerable Servant of God. She will soon be beatified by the will of Pope Francis, who a few days ago authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree concerning the miracle attributed to her intercession.

In the midst of the world and in the Church

His apostolate at the service of the Church and Italian society was truly unceasing: first in Catholic Action, then founding the secular Institute of the Missionaries of the Reign of Christ (ISM) together with Fr. Agostino Gemelli, and being among those who gave life to the best known Catholic University of the Sacro Cuore in Milan, contributing to its development in its first thirty years. 

barelli navy

Her example as a committed laywoman in the midst of the world and within the Church, upon reaching the honors of the altars, transmits to the times in which we live a further stimulus for the voice of women to be increasingly heard, for them to participate in decision making and for their important leadership role in the formation and spirituality of communities to be recognized.

These were requests that arose, among other things, not more than a year and a half ago, at the closing of the Synod on Amazonia, for an active involvement of women in the multiple instances that concern the mission of the Church.

The first "mother synodal

Pope Francis has shown that he takes seriously these requests arising from the synodal process: last month he appointed as undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops the French Xaverian nun Nathalie Becquart, the first "mother synodal" who will participate in the upcoming Assemblies with voting rights.  

Commenting on the news, the Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Mario Grech, spoke of a "renewed impetus in the commitment to a synodal and missionary Church" and how Becquart's appointment "helps us to remember in a concrete way that in synodal processes the voice of the People of God has a specific place and that it is fundamental to find ways to foster the effective participation of all the baptized in them."

Common baptismal priesthood

Weeks ago it was the turn of the extension of access to the ministry of the Acolyte and the Lectorate also to women, precisely by virtue of their participation in the common priesthood. A modification also prompted by the initiative of Pope Francis, who with the motu proprio "Spiritus Domini" has modified the first paragraph of canon 230 of the Code of Canon Law.

This had also been a request of the last Synod of Bishops on Amazonia, which made it possible to give even greater value to lay ministries "essentially distinct from the ordained ministry received through the sacrament of Holy Orders".

The noblest values of femininity 

Continuing with the theme of women, the authorization granted by the Pope to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments to include in the General Roman Calendar the celebration of the feast of the holy Doctor of the Church Hildegard of Bingen -who lived at the beginning of the first millennium- on September 17 of each year did not go unnoticed.

In the Apostolic Letter with which he proclaimed her Doctor of the Church on October 7, 2012, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote: "In Hildegard the noblest values of femininity are expressed: for this reason, also the presence of women in the Church and in society is illuminated by her figure, both from the perspective of scientific research and pastoral action. Her ability to speak to those who are far from the faith and the Church makes Hildegard a credible witness of the new evangelization".

In short, the Church's journey continues, at the side of women, together with women.

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AnnotationsJuan Luis Lorda

Is it Christian to seek happiness?

Human beings cannot stop searching for happiness. The mistake is to seek it for its own sake. What gives happiness is to follow the conscience.

February 22, 2021-Reading time: < 1 minute
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Yes and no. We can't stop looking for happiness. It comes from the factory, we wear it. St. Augustine formulated it: "You made us Lord for You...". And St. Thomas argues it: our intelligence in desiring to know, and our heart in desiring to love, are seeking God, even if we do not know it. All our tension towards happiness is tension towards God. And that is why we turn so many things into idols and substitutes.

We can tear anyone apart just by asking them flat out: are you really happy, is this what you expected from life, is this what you expected from life, is this what you expected from life? Of course, we all expect more from life, because we are made for heaven. That's why begging for happiness alone is frustrating and smacks too much of selfishness.

C. S. Lewis, in his wonderful autobiography (Captivated by joy), which is a search for the joy of happiness since childhood, comes to the conclusion that happiness is a result. It is a mistake to seek it for its own sake. What gives happiness is following conscience, which is following God.  

The authorJuan Luis Lorda

Professor of Theology and Director of the Department of Systematic Theology at the University of Navarra. Author of numerous books on theology and spiritual life.

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The Vatican

"The Holy Spirit pushes us to enter the desert."

Pope Francis recalled in this Sunday's Angelus that God's grace assures us victory over the enemy.

David Fernández Alonso-February 21, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes

On the first Sunday of Lent, Pope Francis had his usual Angelus prayer from the window of the Apostolic Palace, addressing the faithful who had been able to come to St. Peter's Square.

On this occasion, the Holy Father began by referring to the beginning of Lent, "with the penitential rite of ashes, we begin the journey of Lent. Today, the first Sunday of this liturgical season, the Word of God shows us the way to live fruitfully the forty days leading up to the annual celebration of Easter".

Forty days

The forty days leading up to Easter, Francis recalled, "is the journey made by Jesus, which the Gospel, in the essential style of Mark, summarizes by saying that before beginning his preaching, he withdrew for forty days into the desert, where he was tempted by Satan (cf. 1:12-15). The evangelist emphasizes that "the Spirit drives Jesus into the desert" (v. 12).

As should be ours, "Jesus' whole existence is placed under the sign of the Spirit of God, who animates, inspires and guides him".

The desert: natural and symbolic

The Pope wanted to dwell on the idea of the desert: "Let us pause for a moment in this natural and symbolic environment, so important in the Bible. The desert is the place where God speaks to the heart of man, and where the answer to prayer flows. But it is also the place of trial and temptation, where the Tempter, taking advantage of human frailty and needs, insinuates his deceptive voice, an alternative to that of God. Indeed, during the forty days lived by Jesus in the desert, the "duel" between Jesus and the devil begins, which will end with the Passion and the Cross".

God's grace assures us, through faith, prayer and penance, victory over the enemy.

In this way, Francis continues, "the whole ministry of Christ is a struggle against the Evil One in his many manifestations: cures of diseases, exorcisms of the possessed, forgiveness of sins. After the first phase in which Jesus demonstrates that he speaks and acts with the power of God, it seems that the devil prevails when the Son of God is rejected, abandoned and finally captured and condemned to death. In reality, death was the last "desert" to cross in order to definitively defeat Satan and free us all from his power".

A battle against evil

This liturgical season, with this Sunday's Gospel of the temptations of Jesus in the desert "reminds us that the Christian's life, in the footsteps of the Lord, is a battle against the spirit of evil. It shows us that Jesus willingly confronted the Tempter and defeated him; and at the same time it reminds us that the devil is given the possibility to act also on us with his temptations.

"We must be aware of the presence of this crafty enemy, interested in our eternal condemnation, in our failure, and prepare ourselves to defend ourselves against him and fight him. God's grace assures us, through faith, prayer and penance, the victory over the enemy. In the season of Lent, the Holy Spirit also urges us, like Jesus, to enter the desert. It is not - as we have seen - a physical place, but an existential dimension in which to be silent and listen to the word of God, "so that true conversion may be accomplished in us" (Collect prayer 1st Sunday of Lent B).

Finally, Francis concluded, "we are called to walk in the ways of God, renewing the promises of our baptism: to renounce Satan, all his works and all his seductions. We entrust ourselves to the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary".

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ColumnistsJuan Luis Rascón Ors

Parish Renewal: The Vision

February 19, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
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The story goes that Steve Jobs, one of the founders of Apple, seeing one of those pioneering computers that occupied entire buildings and were only used by NASA and other such institutions, thought that one day these gadgets would have a domestic use, people would carry them in their pockets and they would change the world. Fifty years later, who doesn't have a personal computer and a cell phone? We can no longer live without them.

Columbus saw that by traveling westward he would reach the Indies. It is true that he did not see that there was another continent in the middle, but was his adventure worthwhile or not?  I have come to bring fire to the earth, and what do I want but for it to burn already? said the Lord. Great epics originate in big dreams, not small ones. 

It is true that dreams can come to nothing, or fail, but if we don't have them, we will never know. 

Dubliners is an old movie, which I love and recommend. It is based on a story by James Joyce called The Dead. During a dinner party held on Epiphany Day 1904 in a stately home in Dublin, the evocative power of music, poetry and old stories told cause Greta to confide to her husband Gabriel the youthful love she felt for a young man, Michael Fury, who died of love, after spending the night planted outside Greta's window upon learning of her departure for Dublin.

It is safer and more comfortable not to have dreams. To languish in routine. But it is exciting to live every day when one has a big vision.

"It is better to pass into that other world impudently, in the full euphoria of a passion, than to fade and wither sadly with age," Gabriel reflects, contemplating Greta's lost look as she remembers Michael Fury.

It is safer and more comfortable not to have dreams. To languish in routine. But it is exciting to live every day when one has a big vision.

Someone said of vision that it is "an image of the future that produces passion in us". Steve Jobs himself said that "if you're working on something interesting, that you really care about, you don't need to be pushed, because the vision will drive you."

What is the vision behind my parish? Why and for what purpose do I do all that I do? Sometimes it seems that parishes are driven by a short-sighted vision, or even by no vision at all, simply by doing what has to be done and has always been done. Without a vision of the future that excites, one does not take risks, one does not undertake, one is not daring.

I love the story of St. Josemaría when, in the presence of three young people attending a retreat, he saw not just three but three thousand, three hundred thousand, three million... and I think it's similar to what happened to our Lord: ...They will come from east and west, from north and south, and will sit down at table in the Kingdom of God....

Dare to formulate a vision for your parish. The best thing to do is to ask God: what is your vision? And when you perceive what God's vision is, then make it your own. The first step, then, is to share that vision with others. What a great agenda for a pastoral council, isn't it? Instead of getting together for those boring and inconsequential meetings, get together to pray and dream, to grow in the vision, fill ourselves with the Holy Spirit and then go out, full of faith, boldness and enthusiasm, to fulfill our mission.

The authorJuan Luis Rascón Ors

Pastor in San Antonio de la Florida and San Pío X. Madrid.

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The World

Africa, times to strengthen the family

The executive orders signed in the first days of the new U.S. administration do not bode well for Kenya in family matters.

Martyn Drakard-February 19, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
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As newly elected U.S. President Joe Biden signed a series of executive orders in Washington repealing the Trump administration's pro-life and pro-family legislation, an unseasonably cold wind was blowing in this part of Africa, as if foreshadowing what may await Africans in the next four years: a return to the Obama era; the push for abortion and liberalization of laws on homosexual behavior.

A process linked to the United States

Many of us still remember Barack Obama's return to his father's homeland, and the public appeal to President Uhuru Kenyatta to liberalize the country's laws on homosexual conduct. To that, Kenyatta claimed that it is not part of the nation's culture.

In contrast, the Trump years had eased pressure in Africa to adopt these Western "values" by appointing ambassadors who shared his views in these types of areas and reducing funding.

Biden wants to turn back the clock. He has signed an executive order to promote homosexuality and transgenderism as a centerpiece of U.S. foreign policy. From now on, all government departments and agencies acting abroad will be required to ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and transsexual people around the world.

The key to financing

In addition, $10 million will fund the "Global Equality Fund," which will allow the U.S. government to blacklist foreign religious leaders who speak out in favor of the natural family and against LGBT ancestry. The same group is calling for a global effort to combat what they call "anti-gender" groups around the world. Pro-life and natural family advocates will be hurt, as they will not be able to count on friendly funding sources in the United States.

Mexico City's policy prohibiting U.S. money from going to abortion groups overseas was rescinded. This same executive order also withdrew sponsorship, and signature, of the Geneva Consensus Declaration, a "declaration by 35 countries that abortion is not an international human right," to which the United States had been a signatory.

Thus, funding was restored to the United Nations Population Fund, an agency that promotes abortion, meaning that the International Planned Parenthood Fund, Marie Stopes and hundreds of others around the world will now lobby governments to repeal protection for the unborn.

Help us, don't kill us!

The outlook is bleak, but Africa is not unprepared: see a 16-minute documentary prepared in Nigeria by Culture of Life, Africa, in which women and men from different backgrounds and professions and from different African countries tell Biden: Help us, don't kill us!

But, although it has softened during the Trump years, the pressure is relentless. Kenya, for example, is seen as an easy target, because it is more "westernized," has good communications, is well organized, and has freedom of speech and assembly.

In 2019 a lobby group went to court to try to decriminalize same-sex sexual relations, without success. In the same year, the Nairobi Summit (ICPD+25) was held to commemorate 25 years since the Cairo population conference. Although President Kenyatta said he did not share some of its views, the conference received wide international coverage and the fact that it was held here meant that local authorities had to endorse its agenda. A peaceful pro-life march was cancelled at the last minute, as police said they feared it would get out of control.

Constitutional scope

More recently, a senator, Susan Kihika, has tried to promote an abortion bill, which is now before parliament. Its aim, according to its promoter, is to provide safe abortion, "adolescent-friendly" family planning services, comprehensive sex education in schools, surrogate motherhood and in vitro fertilization.

In the current Kenyan constitution (2010), abortion is not illegal in all situations. The text reads: "(1): Everyone has the right to life; (2). A person's life begins at conception; (4). Abortion is not permitted unless, in the opinion of a qualified health professional, emergency treatment is necessary, or the life or health of the mother is endangered, or if permitted by any other written law; (5).".

The wording is ambiguous and Ms. Kihika and her co-promoters could see their bill become law.

Christians, especially from the Catholic Church, and the stricter Muslim communities, which have a significant presence in most African countries, oppose abortion and gay rights, but are at the mercy of their leaders and powerful international pharmaceutical groups.

How much longer can Africa hold out?

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Vocations

"We are to take care of what we are and what we have been called to."

A charism that goes back to the 4th century, a religious community dedicated to teaching and the living out of both calls: the religious and the teaching in the same vocation, this is how the Prioress of the Monastery of Santa Maria de Gracia, M.M. Augustinian Nuns of Huelva, summarizes her life.

Maria José Atienza-February 19, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
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Sister Maria de la Eucharistía is the prioress of the Monastery of Santa María de Gracia, house of the Augustinian Nuns in Huelva, on which the school of the same name depends. A community with more than 5 centuries of history in the capital of Huelva belonging to the Federation of Augustinian Nuns of Our Lady of Good Counsel and Saint Alonso de Orozco.

The community has seen how students of the school have discovered their call to the contemplative life within those same walls. Sister Maria of the Eucharist herself saw the call of God as a student of an Augustinian school when she "breathed the Augustinian charism in the words and life of my nuns". In her school she lived "the spiritual accompaniment in that close, loving and enthusiastic atmosphere was the fabric of my fidelity. I owe a lot to my nuns-teachers. There was a vocational culture and several of us students related to this ideal, which helped us to deepen it and take care of it".

Ancient and varied Augustinian charism

Augustinian spirituality is ancient and rich, which has given rise to many different ways of living it: "So many that what St. Augustine asks of us as the foundation for living it is nothing more nor less than the first commandment of the Law of God", emphasizes this religious, "and he puts as the first thing for which we are gathered in community is 'to have one soul and one heart oriented towards God'. Therefore, there is a variety of vocations and missions inspired by the Augustinian charism, since they are the thousand and one ways of living the love of God and neighbor".

Vocations among your students

agustinas_huelva

At a time when many religious orders dedicated to teaching do not seem to see vocational fruits, in the community of Huelva there are several sisters who have passed through the classrooms of the school uniting apostolic and educational vocation.

Sister Maria Eucharistia has lived it in first person as a teacher and director of these centers of Augustinian education: "The Lord has given me the grace, from my first glimpses of vocation, to unite as the two sides of the same coin, the love for the contemplative life and the apostolic life of teaching; and, in both, the doctrine and spirit of St. Augustine, lived in study and imbibed in the experience of my years as a schoolgirl. From them I have been nourished, sustained and oriented in my long years dedicated to education". 

The Augustinian Order, like all ancient orders, has seen a great reduction in the number of vocations. There are more vocations in those of us who have adopted a constitutional enclosure, in which the apostolate is allowed, we have schools and some houses for the care of minors".

For her, "the Augustinian charism is maintained by valuing the union of contemplative life and service to the Church, and we strive for it. But it is certain that more workers are needed for the harvest of the Lord. The adaptation to the signs of the times supposes to safeguard the roots and to take care of the fruits, being what we are and to what we have been called, opening ourselves to the light of today with its calls to life".

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Photo Gallery

Kuchinate Project: Back to life through crocheting

Kuchinate, a psychosocial project of the Comboni Missionary Sisters in Israel, is supported by Manos Unidas, which works with African women victims of human trafficking mafias.

Maria José Atienza-February 19, 2021-Reading time: < 1 minute
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The World

Europe to pray this Lent for the end of the pandemic

The initiative of the CCEE - Council of European Bishops' Conferences - proposes that, every day of this liturgical season, at least one Episcopal Conference should organize a Mass for the end of the coronavirus.

Maria José Atienza-February 19, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsDay of prayer to ask for laws respectful of life

Since Ash Wednesday, and throughout Lent, the Presidents of the Episcopal Conferences of our continent invite us to pray for the victims of the pandemic and for the end of this pandemic, which has been affecting the entire world territory for more than a year.

More than 770,000 people have died in Europe because of Covid-19 since last year. A terrifying figure that should lead Christians to "remember at Holy Mass, the victims, the many victims of the pandemic" as Cardinal Bagnasco stated in his message to launch this initiative. 

United in prayer, every Bishops' Conference in Europe has committed itself to organize at least one Mass, creating, he said, "a Mass that will be celebrated at the end of the year. Cardinal BagnascWe would like to pray, "a chain of prayer, a Eucharistic chain in memory and in suffrage for many people. In this prayer we also want to remember the families who have suffered bereavement and all those who are still affected by the disease at this time and have doubts about his life".

The initiative, which will involve all the Bishops' Conferences of Europe according to the calendar below, aims to offer a sign of communion and hope for the entire continent. The initiative joins the other occasions, in which bishops from all over Europe have joined their voices to that of Pope Francis to reiterate the Church's closeness to all those struggling with the coronavirus: the victims and their families, the sick and health care workers, the volunteers and all those who are on the front line at this time.

Episcopal ConferenceDate
Albania17 February
Austria17 February
Belgium18 February
Belarus19 February
Bosnia and Herzegovina20 February
Bulgaria22 February
SpainFebruary 23rd
Croatia24 February
Slovakia25 February
France26 February
Germany27 February
ScotlandMarch 1
England and Wales2 March
Ireland3 March
Italy4 March
Latvia5 March
Lithuania6 March
Luxembourg8 March
Malta9 March
Moldova10 March
Monaco11 March
Netherlands13 March
PolandMarch 15
Portugal16 March
Czech Republic17 March
RomaniaMarch 18
RussiaMarch 19
Ukraine (Greek Catholic)20 March
GreeceMarch 22nd
EstoniaMarch 23rd
SloveniaMarch 24
CyprusMarch 25
St. Cyril and St. MethodiusMarch 26
MukachevoMarch 27
Switzerland29 March
Turkey30 March
Ukraine (Latin)March 31
HungaryApril 1
CCEE SecretariatApril 1
Episcopal ConferenceDate
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ColumnistsMaria José Atienza

Sea bream and ham

The practice of abstinence, for a Christian in Lent, has its center in the surrender of the will rather than in the mere materiality of the flesh.

February 19, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

The arrival of Lent brings with it the consequent discussion about the Christian practice of mortifications. Especially, perhaps because of its repetition, abstinence.

The "brother-in-law" arguments repeated in the various forums where it is known that there is a practicing Catholic will return: that it is old-fashioned, that it is worse to eat a kilo of oysters than a chicken thigh, that it is nonsense....

The truth is that, like many sterile discussions, if in trying to explain the practice of abstinence from meat on certain days we focus on the "materiality" of chicken, duck or sea bream, we err in principle.

The real penance is not just the act of trading turkey for cheese, but the surrender of one's will in something "as silly" as trading turkey for cheese.

It would be very easy to find all kinds of reasoning about the suitability, or not, of this change when what really has to change is the heart itself. Not to eat meat is not to feed that omniscient self that clamors to win a battle as insignificant as that of substituting one food or another.

Abstinence brings us face to face with what we 'can do' but do not do for a greater cause: love. If our penance is empty of love, if we do not live it as an act of love-important, even if we are "used to it"-then we will surely begin to judge it as a silly routine to which we see no sense.

As in any love relationship, after all, that is what the Christian life is all about, the game is played in the soul with the expressions of the body.

This is how it is pointed out by the CatechismThe interior penance of the Christian can have very varied expressions. Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms: fasting, prayer and almsgiving".

Keeping abstinence is, therefore, a manifestation - quite simple, moreover - of love. We remember, in a certain way, an infinite sacrifice with a gesture that is simple in form. This year, as we have had to give so much in form, the battle is fought more in substance.

Probably these days of Lent be a good time to put on the table our superiorities, our opinions and our wills, even the self-satisfaction of "not eating ham" on a Friday in Lent.

As the Pope said at the beginning of this time, "what makes us return to him is not to boast of our abilities and our merits, but to welcome his grace. Grace saves us, salvation is pure grace, pure gratuity".

With these Lenten penances, with abstinence in this case, we unite ourselves, in the end, to the Passion of Christ by taking a tiny part of the cross, so tiny that, if we think about it, we may feel a certain embarrassment: it is not much that the Church asks of us on a Friday of Lent...

We could say that it is far less than what the average dietitian asks of us for every day. But, as in the Mass, Christ takes our small denials and lifts them up. As I once heard it said: "the road to heaven is paved with small steps.

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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The World

An injection of aid for Eastern Europe

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe is promoting a large collection this Ash Wednesday to help the Church in Central and Eastern European countries.

David Fernández Alonso-February 19, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsFrancis' message for Lent 2021Related NewsLent will set you freeRelated NewsThe rite of imposition of ashes in the time of Covid

Since the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have been struggling to rebuild their religious life, government structures, social welfare activities and economies. Catholics in that region, who endured decades of anti-religious persecution under Soviet rule, are in urgent need of help.

A collection that supports Catholics

Each year, the Central and Eastern Europe Appeal supports seminaries, youth ministry, social service programs and pastoral centers, as well as the construction and renovation of churches in 28 former communist-controlled nations.

This year, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe will especially support the Catholic community of Kyrgyzstan in its collection drive. This impoverished nation is often compared to Switzerland for its beauty and to Siberia for its history as a Soviet gulag. Communist leader Joseph Stalin unwittingly sparked a revival of the Catholic Church when he used the environment as a prison for ethnic Poles and Germans who were deported from western Russia for refusing to abandon their faith.

Global generosity

"During my visit to Kyrgyzstan in 2019, I was moved and humbled by the fervor of the people - including young people - who filled the churches," said Bishop Jeffrey M. Monforton of Steubenville and chairman of the Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe.

I encourage Catholics to prayerfully consider supporting this collection.

Bishop Jeffrey M. MonfortonBishop and Chairman of the Subcommittee for Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe

One of the most moving experiences of my ministry," Bishop Monforton continues, "was confirming an elderly woman in a nursing home. Monforton continues, "was confirming an elderly woman in a nursing home. She had been baptized as an infant, but her parents were afraid to allow her to be confirmed. For many, many years, she prayed to receive the sacrament, and she saw my visit as an answer to her prayers. I encourage Catholics to prayerfully consider supporting this collection, as the projects helped by the generosity of the faithful here in the United States will impact the lives of many in Central and Eastern Europe."

DATO

6.1 million

Of dollars were awarded in 2020 from the Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe to fund 323 projects in 25 countries.

In 2020, the Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe awarded $6.1 million to fund 323 projects in 25 countries. Information about the Appeal for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, including the most recent annual report, is at. www.usccb.org/ccee.

Alms for Lent

This year's Collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe will be held in most parishes on Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2021; although some dioceses will select different dates to avoid conflicts with local activities. The conference encourages those unable to attend the Mass in person to contact their local parish for donation options, as many parishes and dioceses have systems in place that allow for electronic donations to the collection.

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Culture

Year of St. Joseph: good worker

For St. Joseph, work was fundamental in his life. He sanctified it, sanctified others through it, and it was a magnificent means of union with God.

Alejandro Vázquez-Dodero-February 18, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
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If, as we said in previous fascicles on the life of St. Joseph, he was a good husband and a good father, we can say that he was also a good worker. We continue to dedicate this space to him in this year called for by Pope Francis with the apostolic letter Patris Corde until December 8. 

He was a good worker, especially because, as a citizen among his own, whom God had chosen to entrust Mary and the Child to him, he would try to support himself financially and, since the Holy Family had been entrusted to him, he would also try to support her. 

We can think, why not, that both Our Lady and Our Lord would help Joseph in his professional work, as a "family business". But our purpose on this occasion is to focus on the holy Patriarch as a worker, and not so much on the contribution of his wife and son.

Sanctified the work

The holy patriarch, from his workshop, would work honestly and without forgetting the need to provide for his family. He would emphasize the dignity of what he did, and he would do it with the utmost perfection, because he wanted to give glory to God. 

As soon as he received an order from his customers - a new piece of furniture, a repair, a repair... - he would take great care to treat them exquisitely. He would take good note of what he would have to do, asking what he needed to do in order to complete the order perfectly. He would commit himself to deliver the work on a certain date, the one agreed upon. Once finished, he would deliver it with the joy of someone who has worked well, with a desire to serve and to please his clients.

That job well done, and therefore fairly remunerated, would represent for him -and for his family and environment- a real satisfaction. Well done because he would know how to start it well and finish it with equal excellence: the first and last stones were his thing.

On the other hand, St. Joseph reconciled his condition as a worker with that of husband and father. We cannot imagine that, because of his professional dedication, he would neglect the Virgin and the Child, since caring for them was the main mission of his life.

All these components would make St. Joseph's work, in itself, an object of sanctification. The work itself would be something holy. It would not be, thus, a penalty, curse or punishment, as perhaps many understand it, but something honorable and worthy of sanctification.

Sanctified through work

On the other hand, the attitude described above would bring him closer to God - to God's love - through his professional work. That is to say, that this work, in short, would be prayer, and a certain way of encountering God, of dealing with Him.

It is not that during his working day he dedicated himself to reciting prayers, but rather that his work itself, as we said, was his prayer. In other words, he prayed, without further complexity, working "in the presence" of God. Therefore, sharing with Him what he was doing; and not only sharing it, but offering it to Him.

In short, his life, through his condition as a worker, took on a meaning: the meaning of behaving as a child of God also during the development of his profession. 

Ultimately, he would consider the work he had in hand as something willed by God for him, an integral part, therefore, of his vocation or mission on earth.

In this regard, St. Josemaría Escrivá, in his homily, said In the workshop of Joséreminds us that the human vocation, and therefore professional work, is part, and an important part, of the divine vocation: "This is the reason why you have to sanctify yourselves, contributing at the same time to the sanctification of others, of your equals, precisely by sanctifying your work and your environment: this is the profession or trade that carries your days (...)".

Sanctified the neighbor on the occasion of work

Work, in the eyes of Faith, represents participating in God's redemptive work, collaborating in the coming of the Kingdom, placing the qualities of the worker at the service of others for God.

St. Joseph would be fully aware of this, and the dignity of having a remunerated occupation for himself and his family would be the driving force of his professional development. But it would not stop there, but would transcend to his surroundings, with that clear conscience, as we said, of collaborating through his profession to the redemptive work initiated by his son and of which he already felt in some way "co-responsible". 

He would give thanks to God for having this means to bring him closer to those he dealt with in the course of his profession. Because he would see in his work an opportunity to give himself to others, to lead them to divine love, teaching them that work not only provides a livelihood, but also represents a unique opportunity to meet God, who pours his graces into the soul on the occasion of professional work.

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The World

The German synodal journey enters a new phase

The Church in Germany reflects on abuse of power, sexual morality, celibacy and the role of women in the Church in this new phase of the synodal journey.

José M. García Pelegrín-February 18, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsCardinal Koch reaffirms reasons for intercommunionRelated NewsCard. Rainer M. WoelkiI ask that space be given in the synodal journey to the Pope's indications".

In the wake of the scandal that, in January 2018, led to the publication of past clerical sexual abuse in Germany, the German Bishops' Conference (DBK) commissioned a study by research institutes.

Beginning of the synodal journey

Following the publication of the MHG report - an acronym for the Universities of Mannheim, Heidelberg and Giessen - the DBK decided at its March 2019 assembly to initiate a reform process to prevent future abuses. Thus began the so-called Synodal Path, which would be divided into four forums: "abuse of power", "sexual morality", "celibacy" and "the role of women in the Church".

Shortly thereafter, the DBK announced that the "Central Committee of German Catholics" (ZdK) would participate in it; in total, the members of the Assembly number exactly 230.

Participation of the laity

The participation of the ZdK in the process brings advantages - the laity seem closer to society to judge the "credibility" of the Church - but also a problem of mentality: many of them are or have been professional politicians: its current president Thomas Sternberg was, from 1989 to 2017, first a city councilor in Münster and then a deputy in the North Rhine-Westphalia Regional Parliament. Herein lies a fundamental, possibly instinctive misunderstanding: applying to the Church the criteria of democracy that prevail in politics.

Thus, one of the three vice-presidents, Karin Kortmann - who has been a deputy in the Bundestag and Secretary of State - demands "division of powers" in the Church and the election of the bishop by "the rank-and-file Catholics", for only in this way would he have "legitimacy". In response to the project that includes these demands, the Bishop of Regensburg, Rudolf Voderholzer, addressed a letter to the President of the DBK, Bishop Georg Bätzing, in which he emphasized that these demands "are based on a way of understanding the Scriptures, the magisterium and the Church that is fundamentally different from that of past centuries".

Herein lies a fundamental misunderstanding: applying to the Church the criteria of democracy that prevail in politics.

Division of opinions

Another aspect that has been weighing down the synodal process is linking the concrete issue of sexual abuse with a structural reform of the Church. On February 10, Bishop Czeslaw Kozon of Copenhagen, one of the observers of the synodal process, said that it should have focused on abuse: although there may be points of contact, "aspects of the structure of the Church should not be dealt with in such a radical way.

Pope Francis sent on June 29, 2019 a. Letter to the people of God on pilgrimage in GermanyIn it he said: "The 'Sensus Ecclesiae' frees us from particularisms and ideological tendencies to make us taste the certainty of the Second Vatican Council".

The 'Sensus Ecclesiae' frees us from particularisms and ideological tendencies to make us taste the certainty of Vatican Council II.

Pope FrancisLetter to the People of God on pilgrimage in Germany, June 29, 2019.

Reactions to the letter showed the deep division of opinions within the synodal pathSome, such as Michael Fuchs, Vicar General of the Diocese of Regensburg, interpreted it as an invitation to rethink the whole process; the then DBK President, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, and the President of the ZdK saw it as an endorsement.

Meeting of the four forums

Thus, on February 4 and 5, the following events took place online The four forums, in order to prepare the draft resolutions to be voted on in the plenary session, expected in September.

Margareta Gruber, professor of Biblical Exegesis and Theology and advisor to the synodal process, said about the document that the Plenary may approve: "Of course, no matter how good it may be, our document will not revolutionize the Church tomorrow; but we are a factor in the workings of the Spirit. Nor will the Pope be able to decide on these questions alone; a Council will have to be held... with the participation of women".

Self-confidence is not lacking.

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RelatedRelated NewsCardinal Koch reaffirms reasons for intercommunionRelated NewsCard. Rainer M. WoelkiI ask that space be given in the synodal journey to the Pope's indications".
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The Vatican

"Receiving God, bearing witness and caring for those who suffer."

Pope Francis, in his Message for Lent 2021, encourages us to live this "time of conversion and prayer" supported by faith, hope and charity.

Giovanni Tridente-February 18, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsFrancis' message for Lent 2021Related News"He who prays is like a lover, he carries in his heart the beloved person".

To receive God into our lives, to bear witness to the "new time" in Jesus Christ and to care for the suffering and abandoned. Pope Francis' Message for Lent this year, which begins next Wednesday, February 17, is structured around these three "operative" verbs, these three tasks.

The starting point is given by the Gospel passage of Matthew 20:18, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem...", when Jesus separates the disciples from the crowd and announces to them the final phase of his earthly life, entrusting to them also the inheritance of the mission. An ascent to Jerusalem that becomes a true and proper pilgrimage to the Father's house, and an invitation to imitate the self-denial and infinite and gratuitous love of Jesus himself.

Selfless obedience

We too, his followers, are called to follow this path that should bring us closer to the definitive example of Christ for all humanity, learning the lesson he gave on the Cross: obedient faith, selfless love and hope in the Resurrection.

It is not by chance that Pope Francis' reflection seeks to apply these three theological virtues of faith, hope and charity to the current experience of humanity, called to confront the tragic effects of the pandemic. In this time, therefore, we are called to live in depth the experience of Calvary, with the desire to await the Resurrection and, therefore, true freedom from every bondage that holds our life.

In this Lenten season, welcoming and living the Truth that was manifested in Christ means first of all allowing oneself to be reached by the Word of God.

Pope FrancisMessage for Lent 2021

A period of conversion, which Lent helps to achieve through three concrete actions: fasting, as "the way of poverty and deprivation", almsgiving, through "the gaze and gestures of love towards the wounded man" and prayer, which is "the filial dialogue with the Father".

Welcoming the faith

Fasting in poverty and deprivation means fundamentally - Pope Francis explains - learning to listen to the voice of God that comes to us through his Word, rediscovering that we are "creatures who, in his image and likeness, find their fulfillment in him". It is essentially a journey of faith, which in Lent must be carried out as a "time to believe," once we have cleared the field of the superfluous, and thus "welcome and live the Truth that has been manifested in Christ.

The path of hope

In the face of the worries of the world, of uncertainties and fragility, the call to hope becomes stronger, and this hope is always manifested in God, even if only by looking at the patience with which he still "continues to watch over his Creation".

By receiving forgiveness, in the Sacrament that is at the heart of our conversion process, we too become disseminators of forgiveness.

Pope FrancisMessage for Lent 2021

And hope becomes a way - that is, it makes us progress in the life of faith - when we become capable of asking for forgiveness and in turn become spreaders of forgiveness, learning to console the wounded. The attitude of prayer - the Pope maintains - also serves here to shed light on the challenges that await us and to bear witness to a God who "makes all things new".

Charity care

Finally, charity, which "rejoices to see the other grow," and by going out of ourselves opens us to sharing and communion. Obviously it is a gift to be asked for, but once accepted it can really give meaning to our lives, making us consider those around us as friends, brothers and sisters and, ultimately, members of our own family. Charity thus understood is generative, because as we ourselves give confidence to others, we make them feel that God loves them as children.

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem...": in this pilgrimage that opens us to prayer, stimulates us to share and leads us to a true conversion of heart, every stage of our life is marked, a propitious time "to believe, to hope and to love".

Our time, the hour of history. This Lent 2021.

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Spain

To Caesar what is Caesar's. On the immatriculations of the Church

The author explains the legal process of immatriculation of real estate by the Church and the foreseeable future, as a result of the report presented by the Government.

Santiago Cañamares Arribas-February 18, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes

The Report that the Government has just sent to the Congress about the immatriculation of ecclesiastical property in the Property Registry, brings cause of a Proposition not of law, presented in 2017 by the Socialist group in the Justice Commission, whose ultimate objective pursued to claim from the Catholic Church the ownership of those properties that had been registered in the Registry in its favor from the reform of the mortgage legislation of 1998.

According to the Government from that date until 2015, the Church immatriculated 34,915 real estate properties, of which about 20,000 would correspond to temples and places of worship, and the rest to other properties not directly related to a religious use: lots, premises, homes, etc.  

Among the places of worship listed -whose ownership in favor of the Church is questioned- are some as significant as the Cathedral of Cordoba or the Giralda of Seville, whose property would belong -according to the registry entries- to the Diocese of Cordoba and the Chapter of the Cathedral of Seville, respectively.

The Government states in its Report that it will conduct administrative proceedings to elucidate the possible ownership of these assets in favor of the State, so that when it is proven, it will resort to judicial proceedings to obtain their recognition and consequent modification in the registry.   

The 1998 change

In order to understand the shadow of doubt cast over the actions of the Catholic Church in this area, it should be borne in mind that until 1998 mortgage legislation did not allow the registration in the Property Registry of either public property (state, provincial, municipal) for public use or of temples intended for Catholic worship, since they were considered property for common use whose owner was taken for granted.

Thus, since they could not be registered, it was of little importance to have a title deed, nor, in the event that it was missing, was it appropriate to initiate an ownership proceeding to prove it. This regulation was clearly detrimental to the Church, since it could not enjoy the protection implied by the registration of its places of worship, contrary to what happened with other religious denominations whose properties could be registered.

To correct this discrimination, the 1998 reform allowed access to the Property Registry for both the aforementioned public properties and Catholic places of worship. When the properties in question lacked title deeds - for various reasons, including historical ones - the registration could be made by means of a certification issued by the competent official or the diocesan bishop regarding the ownership of the property.

 This happened, for example, with the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, which was registered in 2006 in the name of the Diocese because it had belonged since time immemorial to the Catholic Church and because it does not seem that anyone had a title deed in its favor. Obviously, in this case, the Administration could also have used this same procedure, but the reality is that only the Church made use of this prerogative recognized to both by the Mortgage Law.  

Measures to avoid irregular immatriculations

It is true that this system - which ceased to be in force for the Church as of 2015 - could lend itself to certain abuses due to the broad autonomy of the diocesan bishop. However, in order to avoid irregularities, a series of safety valves were articulated. On the one hand, the registration did not produce effects against third parties until two years after it was made. On the other hand, there was always the possibility of going to court at any time to claim ownership of a property against the presumption provided by the registry. It is not known that the Government has disputed the ownership of the Cathedral of Cordoba or any other before the state courts.

It is clear to no one that this Report, which has a clearly identifiable political and ideological component, can uncover irregularities in the process of immatriculation of some places of worship in favor of the Church, but it will not achieve the desired effect: that the ownership of the great cathedrals in Spain passes into the hands of the State. For this, the courts would have to accept that the State has a better right over the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba -to give an example- than the Church, which is highly improbable, if one takes into account that for this the Government would have to prove in a reliable way -in the absence of title deeds- that the Mosque is theirs by demonstrating the origin of its acquisition or its ownership by usucapion, that is, by a public and peaceful possession as owner for a considerable period of time. Neither of these options seems easy to achieve. Caesaris, Caesari, Dei Deo.

The authorSantiago Cañamares Arribas

Professor of Law. Complutense University of Madrid

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ColumnistsJavier Segura

Aeneas and euthanasia

The myth of Aeneas provides the keys to life. He went out with his father and his son and, in them, preserves his roots and takes care of the future.

February 18, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes

Aeneas, the legendary Greek hero who stars in Virgil's 'The Aeneid', must quickly leave Troy, which is in flames. The goddess Venus advises him to do so. But the hero does not want to flee without taking the most important thing with him: he takes his son Ascanius, a child, by the hand and carries on his shoulders his father Anchises, who because of his old age can hardly walk and may perish in the fire.

The Spanish Bishops' Conference has published the document 'Life is a gift, euthanasia a failure', in which he denounces the proposed euthanasia law. But few other voices have been heard in the face of this new red line that our society has crossed.

The euthanasia law is radically unjust because of the criteria it establishes regarding the value of life.

I have been thinking about the issue of euthanasia and, no matter how much it is dressed up as a supposed 'mercy', I am convinced that it is a radically unjust law with unpredictable consequences, not only for the number of lives it ends, but also for the criteria it establishes in society regarding the value of life and the relationships between us.

In the fifth point the bishops state that 'by granting this supposed right, the person, who is experienced as a burden on the family and a social burden, feels conditioned to ask for death when a law presses him in that direction'. 

Is there anything more unfair than making the person who needs our help feel guilty? Do we not realize what it can mean for a person who is dependent and elderly, who often feels like a burden, to be told by the State and society that there is a 'solution' and that it is in their hands? That by ending their life they are taking a problem away from their children. That her own death is an 'act of love' to her loved ones.

A society that does not cultivate love and veneration for its elderly is a lost society. It is true that on some occasions there is suffering that brings out the best in us, that turns the caregivers and relatives of that elderly person or that person in a critical situation into true heroes. It is true that Aeneas has to carry his father, and that the burden is heavy.

Whoever casts as a burden the weakest, will walk "faster" but will do so towards his own destruction.

But the story of Aeneas, like all myths, provides us with the keys to life. Aeneas saved the most sacred. He went out with his father on his back and his son by the hand. In the face of presentism and the selfish look, he takes his father and his son. He saves the weakest. And, in them, he preserves their roots and history, he takes care of the future.

The path that our civilization has built is that of Aeneas' mercy. He who casts as a burden the weakest, it is true that he will walk faster, that he will even be able to run, but he will do so towards his own destruction.

The five months spent with my friend and brother Manuel in palliative care, the love shown day and night by his wife, the prayer and affection that have sustained them in these seven years of struggle against cancer, give me the certainty that this is the only path that makes us truly human: that of caring for each other, of healing our wounds, of protecting life.

This is what our pastors remind us today in this letter. That Aeneas has to carry his old father again.

And take your child by the hand. 

That the last word should not be that of death - euthanasia - but that of love.

The authorJavier Segura

Teaching Delegate in the Diocese of Getafe since the 2010-2011 academic year, he has previously exercised this service in the Archbishopric of Pamplona and Tudela, for seven years (2003-2009). He currently combines this work with his dedication to youth ministry directing the Public Association of the Faithful 'Milicia de Santa Maria' and the educational association 'VEN Y VERÁS. EDUCATION', of which he is President.

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Education

Online meeting 'What does the Celaá Law oblige us to do?

The Roman Academic Center Foundation organizes an online meeting with the spokesman of Masplurales, Jesús Muñoz de Priego, in which the main doubts about the "Celaá law" will be discussed.

Maria José Atienza-February 17, 2021-Reading time: < 1 minute
RelatedRelated News"The LOMLOE is confessional in its understanding of education."Related NewsWho decides the education of our children?

The approval without consensus of the Organic Law for the improvement of the LOE (Lomloe or Celaá Law) in Spain has only increased doubts about the curricular development of the Spanish pedagogical system or about the survival of education systems such as charter schools or special education.

– Supernatural Centro Académico Romano Foundation wants to dedicate a space for reflection to the consequences of the implementation of this educational system and to answer those questions that are on the table around the LOMLOE.

What does the Celaá law oblige us to do?

The virtual meeting What does the Celaá law oblige us to do? A look at the essence of the law will take place next February 25, 2009 as of 20:30 h. and will be broadcasted on Youtube. Registration is free and can be made through the CARF website.

Questions such as the values that underpin the law, the fit of the subject of Religion or the viability of models such as differentiated education, are some of the topics to be addressed at the next CARF reflection meeting, Jesus Muñoz de Priego AlvearHe is the spokesman and coordinator of "enLibertad", an initiative for freedom of education and national spokesman for the platform "Más Plurales". Author of many papers on educational issues and articles in specialized magazines and collective works.

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RelatedRelated News"The LOMLOE is confessional in its understanding of education."Related NewsWho decides the education of our children?
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The World

What will this year's Holy Week be like?

The Holy See offers some indications for this year's Holy Week celebrations, which are along the lines of last year's, with some variation and additional suggestions. 

David Fernández Alonso-February 17, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
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The Congregation for Divine Worship has published a Note to offer some simple guidelines for this year's Holy Week celebrations, signed by Cardinal Prefect Robert Sarah and Archbishop Arthur Roche, Secretary.

Living Holy Week

The purpose of this note is "to help the Bishops in their task of evaluating concrete situations and to procure the spiritual good of pastors and faithful to live this great Week of the liturgical year".

It is clear that the drama of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about many changes, even in the usual way of celebrating the liturgy. The norms and guidelines contained in the liturgical books, conceived for normal times, are not entirely applicable in exceptional times of crisis such as these.

Prudent decisions

Therefore, says the note, "the Bishop, as moderator of liturgical life in his Church, is called to make prudent decisions so that liturgical celebrations may be carried out fruitfully for the People of God and for the good of the souls entrusted to him, taking into account the protection of health and what has been prescribed by the authorities responsible for the common good".

The Congregation recalls the Decree issued by mandate of the Holy Father, March 25, 2020 (Prot. N. 154/20) in which some orientations are offered for the celebrations of Holy Week. This pronouncement is also valid for this year. The Congregation invites,
therefore, to reread it in view of the decisions that the Bishops will have to make with regard to the upcoming Easter celebrations in the particular situation of their country. In many countries strict conditions of confinement are still in force that make it impossible for the faithful to be present in church, while in others a more normal worship life is being resumed.

General indications

On the one hand, it is suggested to facilitate and privilege the media diffusion of the celebrations presided over by the Bishop, encouraging the faithful who cannot attend their own church to follow the diocesan celebrations as a sign of unity.

In all celebrations, according to the Episcopal Conference, attention should be paid to some particular moments and gestures, respecting sanitary requirements.

The Chrism Mass, if necessary, can be moved to another more suitable day; it is desirable that a significant representation of pastors, ministers and faithful participate.

For the celebrations of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil, the same indications as last year apply.

Changes in the celebrations

    Palm Sunday. The Commemoration of the Entrance of the Lord into Jerusalem is to be celebrated inside the sacred building; in cathedral churches, the second form of the Roman Missal is to be adopted; in parish churches and elsewhere, the third form is to be adopted.

    Holy Thursday. The washing of the feet, which is now optional, is to be omitted. At the end of the Mass at the Lord's Supper, the procession is also to be omitted and the Blessed Sacrament is to be reserved in the tabernacle. On this day, priests are exceptionally granted the faculty to celebrate Mass without the presence of the people in a suitable place.

    Good Friday. In the universal prayer, the Bishops are to prepare a special intention for those in danger, the sick, the deceased (cf. Missale Romanum). Adoration of the Cross with the kiss is to be limited to the celebrant alone.

    Easter Vigil. To be celebrated only in cathedral and parish churches. For the baptismal liturgy, only the renewal of baptismal promises is to be kept (cf. Missale Romanum).

It is encouraged to prepare suitable aids for family and personal prayer, also enhancing some parts of the Liturgy of the Hours.

Role of the bishops

Finally, the Congregation sincerely thanks the Bishops and Bishops' Conferences for their pastoral response to a constantly changing situation throughout the year.

They state that they are aware that the decisions taken have not always been easy to accept on the part of pastors and lay faithful. However, -they say- "we know that they were taken to ensure that the holy mysteries were celebrated in the most effective way possible for our communities, respecting the common good and public health".

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Spain

"Church for Decent Work" calls for decent job creation policies

The promoters of the ecclesial initiative for decent work will focus the 2021 campaign on raising political, ecclesiastical and social awareness of commitments in favor of decent jobs. 

Maria José Atienza-February 17, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

The initiative Church for decent workwhich is made up of Christian-inspired entities and organizations such as Caritas, the Spanish Conference of Religious, the Catholic Action Workers' Brotherhood (HOAC) and Catholic Student Youth, presented this morning the key to its 2021 campaign.

The "Church for decent work" points out that "the pandemic has aggravated the already difficult situation of the world of work and has revealed the limits of commodified work". In this sense, they wanted to recall the more than six hundred thousand people who lost their jobs in 2020, as well as the figures of youth unemployment among those under 25 years of age, which in Spain is already 39.6%.

DATO

600.000

More than 600,000 people lost their jobs in 2020

A labor drama that is aggravated by the difficulties of thousands of people to access "a decent job that allows them to meet basic needs such as making ends meet, reconciling work and family life, access to housing, occupational safety and health or energy comfort, social participation, etc.".

Now more than ever, decent work

For all these reasons, this year's slogan: "Now more than ever, decent work", is intended to be a stimulus to "address this situation in which we find ourselves, especially among women and young people. This will be the main priority in the reflection and action of the initiative during 2021 and will have its maximum expression in the call for May Day and the World Day for Decent Work on October 7, key days in its work for the promotion of the dignity of work".

To achieve this, the Church for Decent Work will update its awareness-raising and information materials to continue promoting the adhesion of parishes, groups and institutions to the initiative. In addition, in this sense, "it intends to advance in the dialogue with the members of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, particularly with the bishop of the Pastoral Ministry of Labor, to share views, concerns and strategies that continue to encourage the priority of decent work in the midst of the pastoral action of the whole Church". 

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The Vatican

Lent, a journey back home

Pope Francis recalled the true meaning of Lent in his homily on Ash Wednesday: to return to God, to rediscover the joy of being loved.

David Fernández Alonso-February 17, 2021-Reading time: 4 minutes
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The Holy Father Francis was able to celebrate the Holy Mass of Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica, while observing the sanitary measures. During the celebration, the imposition of ashes took place, which Francis imposed on the cardinals and collaborators present at the celebration.

The beginning of the road

The Pope began his homily by recalling that today "we begin the journey of Lent" and pointing out the direction to follow during these days until Holy Week: "There is an invitation that comes from the heart of God, who with open arms and eyes full of longing pleads with us: 'Turn to me with all your heart'" (Jl 2,12). Turn to me. Lent is a return trip to God. How many times, busy or indifferent, have we said to Him: "Lord, I will come back to You later... Today I cannot, but tomorrow I will start praying and doing something for others". Now God is calling to our heart. In life we will always have things to do and excuses to give, but now it is time to return to God."

Lent is the time to find our way back home.

Pope FrancisAsh Wednesday Homily

Therefore, continues the Pontiff, "Lent is a journey that involves our whole life, all that we are. It is the time to verify the paths we are walking, to find our way back home, to rediscover the fundamental bond with God, on which everything depends. Lent is not a gathering of little flowers, it is to discern where the heart is oriented. Let us ask ourselves: which way is the navigator of my life leading me, towards God or towards my self? Do I live to please the Lord, or to be seen, praised, preferred? Do I have a "dancing" heart, which takes one step forward and one step back, loves the Lord a little and the world a little, or a heart firm in God? Am I at ease with my hypocrisies, or do I struggle to free the heart from the duplicity and falsehood that shackle it?"

Francis explains that "the Lenten journey is a journey that is an exodus from slavery to freedom. They are forty days that recall the forty years in which God's people traveled in the desert to return to their land of origin. But how difficult it is to leave Egypt! Always, along the way, there was the temptation to long for the onions, to go back, to attach oneself to the memories of the past, to some idol. It is the same for us: the journey back to God is hindered by our unhealthy attachments, slowed down by the seductive bonds of vices, of the false securities of money and appearances, of the victimizing lamentation that paralyzes. To walk it is necessary to unmask these illusions".

Return trips

"How then should we proceed on the way to God?" the Pontiff asks. And then he proposes as an answer the return journeys recounted to us in the Word of God.

God's forgiveness, confession, is the first step in our return journey.

Pope FrancisAsh Wednesday Homily

Looking at the prodigal son, "we understand that it is also a time for us to back to Father. Like that son, we too have forgotten the perfume of home, we have squandered precious goods for insignificant things and we have remained empty-handed and unhappy at heart. We have fallen: we are children who continually fall, we are like little children who try to walk and fall to the ground, and always need their father to pick them up again. It is the Father's forgiveness that puts us back on our feet: God's forgiveness, confession, is the first step on our return journey".

To return to Jesus, we have to learn from "that healed leper who came back to thank him. Ten were healed, but he alone was also healed. branbecause he returned to Jesus (cf. Lc 17,12-19). We all have spiritual illnesses, but we cannot cure them alone; we all have deep-rooted vices, but we cannot eradicate them alone; we all have fears that paralyze us, but we cannot overcome them alone. We need to imitate that leper, who returned to Jesus and prostrated himself at his feet. We need the healing of JesusIt is necessary to present our wounds to Him and tell Him: "Jesus, I am here before You, with my sin, with my miseries. You are the doctor, You can set me free. Heal my heart".

He came to us first

Near the end of the homily, Pope Francis concluded that "our return trip to God is possible only because it was first produced their outbound journey to us. Before we came to Him, He came down to us. He went before us, He came to meet us. For us he descended lower than we could imagine: he became sin, he became death. This is what St. Paul reminded us: "God made him who committed no sin to be like sin for us" (1 Corinthians 5:1).2 Co 5,21). In order not to leave us alone and to accompany us on our journey, he descended to our sin and our death. Our journey, then, consists in letting ourselves be taken by the hand. The Father who calls us to return is the One who leaves home to come and meet us; the Lord who heals us is the One who let himself be wounded on the cross; the Spirit who makes us change our lives is the One who blows with strength and gentleness on our clay".

Let us place ourselves before the cross of Jesus: let us look at his wounds every day. In these wounds we recognize our emptiness, our faults, the wounds of sin, the blows that have hurt us.

Pope FrancisAsh Wednesday Homily

Referring to the act by which we bow our heads in the imposition of ashes, the Pope encourages us that "when Lent is over, we will bow down even more to wash the feet of our brothers and sisters. Lent is a humble abasement within ourselves and towards others. It is to understand that salvation is not a climb to glory, but a lowering of ourselves out of love. It is to become small. On this path, so as not to lose direction, let us place ourselves before the cross of Jesus: it is the silent seat of God. Let us look at his wounds every day. In those holes we recognize our emptiness, our faults, the wounds of sin, the blows that have hurt us".

However, Francis concludes, "it is precisely there that we see that God does not point a finger at us, but opens his arms wide. His wounds are open for us and in those wounds we have been healed (cf. 1 P 2,24; Is 53,5). Let us kiss them and we will understand that it is precisely there, in the most painful voids of life, that God awaits us with his infinite mercy. Because there, where we are most vulnerable, where we are most ashamed, He comes to meet us. And now he invites us to return to him, to rediscover the joy of being loved.

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Evangelization

Ways to evangelize today: Jesus Christ

José Miguel Granados highlights the backbone of the ways to evangelize in today's world: "to show the true face of Jesus Christ".

José Miguel Granados-February 17, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

The greatest poverty is not to have Christ. Like the apostle to the Gentiles, so also to us. "the charity of Christ urges us". to evangelize (2 Cor 5:14). But what can we do to overcome the barrier of indifference and arouse the desire to draw near to the Lord, how can we form these mature Christian personalities in this age, in a pagan, secularized and often hostile environment? itineraries for evangelization that the Holy Spirit wants to awaken in the Church today?

The figure of Jesus Christ

First of all, we must submit the figure of Jesus Christ in a clear and profound, convincing and attractive, experiential and doctrinal way, according to the revelation faithfully transmitted by the Church: true God and true man, incarnation of eternal mercy, redeemer of the world; eternal Word that gives meaning to the cosmos and to history; Light of the world, that reveals definitively the mystery of man; only-begotten Son of the Father, who makes us relatives, beloved children of God; the only Way to go to heaven.

Jesus Christ is the great sign, the definitive proof of the almighty God of Love who comes to meet man.

His life, his works, his teaching, his prophecies, his miracles, his paschal mystery, the trail of sanctification he left in the world, show the consistency of his messianic claim. 

Jesus Christ is the great sign, the definitive proof of the almighty God of Love who comes to meet man. He is the universal and complete Savior. He alone gives the ultimate answer to the great human questions. He alone can satisfy with the divine gift the thirst for eternity, the yearning for fullness and true friendship that nestles in every heart.

Facilitating the meeting

Therefore, all evangelizing action consists, essentially, in bringing people and societies to Christ: facilitate the meeting and identification with him, to follow him in joyful obedience. 

In this series of reflections on the ways for evangelization in environments of indifference we are inspired by the recent teachings of the Popes and the proposals of Bishop Robert Barron, the founder of Word on fire ( www.wordonfire.orgRobert Barron - John L. Allen, To light a fire on earth. Proclaiming the gospel in a secularized world, Ediciones Palabra).

The rest of the ways that we will present - the Christian community, the beauty of the Gospel, the witness of holiness, cultural dialogue with reason and science, the socio-charitable commitment to justice, character formation, recourse to the sources of grace, the missionary conversion of the Church - are, in reality, explanations of this first and principal one: show the true face of Jesus Christ to the men and women of today.

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Family

New maternity allowance hurts mothers with more children

The Spanish Federation of Large Families (FEFN), which represents 700,000 large families, considers that the future maternity supplement in the pension is detrimental to millions of women.

Rafael Miner-February 17, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsStarting a family, secondary for 3 out of 4 young people

Large families are realizing, as they crunch the numbers, how much the new maternity pension supplement is hurting millions of women. According to theSpanish Large Families Federationis about a "covert retrenchment", for mothers, who will see their maternity allowance reduced by between 10 and 70 percent, depending on the number of children and their contribution base. In addition, the higher the number of children, the greater the cut.

Indeed, according to the Federation's calculations, all women with pensions of 1,100 euros and 2 children suffer an economic loss in their pension, although the loss will be greater in the case of large families with 3, 4 or more children. Thus, a mother with 3 children and a pension of 1,100 euros will see her pension cut by more than 400 euros a year; and if she has 4 children, she will receive 800 euros less than under the previous system.

A mother of 3 children and a pension of 1,100 euros will see her pension cut by more than 400 euros a year.

Collection of signatures

The FEFN, chaired by José Manuel Trigo, is made up of 80 local, provincial and regional associations, and is currently seeking support so that the measure does not prosper. To this end, it has opened a signature campaign on Change.org  and has been meeting since last week with representatives of the various political groups.

In their opinion, the provision on the new maternity allowance "is not a fair way to eliminate the gender gap nor does it adequately compensate for the contribution [mothers] have made to society in the form of human capital, through their children, who are precisely the ones who are going to sustain pensions.". The decree-law, which has already been approved by the Government, goes to Congress this week, where it must be revalidated by the parliamentary groups.

The family entity considers it "paradoxical, as well as tremendously unfair" that the objective of this measure is "to reduce the gender gap that women have suffered due to maternity and that women who have had more children are treated worse, when they are the ones who have the greatest salary gap, promotion, etc., having to face and combine employment with several pregnancies, childcare, etc., which have resulted in a loss of salary and fewer job opportunities for them".

Inconsistent situations

The Federation considers that "the argument that this system benefits low incomes is also unsubstantiated, when there are such incongruous situations as a working mother with one child and a maximum pension of 2,400 euros, will see an increase of 27 euros per month, while a mother of 4 children and a pension of 800 euros, will also receive 27 euros for each of her children, a total of 108 euros per month".

The new model is a disguised pension cut, which will affect millions of mothers, from 2 children and with average pensions.

FEFN

"If the woman had 5 or 6 children," adds the FEFN, "she would receive the same amount, since the new supplement has fixed amounts that are equivalent to 4 children, so there is no greater compensation for larger families.".

The federation points out that the new model "is a hidden pension cut, which will affect millions of mothers, from 2 children and with average pensions, which is accentuated in the case of mothers of large families. The only beneficiaries are mothers with one child, who in the previous model did not receive any supplement and now they do".

The FEFN has already assessed "this innovation as positive, because mothers with one child should also be considered, but it is tremendously unfair that this compensation is to the detriment of the supplement for mothers with more children".

Families discriminated against

The Federation also criticizes the fact that there is a limit on the amount of the supplement, which is equivalent to having 4 children, which means that in the case of having had 5 or more children, only the first 4 will be counted. More than 21,000 families will feel "discriminated against" by this fact, being "very unfair that those who have made the greatest effort in terms of reconciling family life and work, and who have contributed the most to the system in terms of demographic contribution, are not rewarded by the State at their retirement age".

"The maternity supplement in the pension also discriminates against families in which one of the parents has stopped working to take care of the children," adds the entity, "because these mothers (fundamentally women) will not receive the supplement, given that [it] is only for contributory pensions, and the fathers will not be able to accredit that the children have affected their working career because they will not have suffered the loss of income or lower contribution due to paternity."

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The Vatican

Vatican updates its penal system to meet today's needs

Professor of Law, Irene Briones Martínez, explains the main points of change in the Vatican legislative system in recent months. 

Irene Briones Martínez-February 16, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

The bookstore Editrice Vaticana published the Penal Code, which reforms Zanardelli's penal legislation that had been in force since 1929. The Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, D. Juan Ignacio Arrieta, has been in charge of integrating in the Code all the adaptations to the new times and changes in society.

Because the subject matter is not religious nor does it deal with the discipline of the clergy, we cannot identify this Code with the Code of Canon Law, but they maintain in common the fact of seeking the health of souls, and with the Code of Criminal Law in the secular sphere, the consideration that crimes are punished to ensure justice and social order.

However, canonical penalties involve a deprivation of a spiritual nature with criteria of humanity and inspired by the values proper to canonical doctrine, which takes into account the educational and curative function of the offender, so that neither the death penalty nor permanent imprisonment is allowed.

Let us recall that number 2267 of the Catechism states: "Therefore the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that "the death penalty is inadmissible because it violates the inviolability and dignity of the person".

The new Motu Proprio

By means of a Apostolic Letter in the form of Motu Proprio of the Supreme Pontiff Pope FrancisThe new law, which will be published and enter into force on February 16, 2021, adding modifications in the area of justice, establishes that in order to compensate the damage, a restorative and restitution behavior is proposed, for which reason it may develop public utility services, volunteer activities of social interest, and even promote mediation with the offended person.

It is indicated that in all proceedings the presence of the person being tried is required, except in the case of legitimate impossibility or serious impediment, and, of course, the right to defense. In the event that the accused does not appear without just cause, and having been duly notified, the trial will be ordered to proceed in his absence, with prior hearing of the prosecution and the defense.

Main novelties

Pursuant to the amendments to article three, there are 5 new products:

  1. Ordinary magistrates retain all the rights, assistance, social security and other guarantees afforded to all citizens;
  2. The office of the promoter of justice works autonomously and independently, at the three levels of the trial, the prosecutorial functions and other functions assigned to it by law;
  3. In appeals, the functions of prosecutor are exercised by a magistrate from the office of the promoter of justice;
  4. In cassation judgments, the functions of prosecutor are exercised by a magistrate from the office of the promoter of justice;
  5. The previously appointed judges will continue to be part of the office of the promoter of justice.

There is cooperation with the international sphere and current crimes are taken into account, such as crimes against humanity, against minors, war crimes, against terrorism and subversion, against airport security, etc., which the old penal codes did not typify.

In short, with this reform, the person must be the center, always pursuing a triple purpose: to restore the justice that has been violated, to repair the scandal that has been caused and to obtain an amendment from the offender. In the reparation of the damage, the aim is also to assist the victims.

The authorIrene Briones Martínez

Professor of Law. Complutense University of Madrid.

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Guest writersJoaquín Martín Abad

Encouragement for Consecrated Life

All Christians experience that the life of consecrated persons shapes the Church in a vital and sanctifying way.

February 16, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes

It is fitting to recall the Second Vatican Council when it determined that "the state of life which consists in the profession of the evangelical counsels, even if it does not belong to the hierarchical structure of the Church, nevertheless belongs, without discussion, to her life and holiness." (LG 44).

Jesus proclaimed the evangelical counsels addressed to all his disciples. Naturally, according to the state of each person. Moreover, and from its birth, the consecrated life is a state of life that one enters because one makes public "profession" of these same evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience. And "without discussion" this state belongs to the life and holiness of the Church. After so many centuries and with so many institutes, what life would the Church have without the Consecrated Life? And how would the holiness of the Church be without the holiness of those who have professed the evangelical counsels - and then - with a multitude of canonizations and beatifications - and now - trying to follow the Lord more closely with all fidelity?

It has been proven, therefore, and not only theoretically but also by experience, that the experience of consecrated persons, with an enormous proportion of women over men, shapes the Church in a vital and sanctifying way.

Consecrated life serves vital needs and, among them, the most primordial: the salvation of souls.

We see those who are close to us in education and health care, in caring for the poor of the old and new poverties, and in many other tasks and services. We know of those who have left their homeland to go to the missions "ad gentes" or to other missions. We sense - although socially difficult - those who live the cloistered life in monasteries, to grow in their contemplative life of prayer and work, for the benefit of the whole Church and for the salvation of the world. It is that all consecrated life, with its different statutes and in its different forms, attends to vital needs and, among them, the most primordial: the salvation of souls.

However, we must know that what they are is even more important than what they do. And they are, in the Church, consecrated to God the Father and therefore, in his Son, brothers and sisters to all of us. I was impressed by the exclamation of a little girl when, referring to a religious sister, she said: "This Sister is very sisterly!

Thus, by the vitality of the consecrated life we can diagnose the vigor of the whole Church. And vice versa. And, in this time of lack of vocations in the Consecrated Life, we should examine ourselves on what is happening in all of us regarding the living of faith in the following of the Lord.

We have to analyze our lives and provide the means so that new vocations to consecrated life may continue to spring up in the Church.

Because it is not the same for vocations of special consecration in all nations and continents, nor is it the same for all institutes, since in a few of them they flourish and grow. For this reason it also seems necessary to make a sincere analysis of how we live and, at the same time, to put in place the means so that new vocations to consecrated life continue to spring up in the Church.

St. John Paul II wrote in 1996: "In some regions of the world, social changes and the decline in the number of vocations are taking their toll on consecrated life. The apostolic works of many Institutes and their very presence in certain local Churches are in danger. As has already happened at other times in history, there are Institutes that are even in danger of disappearing." (Vita Consecrata, 63). It has been 25 years since he established the Day of Consecrated Life for every February 2 and since then, on Candlemas with St. Mary, consecrated men and women - in many dioceses - renew their profession of the evangelical counsels before their Bishop in his cathedral.

I will never be able to forget a phrase, as short as it is substantial, that Pope Francis was kind enough to say to me during a greeting in June 2014: "Consecrated persons need to be greatly encouraged". And it is easy to understand. Because in the current situation, when discouragement could spread the most, it is when encouragement is most necessary. Fraternal encouragement in the Spirit.

The authorJoaquín Martín Abad

Priest of the Archdiocese of Madrid

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Education

Tribute to Abilio de Gregorio, teacher of teachers

Abilio de Gregorio is considered a "teacher of teachers", a reference for those who teach and love education.

Javier Segura-February 16, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

Juan Antonio Gómez Trinidad, former vice-president of the State School Board, told me about the urgent need to train new generations of teachers. Nearly thirty percent of the teaching staff will retire in the next few years and a huge number of teachers will be needed to fill this gap. This is a challenge for Christian education, and I do not know to what extent we are aware of it.

Abilio de Gregorio, who left us this past November, was. And he devoted his best energies precisely to being a true teacher of teachers. And that is why he became a reference for many of us who today teach and love education.

Abilio de Gregorio

Abilio de Gregorio has a degree in Educational Sciences and a diploma in Family Guidance. He had a deep and first-hand knowledge of the world of education, as he was a professor of Secondary Education in Salamanca, and even more directly, as the father of three children. He wrote numerous books on pedagogical topics, such as the monographs Familia y Educación (1987), La participación de los padres en los centros educativos (1990), Educación familiar y valores de sentido (1992), Educación y valores (1995), El proyecto educativo de centro en la escuela católica (2003) and Atreverse a ejercer de padres (2006), as well as other collaborative works. But perhaps the best way many of us have come to know him is through his conferences in various national and international congresses (Moscow, Rome, Lisbon, Mexico, Buenos Aires).

The tribute

Abilio de Greorio Tribute

His loss is actually a call to rediscover his teachings and to deepen our understanding of what it means to 'educate', precisely in times when legislative changes can make us get lost in the circumstantial and not delve into the essential.

It is therefore worthwhile to return to the teachings of this great master of Catholic education today and to do so in the company of those who knew him and appreciate his contribution. The occasion will be a broadcast on streaming youtube that will take place on March 6, 2021 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

This approach places the person at the center and opts for a personalized and customized education.

A session in which we will be able to meet with the central aspects of his teaching. This Abilio, who is above all a teacher of life, who has a deep look at our time and education. That look that puts the person at the center and opts for a personalized and personalizing education. And who is aware of the transcendence of Christian living, the baptismal dignity and the greatness of the lay vocation.

It is not surprising that in the heat of this teaching, gathering Abilio's passion and the urgent mission pointed out by Juan Antonio Gómez Trinidad, the 'Abilio de Gregorio' school has been established. Its purpose is, precisely, to train young teachers, in their university stage and in their first years of teaching. And to offer them solid references to become true teachers. Teachers of life, as was Abilio de Gregorio himself.

To all those who love education, I invite you not to miss it to this appointment on March 6 and to closely follow this school, which, we hope, will be the seed of a renewal in education.

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The Vatican

"God comes in contact with our wounded life to heal it."

At the Angelus, Pope Francis recalled that God is not afraid to approach the sick to heal them, touch their wounds and bring them out of their sickness. He also recalled the beginning of Lent, which begins this Wednesday.

David Fernández Alonso-February 16, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
RelatedRelated News"He who prays is like a lover, he carries in his heart the beloved person".Related NewsPope's Audience: "Mass is not simply listened to; it is celebrated and lived".

Pope Francis prayed the traditional Angelus this Sunday morning, February 14, from the window of the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican in the presence of some of the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square. During the last few weeks, the Holy Father had celebrated his Sunday Angelus from the library of the Apostolic Palace, due to the health measures caused by the pandemic. 

Social exclusion

The Pope reflected on today's Gospel passage that recounts the encounter between Jesus and a man suffering from leprosy. Francis recalled that at that time, "lepers were considered impure and, according to the prescriptions of the Law, had to stay out of inhabited places.".

"They were excluded from all human, social and religious relationships. Jesus, on the other hand, allowed the man to approach him, was moved, and even reached out and touched him."Francis pointed out, underlining that in this way, the Son of God puts into practice the Good News that he announces.

God has become close to our lives, has compassion for the fate of wounded humanity and comes to break down every barrier that prevents us from living our relationship with him, with others and with ourselves.

On the other hand, the Pope pointed out that in this episode we can observe that there are two actions that attract attention: on the one hand there is the leper who dares to approach Jesus and on the other, Jesus himself who, moved by compassion, touches him in order to cure him.

In Jesus he saw another face of God: not the God who punishes, but the Father of compassion and love, who frees us from sin and never excludes us from his mercy.

Breaking out of isolation

The leper's action stands out because "despite the prescriptions of the Law, he comes out of isolation and approaches Jesus. His illness was considered a divine punishment, but in Jesus he was able to see another face of God: not the God who punishes, but the Father of compassion and love, who frees us from sin and never excludes us from his mercy".

In the same vein, the Pope wanted to emphasize that that man "He can come out of his isolation, because in Jesus he finds God who shares his pain. Jesus' attitude attracts him, pushes him to come out of himself and to entrust his story of pain to him.".

To touch with love means to establish a relationship, to enter into communion, to involve oneself in the life of the other to the point of sharing even his or her wounds.

On the other hand, Jesus also acts in a way that scandalizes, because "while the Law forbade touching lepers, He is moved, He stretches out His hand and touches him to cure him. He does not limit himself to words, but touches him. To touch with love means to establish a relationship, to enter into communion, to involve oneself in the life of the other to the point of sharing even his wounds."

Safety distance

For the Pope, this gesture of Jesus shows that God is not indifferent, that he does not maintain a "safe distance"; on the contrary, "he draws near with compassion and touches our life in order to heal it".

Jesus approaches us with compassion and touches our lives to heal them.

Before concluding his address from the window of St. Peter's Square, Francis recalled that even today, throughout the world, there are so many brothers and sisters suffering from leprosy, "or other diseases and conditions with which, unfortunately, social prejudices are associated." and en some cases there is even religious discrimination.

God comes in contact with the sick

In the face of the different and very varied circumstances that may arise in the course of our lives, "Jesus announces to us that God is not an idea or an abstract doctrine, but the One who is "contaminated" with our wounded humanity and who is not afraid to come into contact with our wounds", warning us against the risk of silencing our pain by "wearing masks", in order to "comply with the rules of good reputation and social customs", or directly giving in to our selfishness and inner fears so as not to "involve ourselves too much in the suffering of others".

Before concluding, the Pope invited the faithful to ask the Lord for the grace to live these two "transgressions" of the Gospel: "That of the leper, so that we have the courage to come out of our isolation and, instead of staying there to lament or cry over our failures, we go to Jesus just as we are. And then the transgression of Jesus: a love that makes us go beyond conventions, that makes us overcome prejudices and the fear of mixing with the life of the other".

Finally, he recalled that Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a time of conversion and prayer, ideal for growing in friendship with God, living with hope, faith and charity.

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RelatedRelated News"He who prays is like a lover, he carries in his heart the beloved person".Related NewsPope's Audience: "Mass is not simply listened to; it is celebrated and lived".
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The World

The rite of imposition of ashes in the time of Covid

The rite of Ash Wednesday has also had to adapt to the sanitary measures of the pandemic time we are going through.

Maria José Atienza-February 16, 2021-Reading time: < 1 minute

Last month, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments published a note explaining the modification of the Ash Wednesday rite, adapting it to health safety measures.

No physical contact

Instead of performing the dignity of the cross on the heads of the faithful, this year, the priest "pronouncing the prayer of blessing of the ashes and after sprinkling them, without saying anything, with holy water, will address those present, saying once and for all the faithful, the formula of the Roman Missal: "Convert and believe in the Gospel", or: "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return".

The priest will then wipe his hands and put on a mask to protect his nose and mouth. He will then impose the ashes on those who approach him or, if appropriate, he will approach the faithful who are standing, remaining in their place. Likewise, the priest will take the ashes and let them fall on the head of each one, without saying anything".

The note was signed at the headquarters of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on January 12, 2021 by Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments since 2014 and Archbishop Arthur Roche, Archbishop Secretary.

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ColumnistsAntonio Moreno

Lent will set you free

Lent puts us before those little things: the coffee, the cigarette, the little cake.... that are little materially, but perhaps, they are stronger than a chain.

February 16, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

This Wednesday Lent 2021 begins, although many of us have the feeling that we have not yet emerged from Lent 2020. This one brought with it the most demanding ascetic practices that none of us could have ever imagined that a government could impose on us. After weeks confined to our homes, like modern stylites, we were allowed to go out with the sackcloth of the mask, although we were forbidden to touch and kiss each other and to go to bars and restaurants, in addition to the obligation to perform numerous hydroalcoholic ablutions.

Covid-19 containment measures are a desert of deprivation that we have all accepted for the benefit of our bodily health and the health of those around us. Suffering a little is not bad if the aim is to protect life. But what about eternal life, is it worth taking care of?

Lent helps us to discover the chains that bind us to the small pleasures of everyday life, to coffee, beer and cigarettes.

Lent reminds us every year that yes, spiritual health, like bodily health, requires care and maintenance. It is a time of penance, of prayer, of fasting, of almsgiving... A time of renunciation that does not seek them in themselves but in view of a greater good: to give solemnity to Easter, the feast in which we celebrate the liberation from the slavery of Egypt, the victory of Christ over Pharaoh.

How can we celebrate freedom without knowing that we are slaves? Lent helps us to discover the chains that bind us to the little pleasures of everyday life, to coffee, beer, cigarettes..... We call them in diminutive, but their shackles are thick, not to mention the savings account!

The fasting and almsgiving Will I be able to give up my tastes, my money? Will I be able to see the poor, not as an annoying object, but as a brother who suffers and needs me?

– Supernatural prayer will take us out of our ego to put us in the presence of the great Ego - the Ego.Ego sum qui sum (I am who I am (Ex 3:14))-and to realize our littleness before the mystery of the One who is eternal, of infinite love. These forty days will reveal to us that we live condemned to give ourselves everything and that we need true freedom to be able to reach the other, to be able to love. 

In his message for this Lent, Pope Francis states that, "in the present context of worry in which we live and in which everything seems fragile and uncertain, to speak of hope might seem provocative." Isn't it great to have a little rock and roll among all the boring ballads that we men and women of today have turned our self-pitying existence into in the midst of the pandemic? To hope in God, to trust that He will lead us out of this as He led the people of Israel into the Promised Land, to live this desert time consciously, not as an imposition, not as the ultimate anticovid decree, but as an experience of encounter with God, will make us authentically free.

It is time to believe, to hope, to love. It is a time of freedom. 

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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Books

Knowing and feeling loved

Yolanda Cagigas recommends the reading of Take me homethe latest book by Jesús Carrasco.

Yolanda Cagigas-February 16, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

Book file

Title: Take me home
Author: Jesús Carrasco
Editorial: Seix Barral
Year: 2021
Pages: 320

The first week of February, Seix Barral has published Take me homethe latest book by Jesús Carrasco.

When my friend Carmen tells me that she is reading this book, I hurry to buy it, because one of my pleasures is to be able to exchange opinions about what I read. With it, I discover an author -Jesús Carraso Jaramillo- whose agile writing, rich language and deep knowledge of human psychology I like.

The official synopsis of the book reports: "John has managed to become independent far from his country when he is forced to return to his small hometown due to the death of his father. His intention, after the funeral, is to resume his life in Edinburgh as soon as possible, but his sister gives him news that changes his plans forever. Thus, without intending to, she will find herself in the very place she decided to escape from."

This weekend, the main national media published interviews with the author. If it is not already, it will soon be one of the best-selling books of the year; in any case, it is one of those few books, of all those published in a year, that are worth reading, having on your bookshelf at home... and reading again.

With my friend Carmen I will talk about the four main characters and much more..., but here I will only share some personal reflections about Juan, the youngest son, the main character.

Juan sees his parents -he, a worker and farmer; she, a housewife; both born in the post-war period- "as emotionally handicapped". It is striking that Juan does not see himself as such, because he is undoubtedly also emotionally handicapped, and very much so!

Our protagonist "felt that only by distancing himself from his origin could he found his own life", but he ends up realizing that "he is made of the same clay as his father, [and that] one cannot run away from oneself, nor hide".

He only has eyes for his navel, "he doesn't allow himself to think outside his own skin", and there are many consequences of his egocentrism. "His greatest difficulty is not being fully aware of what is going on around him," never having felt concerned about the needs of another person, and not caring about his family.

Juan needs to feel loved, like everyone else. It is when he realizes the unconditional love of his sister that his healing begins. She tells him: "We will go to the bottom with you, if you go down. Because that way we can get you out of there". He "still feels his sister's hand on his cheek, he cannot express the relief he feels, but his body does, muscular distension, vasodilatation, slight hypotension, incipient euphoria". His sister is a gift to the whole family.

Knowing and feeling loved enables him - and everyone else - to come out of himself, to accept his reality and to be able to embark on the path of understanding others.

The authorYolanda Cagigas

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  • "The life of the Mozarabs changes to the rhythm of the Andalusian state".
Spain

"The life of the Mozarabs changes to the rhythm of the Andalusian state".

The II International Congress on the History of the Mozarabs presents a wide range of subjects of study and the current affairs of the persecuted Christians.

Maria José Atienza-February 15, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

How did the life of the Mozarabic communities develop under Islamic rule? What connection can these communities have with today's Christian communities living in territories dominated by Islamic confessional governments?

The II International Congress on the History of the Mozarabs "Past, present and future of a community under Islamic rule."The exhibition will address these and many other aspects of the history of the Christian population of the Visigothic kingdom that lived through the imposition of a new Islamic government.

A situation that, from the 8th to the 13th century, was predominant in most of the Iberian Peninsula and that gave rise to the development of a culture, language, liturgy... etc., of great interest both in the academic and informative fields. 

Poster II Mozarabic Congress

This II International Congress on the History of the Mozarabss, promoted by the Cathedral Chapter of Cordoba and the Diocese of Cordoba, is directed by a tenured professor at the University of Seville, Gloria Lora who wanted to point out for Omnes the "risky and different approach" it proposes, given that "the study of the Mozarabic communities from the 8th to the 13th century is combined with the study of Christians who are currently persecuted in areas such as Iran".

However, as this medievalist has emphasized: "Their situations are very different, since the Mozarabic communities were under the status of the dimmaThe "Islamic Code", a limited protection by which the Christian communities had certain rights in exchange for recognizing the superiority of Islam and Muslims in all fields of life and an expensive fiscal subjection. 

Coexistence not always peaceful

The professor of the University of Seville has also pointed out the diversity of situations under which the Mozarabic communities lived "it is a history that spans from the eighth century to the thirteenth century. The situation of these communities changed in step with the history of the Andalusian state. It is incomparable the situation of the beginnings with the practical persecution in the XI century... there are moments in which the coexistence of both societies takes place, and moments of great confrontation".

One of the original points of this Congress is the study of the current persecution of Christians by Islamic states in the world. Authorities in the field will speak on this subject together with direct witnesses of the drama that is being experienced in some areas where Christians are persecuted for their faith.

The II International Congress on the History of the Mozarabs "Past, present and future of a community under Islamic rule", which will be held in Cordoba from April 15 to 18, will feature, in its programThe event will feature presentations by archaeologists, Arabists, paleographers and philologists who will address the study of the Mozarabic idiosyncrasy from their different fields. 

The Congress will be completed with a program of parallel activities including exhibitions, round tables, two lucernaria or vespers in the Cathedral of Cordoba and a Solemn Hispano-Mozarabic Mass.

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AnnotationsJuan Luis Lorda

This is such a bad time...

All times are bad for those who live them. Christ gave the keys for all times, good and bad: to love, to celebrate, to evangelize....

February 15, 2021-Reading time: < 1 minute

What to do in these bad times? First of all, read Church history, so as not to think that it is so bad. There have always been problems: the Apocalypse is the background story of all Christian epochs.

If one becomes afraid of discomfort and opts for comfort, one ceases to be a Christian. A theologian friend of mine used to repeat: "We have never been so bad; but, on the other hand, we have never been so good". 

It is not necessary to think too much (because of the analysis of paralysis), because in all times we have to do the same thing. The Lord made it very clear.

He commanded us to love one another and to love others: "Love one another as I have loved you" (Jn 13:34-35).

He commanded us to celebrate the Eucharist: "Do this in remembrance of me" (Lk 22:19).

And he commanded us to evangelize: "Go and make disciples of all nations and baptize them" (Mt 28:19). This is what they did from the beginning, in more difficult times. And what we have to do now, in easier times: love, celebrate, evangelize. 

The authorJuan Luis Lorda

Professor of Theology and Director of the Department of Systematic Theology at the University of Navarra. Author of numerous books on theology and spiritual life.

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Integral ecology

Euthanasia destroys patient-physician trust

Medical professionals, directors of medical corporations, and more than 140 civic organizations have rejected in recent weeks the euthanasia regulation bill being processed in the Senate.

Rafael Miner-February 15, 2021-Reading time: 4 minutes

Professors and directors of departments, institutes and clinics of Christian foundations and universities such as Francisco de Vitoria, CEU San Pablo, Navarra or Comillas, as well as nurses and other professionals, sometimes in a personal capacity, and other times in an institutional way, have made their voices heard these days arguing against the criteria reflected in the bill to regulate euthanasia, which is being promoted by the current parliamentary majority.

The list of those who have come to the fore in recent days is extensive, but it is worth mentioning some of them. The doctors Manuel Martínez Sellésdean of the Madrid College of Physicians, and Álvaro Gándaraformer president of the Spanish Society of Palliative Care (Secpal), and professional of the Palliative Medicine Unit at the Fundación Jiménez Díaz, have intervened in several conferences, as well as Federico de MontalvoPresident of the Spanish Bioethics Committee and Professor at the University of Comillas. 

In addition, Elena Postigo, director of the Bioethics Institute of the Francisco de Vitoria University, and Manuel Bustos, director of the Ángel Ayala Humanities Institute of the CEU San Pablo University; Marina Díaz Marsá, president of the Psychiatry Society of Madrid; Carlos Centeno, director of Palliative Medicine of the Clínica Universidad de Navarra, and José María Torralba, professor at the same university; the deans of the Faculty of Medicine of the U. Francisco de Vitoria, Fernando Caballero, and the deans of the Faculty of Medicine of the U. CEU San Pablo, Tomás Trigo; doctors Jacinto Bátiz and Ricardo Abengózar; José Jara, president of the Bioethics Association of the CEU San Pablo University; Drs. Francisco de Vitoria, Fernando Caballero, and of the U. CEU San Pablo, Tomás Trigo; doctors Jacinto Bátiz and Ricardo Abengózar; José Jara, president of the Bioethics Association of Madrid; Emilio García Sánchez, vice-president of the Spanish Association of Bioethics and Medical Ethics; José Manuel Álvarez Avelló, author of the book Death with dignity. The great dilemmaThe following are some of the speakers: the nurse Encarna Pérez Bret, from the Hospital de Cuidados Paliativos Fundación Vianorte-Laguna, the promoters of vividores,org, Jaume Vives and Pablo Velasco, director of Eldebatedehoy, and many others.

On the other hand, more than one hundred and forty civic associations integrated in the Assembly for Life, Dignity and Liberty, have sent a manifesto to all senators asking them to vote for "in conscience" and do not endorse the euthanasia law. They have also agreed to launch a popular legislative initiative (ILP) to ask the government for a comprehensive palliative care plan.

Against the essence of medicine

"Euthanasia is contrary to the Hippocratic Oath and multiple World Medical Association standards." y "it destroys the essence of medicine, the relationship of trust we have with our patients." Dr. Martínez Sellés has stated in several conferences. 

In their opinion, physicians who practice euthanasia "will be emotionally and psychologically affected in a negative way. In addition, the patient's trust in the healthcare system will be undermined. If a physician kills out of pity, it is a step that is difficult to return."said the Madrid dean at the recent seminar organized by the Francisco de Vitoria University.

Sellés pointed out that the Code of Medical Deontology stressed in 2011 that "the physician shall never intentionally cause the death of any patient, not even at the patient's express request"and mentioned the 2020 report of the Spanish Bioethics Committee of Spain (see https://www.omnesmag.com/foco/aprobacion-ley-eutanasia-espana/), which states, among other things, that "euthanasia and/or suicide assistance are not signs of progress but a backward step of civilization".

Addressing suffering

At the same seminar, Dr. Álvaro Gándara, palliativist and member of the Spanish Bioethics Committee, quoted psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, who said: "Man is not destroyed by suffering; man is destroyed by suffering without any sense." 

Álvaro Gándara focused his analysis on suffering and compassion, and it makes a lot of sense, because all definitions of euthanasia, from its supporters and its detractors, go through suffering. It is the workhorse. We have to try to avoid suffering. On that they all agree, supporters and opponents of euthanasia. The question is how. 

Those who reject euthanasia, who as we are seeing are making themselves heard in increasing numbers and with weighty arguments, point out that the aim is to avoid suffering, to alleviate it, by means of adequate comprehensive palliative care treatment, but that the option cannot in any case be to kill the patient, because this is contrary to the very essence of the medical profession. 

A compassionate intervention

So how to do it? Álvaro Gándara points out that "the care of suffering requires an approach to existential and spiritual needs, and the professional's tasks should be focused here, on facilitating the patient to complete his biography in an integral way, and to close the last chapter of his existence in an adequate manner"..

"Many of us physicians are aware." added the doctorthat we are more expert in symptom care and drug management than in the control of hopelessness, in facilitating reconciliation with one's own history, in helping to find meaning in existence or in facilitating the acceptance of death". 

In his opinion, "Our biology-centered clinical training and disease- and treatment-oriented healthcare model are not only insufficient, but can become an obstacle to meeting real needs at the end of life".

"The skills required to address sufferingDr. Gándara continued, "They are "specific, based on the ability to create a climate of security and trust as well as empathetic and intuitive, non-discursive attention.". Key to this are "the knowledge of the person of the sick person, the ability to identify their fears and values, as well as threats and resources, and the willingness to accompany them in this situation: compassion.".

Steps in the face of suffering

The palliative care expert from the Fundación Jiménez Díaz thus described the "steps for intervention in the face of suffering": "Establish a relationship of trust and a therapeutic bond: identify suffering and its causes; attempt to resolve or defuse threats that can be resolved; explore the patient's resources and abilities to transcend their suffering: and proceed with compassionate intervention, guiding the patient towards the search for meaning, coherence and promoting acceptance of death."

Both Dr. Álvaro Gándara and other professionals, doctors with decades of activity and thousands of patients behind them, have revealed in recent months that when the pain of the very few patients who have asked them to die disappears, the desire to end their lives disappears just as quickly. 

In this sense, they have criticized the assertion of the promoters of the current euthanasia bill, contained in its preamble, on the existence of "a sustained demand of today's society". of euthanasia.

"The importance of care and accompaniment; a necessary training in palliative care; the proper of medicine is to cure and care, not to kill; the danger that looms over the mentally ill; the slippery slope: example of Holland and Belgium; and the need to train young doctors who love life and care for the vulnerable person. Compassion and prudence,were, in the opinion of Elena Postigo, some of the key points of the seminar organized by the U. Francisco de Vitoria.

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Francis' message for Lent 2021

On Wednesday, February 17, Lent begins: today the Pope's Message was made public, in which he encourages us to live this journey of conversion and prayer with "the faith that comes from the living Christ, hope animated by the breath of the Spirit, and love, whose inexhaustible source is the merciful heart of the Father". 

David Fernández Alonso-February 14, 2021-Reading time: 6 minutes

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem..." (Mt 20:18). Lent: a time to renew faith, hope and charity".

Dear brothers and sisters:
When Jesus announces to his disciples his passion, death and resurrection, in order to fulfill the will of the Father, he reveals to them the profound meaning of his mission and exhorts them to associate themselves with it, for the salvation of the world.

As we travel the Lenten journey, which will lead us to the Easter celebrations, let us remember the One who "humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross" (Phil 2:8). In this time of conversion let us renew our faith, let us quench our thirst with the "living water" of hope and let us receive with open hearts the love of God that makes us brothers and sisters in Christ.

On Easter night we will renew the promises of our Baptism, to be reborn as new men and women, thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit. However, the Lenten journey, like the entire Christian journey, is already under the light of the Resurrection, which animates the feelings, attitudes and decisions of those who wish to follow Christ.

Fasting, prayer and almsgiving, as Jesus presents them in his preaching (cf. Mt 6:1- 18), are the conditions and expression of our conversion. The way of poverty and deprivation (fasting), the gaze and gestures of love towards the wounded (almsgiving) and the filial dialogue with the Father (prayer) allow us to incarnate a sincere faith, a living hope and an active charity.

1. Faith calls us to embrace the Truth and to be witnesses, before God and before our brothers and sisters.

In this time of Lent, to welcome and live the Truth that was manifested in Christ means first of all to allow ourselves to be reached by the Word of God, which the Church transmits to us from generation to generation. This Truth is not a construction of the intellect, destined for a few chosen, superior or illustrious minds, but is a message that we receive and can understand thanks to the intelligence of the heart, open to the greatness of God who loves us before we ourselves are aware of it. This Truth is Christ himself who, assuming fully our humanity, made himself the Way - demanding but open to all - that leads to the fullness of Life.

Fasting lived as an experience of deprivation, for those who live it with simplicity of heart, leads to a new discovery of God's gift and to an understanding of our reality as creatures who, in his image and likeness, find fulfillment in him. Through the experience of an accepted poverty, the fasting person becomes poor with the poor and "accumulates" the richness of love received and shared. Thus understood and put into practice, fasting contributes to love God and neighbor insofar as, as St. Thomas Aquinas teaches us, love is a movement that focuses attention on the other, considering him or her as one with oneself (cf. Encyclical Letter Fratelli tutti, 93).

Lent is a time for believing, that is, for receiving God into our lives and allowing him to "make his dwelling" in us (cf. Jn 14:23). Fasting means freeing our existence from everything that hinders, even from the saturation of information - true or false - and consumer products, in order to open the doors of our heart to the One who comes to us poor in every way, but "full of grace and truth" (Jn 1:14): the Son of God the Savior.

2. Hope as "living water" that allows us to continue on our way.

The Samaritan woman, whom Jesus asks to give him a drink at the well, does not understand when he tells her that he could offer her "living water" (Jn 4:10). At first, of course, she is thinking of material water, while Jesus is referring to the Holy Spirit, whom he will give in abundance in the Paschal Mystery and who instills in us the hope that does not disappoint. In announcing his passion and death, Jesus already announces hope when he says: "And on the third day he will rise again" (Mt 20:19). Jesus speaks to us of the future that the Father's mercy has opened wide. To hope with Him and thanks to Him means to believe that history does not end with our mistakes, our violence and injustices, nor with the sin that crucifies Love. It means to be satiated with the forgiveness of the Father in his open heart.

In the current context of worry in which we live and in which everything seems fragile and uncertain, to speak of hope could seem provocative. The season of Lent is made for hope, for turning our gaze once again to the patience of God, who continues to care for his Creation, while we often mistreat it (cf. Encyclical Letter Laudato Si', 32-33; 43-44). It is hope in reconciliation, to which St. Paul passionately exhorts us: "We ask you to be reconciled to God" (2 Cor 5:20).

By receiving forgiveness, in the Sacrament that is at the heart of our conversion process, we too become disseminators of forgiveness: having received it ourselves, we can offer it, being able to live an attentive dialogue and adopting a behavior that comforts those who are wounded. God's forgiveness, also through our words and gestures, allows us to live an Easter of fraternity.

During Lent, let us be more attentive to "speaking words of encouragement, words that comfort, that strengthen, that console, that stimulate" instead of "words that humiliate, that sadden, that irritate, that scorn" (Encyclical Letter Fratelli tutti [FT], 223). Sometimes, in order to give hope, it is enough to be "a kind person, who puts aside his anxieties and urgencies to pay attention, to give a smile, to say a word that stimulates, to make possible a space for listening in the midst of so much indifference" (ibid., 224).

In the recollection and silence of prayer, hope is given to us as an inspiration and inner light that illuminates the challenges and decisions of our mission: for this reason it is fundamental to recollect ourselves in prayer (cf. Mt 6:6) and to encounter, in intimacy, the Father of tenderness.

Living Lent with hope means feeling that, in Jesus Christ, we are witnesses of the new time, in which God "makes all things new" (cf. Rev. 21:1-6). It means receiving the hope of Christ who gives his life on the cross and whom God raises on the third day, "always ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks us for a reason for our hope" (cf. 1 Pet. 3:15).

3. Charity, lived in the footsteps of Christ, showing care and compassion for each person, is the highest expression of our faith and our hope.

Charity rejoices to see the other grow. For this reason, it suffers when the other is in distress: alone, sick, homeless, despised, in need... Charity is the impulse of the heart that makes us go out of ourselves and that arouses the bond of cooperation and communion.

"On the basis of "social love" it is possible to advance towards a civilization of love to which we can all feel called. Charity, with its universal dynamism, can build a new world, because it is not a sterile sentiment, but the best way to achieve effective paths of development for all" (FT, 183).

Charity is a gift that gives meaning to our life and thanks to it we consider those who are deprived of what we need as a member of our family, a friend, a brother or sister. The little we have, if we share it with love, never runs out, but becomes a reserve of life and happiness. So it was with the flour and oil of the widow of Zarephath, who gave bread to the prophet Elijah (cf. 1 Kings 17:7-16); and with the loaves of bread that Jesus blessed, broke and gave to the disciples to distribute among the people (cf. Mk 6:30-44). So it is with our almsgiving, whether large or small, if we give it with joy and simplicity.

Living a Lent of charity means caring for those who find themselves in conditions of suffering, abandonment or distress because of the AIDS pandemic. In a context of such uncertainty about the future, let us remember the word that God addressed to his Servant: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you" (Is 43:1), and let us offer with our charity a word of trust, so that others may feel that God loves them as his children.

"Only with a gaze whose horizon is transformed by charity, which leads it to perceive the dignity of the other, are the poor discovered and valued in their immense dignity, respected in their own style and culture and, therefore, truly integrated into society" (FT, 187).

Dear brothers and sisters: Every stage of life is a time to believe, to hope and to love. This call to live Lent as a journey of conversion and prayer, and to share our goods, helps us to reconsider, in our community and personal memory, the faith that comes from the living Christ, the hope animated by the breath of the Spirit and the love whose inexhaustible source is the merciful heart of the Father.

May Mary, Mother of the Savior, faithful at the foot of the cross and at the heart of the Church, sustain us with her solicitous presence, and may the blessing of the Risen Christ accompany us on the way to the paschal light.

Rome, St. John Lateran, November 11, 2020, memorial of St. Martin of Tours.

Francisco

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Cardinal Koch reaffirms reasons for intercommunion

Cardinal Koch addresses an open letter to Professor Leppin, reaffirming the reasons for the inconvenience of the intercommunion of Protestants and Catholics in the Eucharist, after the latter had criticized the position of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. 

David Fernández Alonso-February 13, 2021-Reading time: 9 minutes

The six-page letter, dated February 8, is addressed to Volker Leppin, professor of church history at the University of Tübingen and academic director of the Protestant section of the Ecumenical Study Group of Protestant and Catholic Theologians (OAK).

Kurt Koch underlines the reasons for the Holy See's opposition to the proposal of the document "Together at the Lord's Table", formulated by the study group of Catholics and Protestants, for both to admit each other to the sacrament of the Eucharist since there are no "theological reasons separating" them on this point. 

Cardinal Koch's open letter to Professor Leppin

Dear Professor Leppin,

With the interview you gave on February 3, you responded to my brief reaction to the Statement of the Ecumenical Working Group (ÖAK) on the intervention of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and expressed the wish that I, for my part, give a "substantive response" on the topic under discussion. This is what I want to do for you with this open letter, also because it offers me the opportunity to clarify some misunderstandings. 

First of all, I would like to recall that the immediate occasion for my reaction was that I had been surprised by the timing of the publication of the ÖAK statement. As far as I know, that statement was requested by Bishop Georg Bätzing, President of the German Bishops' Conference, in order to prepare his response to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. However, I have not yet received an answer to the question why the ÖAK statement was published before the general assembly of the German Bishops' Conference. Quite simply, having received several requests to express my opinion on these processes, I could not remain silent, and as an initial reaction I published a short text with a triple "I can stand it". The brevity of this text has nothing to do with a "refusal to speak", and certainly nothing to do with a "harsh rejection", as you reproached me in your interview. For I did not limit myself to a few statements, but expressed irritation.

But now let us move on to the content. To the "reproach of insufficient substantiation" expressed by me, you replied that "perhaps it would be convenient to go to any Catholic or Protestant community" and "compare what is lived there with the requirements of the office of the Council for Unity in Rome". However, that was not the content of my objection. Because the "office of the Council for Unity" does not claim to know the situation of the individual Protestant and Catholic communities in Germany better than the Ecumenical Working Group.

The "Office of the Council for Unity", however, knows that it is obliged to inform itself and to take note of how the ecumenical partners in Germany understand themselves. That is why I wrote in my reaction that I am surprised by the content of the ÖAK statement: "In it, as already in the VotumThere are certainly many good affirmations, which, however, remain in the purely academic field and have no relation to the concrete ecclesial reality. If they were based on this concrete reality, many affirmations presented as unquestionable consensus would have to be questioned".

My objection points precisely in the direction to which you yourself returned later in the interview, in a way for which I am grateful, by acknowledging that in this process I had relatively early and "quite rightly" pointed out that "on the evangelical side we must ensure that, for example, the leading of the Lord's Supper by ordained persons is guaranteed." And you added that this is one of the points on which justified criticism has driven and can continue to drive our dialogue. It was exactly in this direction that the request contained my reaction, because both in the Votum As in the opinion of the ÖAK, I have to note an important discrepancy between the ecumenical consensus claimed by the ÖAK and the concrete reality in the evangelical churches, and I call this discrepancy unfounded. Welcoming your wish for a "substantive reaction", I am happy to develop my reproach further, and I would like to illustrate this with three prominent examples.

First of all. The Votum "Together at the Lord's Table" is based on the basic conviction, which is also repeated in the "Declaration" of the ÖAK, that after the "basic agreement on baptism" reached in the ecumenical dialogues there also results a "common basic agreement" concerning the Lord's Supper/Eucharist, "which, analogous to the recognition of baptism, allows a mutual recognition of the respective liturgical form of celebration of the Supper and its theological content and justifies a reciprocal invitation". And since it is added that "the text presented here" intends to fulfill this task (2.5), this affirmation of a very close relationship between Baptism and the Eucharist is to be considered as the basic thesis of the whole of this text. Votum. 

With great astonishment I read on the official website of the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau the following: "In the congregations of the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau, all who participate in the service are invited to partake of the Lord's Supper. They are welcome to even those who are not baptized or those belonging to another Christian confession who wish to receive the Lord's Supper".

But then, where is the close connection between baptism and the Lord's Supper affirmed by the ÖAK, if even the unbaptized are invited to the Lord's Supper? An even deeper ecumenical problem arises here: if, on the one hand, baptism and the mutual recognition of baptism are the basis of ecumenism and, on the other hand, an ecumenical partner relativizes baptism in such a way that it is no longer even a presupposition for participation in the Supper, it is legitimate to ask who is questioning the foundation of ecumenism here. In my experience, the Evangelical Church of Hessen-Nassau is no exception in this regard. I have chosen it only because it is the Evangelical Church in whose space the Third Ecumenical Day of the Churches will be held. 

Secondly. The Votum "Together at the Lord's Table" affirms that an ecumenical consensus has also been reached on the question of ministry, namely that the "ordained ministry, linked to ordination" belongs to the "being of the Church" and "is not due to a delegation of the will of the community, but to the divine mission and institution" (6.2.3). Therefore it is affirmed: "The Lord's Supper/Eucharist is to be celebrated regularly in the Sunday liturgy. The direction of the celebration belongs to an ordained person" (5.4.5).

In response to this statement, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has pointed out that the consensus referred to by the Votum The ÖAK statement "is not supported by the majority of the EKD member churches", "which consider a Lord's Supper without an ordained representative to be permissible in an emergency". For stating this, the ÖAK statement points to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith with the point that, if the Congregation had looked at "the regulations of the EKD and its member churches," it would not even have raised this objection.

If we follow the invitation of the ÖAK and consult the church regulations, the facts to be found are different. To mention once again as an example the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau, we read in its "Regulations for Church Life" of June 15, 2013: "When Christians in emergency situations wish to receive the Lord's Supper and a pastor cannot be found, any member of the church may administer the Lord's Supper to them. In that case, he should pronounce the words of institution and administer the bread and wine to them." Here exactly what ÖAK denies is affirmed.

It should also be recalled that last year, during the first phase of the corona virus crisis, some District Churches, such as in Württemberg, allowed their members the possibility of a domestic celebration of the Lord's Supper without ordained ministers. This is also the context of the official document of the German Lutheran Bishops "Called according to the order" of 2006, in which it is difficult to determine whether there is only a terminological difference or also a theological difference between ordination and delegation, and whether in addition to the ordained also preachers can be commissioned to lead the Lord's Supper.

That these regulations are no exception is shown by the statement of principle of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany, in its document on the commemoration of the Reformation in 2017, about the Reformation leading to a "complete reformulation of the essence of the Church" and in particular that "every Christian may in principle administer the sacraments, i.e. administer baptism and distribute the Lord's Supper.

It is for reasons of order that there are male and female pastors who exercise in a special way the tasks that all Christians have, i.e., as officially qualified and called to perform them" (Justification and Freedom, pp. 90-91). Once again we find that the consensus claimed by ÖAK on the question of ministry does not correspond to the concrete reality of the Church, also and especially with regard to the administration of the Lord's Supper by ordained persons.

Third. The Votum of the ÖAK devotes an entire section to the "Consideration of thanksgiving, anamnesis and epiclesis" (5.5) and affirms as an ecumenical consensus that thanksgiving, anamnesis and epiclesis are "constitutive features of the Supper": "Today the Reformation and the Roman Catholic dogmatic traditions agree that thanksgiving and praise for God's action in Jesus Christ are an important element of the celebration of the Lord's Supper / Eucharist" (5.5.2). And with regard to the invocation of the Holy Spirit, it is stated: "In the prayers of the Lord's Supper of the current evangelical norms the two epiclesis come together, according to the model of the Eastern Churches, after the anamnesis of the Lord's Supper" (5.5.4).

By reading the Votum I was also pleased with this statement. But my joy is clouded again when I look at the specific ecclesiastical reality, and I discover that very often the consensus called for by ÖAK is not to be found. I will not choose just any example here, but will refer to the material for the Sunday of the Ecumenical Church Day on February 7, 2021. In the "Draft based on the Gospel tradition" presented there, we find a poorly theologically developed anamnesis, no trace of an epiclesis and the Holy Spirit is remembered with silence. Nevertheless, it might have been expected that the consensus called for by ÖAK would be reflected in this official draft, published precisely in view of the Third Ecumenical Day of the Churches.

With these examples, which are by no means arbitrarily selected and which could easily be multiplied, I hope I can clarify what I meant when I alluded to the lack of substantiation of the Votum and of ÖAK's position on the ecclesiastical reality in my first reaction to the ÖAK Declaration. But I cannot hide my surprise that such discrepancies between the supposed ecumenical consensus and the factual reality in the Evangelical Churches are not noticed by ÖAK members or at least not minimally mentioned.

I am certainly grateful that an ecumenical working group is investing a lot of energy and commitment in overcoming the issues that have so far divided the church. However, this can only happen in a realistic and responsible way if this work is confronted with the concrete reality in the churches, if the theology and practice of the churches are called upon where necessary, and if a process of reception in the churches is fostered, as happened, for example, before the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification in 1999.

It is imperative that this happens if a Votum is accompanied by practical instructions and encouragement to the faithful, as is the case with the Votum of the ÖAK, if it is affirmed that "reciprocal participation in the celebration of the Lord's Supper/Eucharist with respect for the respective liturgical traditions" is "theologically founded", and if this Votum also implies the "recognition of the respective liturgical forms, as well as of the ministries of leadership," "as envisaged by the celebrating community which invites the baptized of other confessions in the name of Jesus Christ to join in the celebration" (8.1).

When an ecumenical working group affirms that a practice is "theologically grounded" in order to encourage believers to this practice, then it is necessary to identify and study the still open and unresolved issues, as shown by the reality of the church, in order to prepare a binding reception among the leaders of the churches and ecclesial communities. In my opinion, it is not possible to encourage a practice and indicate that afterwards one can perhaps continue to work on the open questions.

This would correspond to the procedure of intra-Protestant ecumenism, according to Leuenberg's model, in which a basic coincidence in the understanding of the Gospel is sufficient to establish a community of pulpit and supper between churches of different confessions. For the Catholic Church, on the other hand, Eucharistic communion presupposes communion in the Church, and communion in the Church presupposes communion in faith. Above all, from a Catholic point of view, communion in the Eucharist is only possible if a common Eucharistic faith can be professed.

For this reason I ask you to understand that the Votum The ÖAK's statement took on a different status when Bishop Bätzing, as president of the German Bishops' Conference, endorsed it and used it as the basis for a decision by the German bishops, also with a view to introducing the practice called for by the ÖAK of reciprocal participation in the Catholic Eucharist and the Evangelical Lord's Supper on the Third Ecumenical Day of the Churches. In doing so, the Votum of the Ecumenical Working Group has become an opinion for the use of the German Bishops' Conference, and has been elevated to the level of the magisterium of the bishops.

The time has thus come for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to pronounce itself. It has done so for the German Bishops' Conference; hence it is clear that you also expect a response from it, but not only to the questions that I have addressed in this letter from a specifically ecumenical perspective, because you are the Scientific Director of ÖAK on the Protestant side and have asked me for a response on the subject.

The intervention of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on the other hand, affects many other contents of Catholic doctrine of faith, especially with regard to the conception of the Church, the Eucharist and the ordained ministry, which the Congregation does not find satisfactorily contemplated in the Votum My open letter to you is certainly not the place to address these questions, especially since the Catholic representative of ÖAK's Scientific Directorate should be the first to make a statement.

I hope that you, dear Professor Leppin, will find in the preceding lines, at least in their basic outlines, a "substantive reaction" to the ÖAK Declaration, which I had hoped for on my part. I remain at your disposal, with cordial greetings from the "office of the Council for Unity", for which it is also an important intention to further advance ecumenical reconciliation, in the hope that at least there will be a consensus among us that, also in such difficult but important discussions, neither side should deny the other a serious ecumenical will.

Yours, 

Kurt Cardinal Koch

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Virtual meeting to relive the Congress of the Laity one year later

This virtual meeting aims to promote the post-congress and recognize the ongoing work in the dioceses despite the setbacks caused by the coronavirus. 

Maria José Atienza-February 12, 2021-Reading time: < 1 minute

One year after the celebration of the Congress of the Laity, "People of God Going Out", groups, movements and anyone interested will participate in a virtual meeting to relive the congress and review the subsequent work carried out in the different dioceses.

Organized by the Episcopal Commission for the Laity, Family and Life of the CEE, this meeting online will take place next Friday, February 19 at 7:00 p.m. and will be hosted by Ana Medina.

Meeting "Revive Congress to revive the process."

This online call will count with the participation of Msgr. Luis ArgüelloThe following are members of the Congress: Isaac Martín, delegate of the Secular Apostolate of Toledo, member of the executive committee and of the contents of the Congress of the Laity and of the Advisory Council of the Laity; Pilar Rodríguez-Carretero, a young woman from Córdoba, National Youth leader of Cursillos de Cristiandad and member of the executive committee and of the logistics and organization of the Congress of the Laity; David Roces, a young man from Acción Católica General de Oviedo; and Isabel García, member of Vida Ascendente.

The meeting is intended to be a boost to the work of dioceses, movements and lay associations, which have been tireless in promoting and encouraging the post-congress among their realities despite the coronavirus situation.

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Integral ecology

Really, are palliatives a major cost to the system?

Specialized palliative care not only improves the well-being of patients with severe suffering, but also represents a significant saving for each hospital center and for the national health systems (NHS) of the countries.

Rafael Miner-February 12, 2021-Reading time: 4 minutes
RelatedRelated News"Palliative care should be a right, not a privilege."Related NewsWhy Spain has a deficit in palliative care

Approximately half of the patients with a serious illness accompanied by intense suffering do not receive specialized palliative care treatment in Spain. Some studies put this figure at six out of ten, i.e., 60 percent.

Globally, the figure is higher, taking into account, for example, a lower implementation of services that provide this type of care, and the lower and even scarce consumption of opioids in some areas of the planet.

Some health economists and managers, together with health professionals, have been studying for some time the reluctance observed in some countries and settings to implement palliative care services. One of them, and not the least, is the potential costs.

The idea that palliative care is more expensive has been the subject of a global review.

Miguel Sánchez Cárdenas- Atlantes program researcher

The concern is the following. Let's put ourselves in the role of a health planner, who is told that apart from providing patient care, for example by the team of cardiologists, another team must be called in to take care of the patient. A priori it sounds like they are going to increase costs. "If I have to call in an additional team to the one treating the disease, that sounds expensive," he explains. Miguel Sánchez CárdenasBut this way of arguing has been the subject of a global review", says the researcher of the Atlantes program of the Culture and Society Institute of the University of Navarra.

Report of Jama Internal Medicine

One of the most widely analyzed reports is the one published by Jama Internal Medicine, a journal published by the American Medical Association in 2018. It was conducted by Mount Sinai Health System y Trinity College of Dublin, Ireland, and pooled data from six previous studies involving more than 130,000 adults admitted to U.S. hospitals between 2001 and 2015. Of these patients, 3.6 percent received a palliative care consultation in addition to their other hospital care.

According to the report, hospitals saved an average of $3,237 per patient (nearly €2,700 at current exchange rates), over the course of a hospital stay, when palliative care was added to their routine care compared to those who did not receive palliative care. Palliative care was associated with cost savings, per hospital stay, of $4,251 (€3,542) per cancer patient and $2,105 (€1,754) for those with non-cancer diagnoses. Savings were greater for patients with a higher number of diseases.

Hospitals saved an average of $3,237 per patient receiving hospice care

The causes of the savings were summarized by the author of the analysis, John Commins, as follows Palliative care saves your hospital money. Palliative care programs that better address pain and improve care coordination result in shorter hospital stays and lower costs, particularly for sicker patients, according to the report, whose lead author was Peter May, a research fellow in health economics at the Center for Health Policy and Management at the Trinity College of Dublin.

Catalan hospitals, too

Sánchez Cárdenas was consulted about the work of the Dr. Gómez Batistewho maintained more than a decade ago that specialized palliative care saves the system 60 percent of the costs that a terminally ill patient would incur without such care, pointed out that the time factor is important in calculating savings.

"Gómez Batiste found that there is a decrease in costs per patient treated with palliative care of an average of 3,000 euros, but other studies have made other estimates," the Atlantes researcher points out. "It also depends on when the patient comes to the palliative care program: whether it is an early stage, or more advanced in the disease. What is clear is that the earlier the patient arrives, the more savings there are for the system. Essentially, because it avoids treatments that are unnecessary at the end of life, and that instead of curing or alleviating a symptom, what they do is increase people's suffering."

The earlier palliative care begins for the patient, the more savings there are for the system.

The study by Dr. Xavier Gómez Batiste revealed that in Catalonia alone, palliative care saved 33.5 million euros each year in 2006, an amount higher than the total cost of the structural expenditure of all palliative care in the autonomous community, reported ABC. In his opinion, the conclusion can be extrapolated to the whole country. The reason for his conclusions is that "well-planned and well-done hospital or home palliative care prevents many problems and avoids patients resorting to emergency care or ending up in acute care units, because it is the easiest or the only way they have at hand when they need medical attention".

Sánchez Cárdenas considers that "it should also be noted that the studies that evaluate the cost of palliative care coincide in pointing out that the earlier palliative care is provided, the more successful it will be in terms of the efficacy of the treatments. In other words, it is possible to weigh up the treatments that are good for the patients, but also those that will generate addiction to the treatment, that do not improve the patient's quality of life and that do worsen the cost to the system".

On the other hand, executives from the healthcare sector, such as Zacarías Rodriguez, of the New Health Foundation, have stated that "investing in palliative care is saving the system, making it more sustainable and improving people's quality of life. Along these lines, the foundation argues that with the implementation of appropriate management methods, "palliative care would save the healthcare system between 20 and 35 percent in costs, improving the quality of life of patients and increasing the satisfaction of patients, family members and caregivers by up to 97 percent".

RelatedRelated News"Palliative care should be a right, not a privilege."Related NewsWhy Spain has a deficit in palliative care
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ColumnistsMaria Laura Conte

In search of divergent thinking

It would be interesting to investigate the historical moment when this process of loss of taste for confrontation with difference began. When did difference become so unbearable for us? Or when did we become so bitter?

February 12, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes

He was fired because he was the first to report a certain news item during the U.S. presidential election. Only it was a political news that stung for his channel's audience and even more so for the editor. It happened in the United States, but the echo came to us in the lines of an editorial that Chris Stirewhalt, the journalist involved, wrote for the Los Angeles Times. A vibrant piece in which the author takes the baton of dismissal to reason about the tension between two opposing words, habituation and informationand information.

The American public, one reads, has been gorged (metaphorically) by a type of media product with a high caloric content (fake news) and a poor nutritional content (truth) and has become accustomed, misinformed. To the point that when news is transmitted to it, that is, when it is exposed to pure information, the organism collapses, it does not recognize the daily diet, it rejects it to the point of vomiting.

divergent conversation

The metaphor is exaggerated, but it sheds light on a corner that we voluntarily leave in the shadows: many of us are now only able to listen to what we already know or what we want to hear, or it confirms our judgment. We are prone to habituation, we are accommodated to the narrative of a simplified reality in which the irruption of a divergent thought is disturbing: it is presented as dissident, it is not even recognized for what it is, that is, something different from us with a curious potential. It is therefore rejected a priori.

We are accustomed to the narrative of a simplified reality in which the emergence of divergent thinking is disturbing.

It would be interesting to investigate the historical moment when this process of loss of taste for confrontation with difference began. When did difference become so unbearable for us? Or when did we become so bitter?

For our Latin authors, the "divergenza"was an everyday dimension that had to be dealt with, in war, politics and philosophy. Latin diverto – diversum indicates a turn towards two opposite, separate, distant sides. For Caesar, different can be, for example, a path that proceeds in the opposite direction to the desired one (iter a proposito diversum), so it can be treacherous, but attractive; while for Sallust it is the right word to describe the agitation between extreme emotions, between fear and debauchery (metu atque lubidine divorsus agitabatur).

Here is, between Caesar and Sallust, the painful and fascinating point: divergence moves, opens windows, shows different edges, therefore exposes to risks. Like that of changing one's mind, of accepting that one can take a step backwards or to one side. It reveals things about the reality that surrounds us, phenomena that we did not see, much less calculate. That is why we need it, especially when the world around us is increasingly complex and trying to simplify it only distracts us.

Conversation (from cum - verto, same composition as di-verto) asks us to dialogue with those who are not the same, who do not think the same way.

Fortunately (and this is not just a game of etymology) there is a way to withstand the test of divergence without falling off dark cliffs: it's called conversation.

The conversation (from cum - vertosame composition as di-verto) asks us to dialogue with those who are not the same, who do not think the same and do not see the same as we do, and yet participate in the same community.

Conversation is a time dedicated to trusting one's own difference and, at the same time, allowing oneself to be invested by the divergent opinions of others, in order to push oneself to previously unimagined realms of creativity. A frank conversation about how to readjust lifestyles, politics and economics in the wake of the pandemic is the most banal example that can be proposed. But everyone can see it in their everyday experience: at different levels, the conversation is an invitation to relinquish one's responsibilities to others.

Those who "get used" (to borrow the expression of the American journalist) to this type of conversation will hardly give it up. Because it is an activation of humanity: personal deposits of certainties and projects are risked for a higher stake. It counteracts addiction, that unpleasant form of obesity of the soul.

Yes, you have to give up something, but what you gain is more. It is a matter of deeds, not words.

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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  • Boring homilies? Preaching without killing of boredom
ColumnistsJavier Sánchez Cervera

Boring homilies? Preaching without killing of boredom

Have you fallen asleep while preaching at Mass? No, you are not the only one and, on more than one occasion, the reason lies in a really boring preaching.

February 12, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes

When I was preparing to become a priest, I almost always fell asleep during homilies at Mass. Especially when one of my superiors - don't ask, I won't say who - was the one preaching. I always fell asleep. I never failed. There's a whole technique that you perfect so that you don't notice too much that you're asleep at Mass. Sometimes it will look like you're nodding along to what the priest is saying; sometimes it will look like you're deep in contemplation, or it might look like you're emotional and can't lift your head to keep the tears from showing. The truth is that I, inevitably, was sleeping.

One day, after confessing to that, I wanted to convince myself that the problem was not the preacher's problem but mine, and I decided to transcribe the homily in its entirety, from "pe" to "pa". That way, avoiding drowsiness, I would be able to understand the depth of the message that had made me surrender into the arms of Morpheus on other occasions. Said and done. That day I wrote down everything that good priest said. Then I read it. I read it again. I underlined it. Finally I came to the terrible conclusion that he had simply said nothing. It was 20 minutes of not saying anything and not stopping talking. I didn't think that was possible, but it was. Then I realized that it is more frequent than it seems and that it is not an exclusive specialty of priests; politicians, professors, even lecturers walk through those nihilistic places communicatively speaking and provoke, whether they want to or not, whether they know it or not, the same dream that I suffered in those very long homilies in my student days.

It is more frequent than it seems and it is not an exclusive specialty of priests; politicians, professors, even lecturers walk through these places and provoke the same dream.

Boredom in homilies is nothing new. The Acts of the Apostles tells us that in Troas, a city on the Aegean coast, St. Paul was preaching to the Christians. On the third floor, sitting on the window sill, a young boy, Eutychius, was listening to him. He too was overcome by drowsiness and fell asleep. At that moment he fell to the ground and killed himself. He literally died of boredom. The story ends well, because St. Paul resuscitates the boy and returns him to his mother, who was already threatening him with the bag, but it remains as a warning to navigators in the tortuous waters of preaching. In this case, St. Paul had a lot to say; perhaps his failure was that he wanted to say too much. It was not the "what" but the "how" that failed him.

Bored and boring people are everywhere in all the strata of the Church. Not even the bishops are spared from being enveloped by drowsiness before the preaching of one of their brothers in the episcopate. In those ceremonies, the episcopal doze becomes more evident to the eyes of all by the bowing of the mitre on his head, which does not admit any strategy to disguise it.

I would like to help you so that this does not happen to you, and I would like to write down some ideas to see if I apply myself, too, the story.

During my last years of seminary I was lucky enough to be assigned to a parish in the center of Madrid, the parish of Concepción de Nuestra Señora. There the seminarians did everything. On Sundays I did three things and I enjoyed all three very much. First I played the organ at 11:00 Mass. Then I helped at 12:30 Mass. But what I liked the most was what came next: at the 2:00 p.m. Mass an exceptional priest celebrated Mass, Pablo Dominguez.

There was preparation, intelligence, passion, closeness and a desire to communicate.

The large church was filled with young people to pray and also to listen to him. I always stayed in the back room to listen to his homilies. I never fell asleep. Like the whole church, I was absorbed, captivated, gripped by Paul's words. His message touched my head, touched my heart and moved my will. He extracted novelty from the usual and made you see with amazement things in the Gospel that you already knew and that you had overlooked a thousand times. I think that's when I began to be passionate about preaching.

An instinct? A natural gift? Maybe, but I am convinced that there was also preparation, intelligence, passion, closeness, desire to communicate and many other things that I want to tell you about in these lines.

So for you, who have to preach every week or every day, for you, brother priest or deacon, for you who are preparing for the priesthood in the seminary, even for you, Mr. Bishop, successor of the apostles and "herald of the Word" - as St. John Paul II said (cfr. Gregis Shepherds3) - these are some of the ideas that I try to repeat to myself when I prepare and preach, so that every Sunday I can communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ and captivate the people, and not bore the suffering parishioners to sleep and bore them to death.

The authorJavier Sánchez Cervera

Priest. Pastor of San Sebastián Mártir de San Sebastián de los Reyes (Madrid).

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  • "If we look at others differently we will start to truly care."
Spain

"If we look at others differently we will start to truly care."

Interview with José Luis Méndez, director of the Health Pastoral Department of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, on the occasion of the World Day of the Sick.

Maria José Atienza-February 11, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

The feast of Our Lady of Lourdes marks the World Day of the Sick, which the Spanish Church celebrates this year under the theme "Let us take care of each other".

For this reason, Omnes has interviewed José Luis Méndez, director of the Department of Pastoral Health Care at the Spanish Episcopal Conference.

 Q- How can we take advantage of the Day of the Sick to increase awareness of the need for mutual help and true fraternity?

 R- We should take advantage of this to help each other. On the one hand, those who are healthy, praying for the sick and those who care for them and, at the same time, the sick can offer every moment of loneliness or suffering. All this is a mystery with which Christ makes us sharers in his redemption and, therefore, it is something of inestimable value for the whole of humanity.

Q- How can we live this Day in the midst of a time marked by the coronavirus and with daily news of deaths, contagions... that can provoke anxiety among Christians?

 R- First of all, we must not settle into a culture of complaint. It is true that times are hard, the numbers of deaths and hospital admissions are heartbreaking, but we can take two stances: we can remain with the data and be frightened, or we can listen to the data, commend those admitted and propose to repeat a short prayer throughout the day for those who are admitted or who have died. We must think more about Heaven, give reason for our hope, because evil has an end, because God has put a limit to it in Jesus Christ.

In the face of the pandemic situation, we cannot install a "culture of complaint".

P- How can we continue to encourage the importance of care and dignity for the sick and elderly?

R - The first thing is to ask Our Lady to change our hearts so that she can help us to look at others with tenderness. I like very much that expression of the pontificate of Pope Francis "the revolution of tenderness". Without this tenderness, care will be merely technical. If we are able to look at others in a different way, we will feel involved in their pains, limitations, sufferings... and then we will begin to truly care. Technical" care is essential, but there is a deeper care: that of a caress, a look, a knowing how to listen.

If we look with the eyes of Christ we discover that one minute of a dying patient's life is an occasion to love and is worth an eternity.

Q- How can we continue to advance in the dissemination of the culture of life?

R- First of all, pray and also encourage people to look differently. As this prayer says "May I see with your eyes my Christ, Jesus of my soul.". Then we will understand what it means to truly care. We discover that one minute of a dying patient's life, that one minute, is an occasion to love and is worth an eternity.

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  • A congress addresses the 50th anniversary of the doctorate of Saint Teresa of Jesus
Culture

A congress addresses the 50th anniversary of the doctorate of Saint Teresa of Jesus

The International Congress "Exceptional Woman. Fifty years of the doctorate of St. Teresa of Jesus" aims to be a framework for meeting, dialogue and scientific debate.

Maria José Atienza-February 11, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

The capital of Avila will host from 12 to 15 April, the International Congress "Exceptional Woman. Fifty years of the Doctorate of St. Teresa of Jesus. A conference promoted by the Bishopric of Avilathe Discalced Carmelites and the Catholic University of Avila to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Doctorate of St. Teresa of Jesus.

The congress also counts on the collaboration of the Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt and, it will be developed in a bimodal way -online and face-to-face-.

The International Congress "Exceptional Woman. Fifty years of the doctorate of St. Teresa of Jesus" aims to be a framework for meeting, dialogue and scientific debate. The congress has a series of themes - axis around which the different papers will pivot.

Congress themes

    Spiritual Theology. Mysticism in the academic context in the 20th and 21st centuries.

    Women and Church.

    Relationships, parallels and contrasts between St. Teresa of Jesus and other holy doctors of the Church.

    New evangelization

Among the speakers at this congress will be the Card. Aquilino Bocos who will speak on "The Teresian reform and our reform. The unforgettable lesson of the first Doctor of the Church". Prof. Dr. Marianne Schlosser with a paper on "The ecclesial meaning of the declaration of a woman teacher of prayer as a doctor of the Church. The feminine face of the Church" or the Dr. Silvano Giordano ocd who will develop the path of St. Teresa of Jesus to the doctorate.

Saint Teresa of Jesus. Doctor of the Church

Paul VI proclaimed St. Teresa of Jesus a Doctor of the Church, the first woman to receive this title. In his homily at the ceremony on September 27, 1970, Paul VI referred to her as "this saint, so singular and so great, arouses in our spirit a wealth of thoughts. We see her before us as an exceptional woman, as a religious who, wrapped in humility, penance and simplicity, radiates around her the flame of her human vitality and her dynamic spirituality; we see her, moreover, as a reformer and founder of a historic and distinguished religious Order, as a brilliant and fruitful writer, as a teacher of spiritual life, as an incomparable contemplative and tireless active soul".

All the information about the congress at https://congresosantateresadoctora.es/

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"Manos Unidas projects show that another world is possible."

The Catholic NGOD Manos Unidas presented today its campaign "Contagia solidaridad para acabar con el hambre" (Spread solidarity to end hunger) with the testimonies of Raquel Reynoso, from Peru, and Alicia Vacas, from Israel.

Maria José Atienza-February 10, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes

The presentation of the Manos Unidas for this year 2021 has had as protagonists some of the groups most affected by hunger and poverty in the world: indigenous communities in Ayacucho and African women seeking asylum in Israel.

During his speech, Alicia VacasThe head of the Comboni Missionary Sisters for the Middle East and Asia, began by explaining that, although Israel is not a poor country, "there are pockets of poverty and above all a chronic situation of discrimination against some groups, such as African migrants or Palestinian Bedouins from the occupied territories or Iraqi and Syrian refugees".

The Kuchinate project

Alicia Vacas focused her speech on African women from groups of South Sudanese and Eritrean migrants. Women who have suffered abuse and violence and without recognition as refugees by the Government. Before arriving in Israel, they have suffered, as this missionary has related "all kinds of hardships and violence: a crossing through the desert to reach Israel, kidnapping and violence exercised by mafias, torture and extortion...".

Change of mentality

Experiences that were not easy to share to help them, until a Comboni missionary of Eritrean origin explained that in her country, women's sorrows were shared by knitting. Thus was born Kuchinate (Crochet in Tigrinya), which is being developed thanks to the support of Manos Unidas. Thanks to a providential donation of T-shirt fabric, the women began to meet to weave crochet baskets and thus also began to weave personal relationships and the opening of wounds.

Kuchinate currently serves "more than 300 women in situations of extreme vulnerability who make up this project. They receive, above all, psychosocial and professional support, facilitating their integration into Israeli society and their recognition as refugees".

The head of the Comboni Missionary Sisters for the Middle East and Asia stressed that Kuchinate is "an example that "another world is possible, that there are alternatives to fear, to exclusion... and that the alternative is through solidarity and the care of the common good, which is the focus of the campaign of Manos Unidas this year and is what Pope Francis reminds us in the Fratelli tutti", and concluded her speech with a call to "make this crisis an opportunity to put ourselves in the shoes of those who suffer most".

Peru: water and promotion of women

From Peru, the president of the association SER (Servicios Educativos Rurales), Raquel ReynosoThe pandemic has shown the vulnerability of society as a whole.

Reynoso described the situation of the people of Ayacucho (Peru), an area where she works in projects with the support of Manos Unidas. In addition to the Covid pandemic, these people have suffered, since before, "lack of drinking water, they are communities that live from day to day and that, if they did not go out to sell, they died of hunger or died of Covid. In addition, many of them do not have electricity and could not preserve food for a confinement".

She also described the situation of the women with whom she works and who have suffered the consequences of the armed conflicts that have been raging in the area for decades, as well as discrimination because of their feminine condition. It is these women, however, who are responsible for working the land.

Reynoso focused on two lines of work, with the support of Manos Unidas, with encouraging results: the implementation of sanitation and access to water projects and the promotion of projects for the advancement of women so that they, as well as their family and social environment, understand their collective rights, are recognized and valued and also have access to managerial positions like men.

Reynoso highlighted the solidarity that the rural communities of this Peruvian area have shown in these times of pandemic, which has hit the area very hard. A solidarity among the neighbors themselves, but which has also led them, for example, to send food to urban areas and to create family and community gardens to help each other. A solidarity of which "we can become infected and see how we can share the little we have".

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Books

Transformed wounds

José Miguel Granados recommends reading Loved as I amby Miriam James Heidland.

José Miguel Granados-February 10, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

Book file

TitleLoved as I am. An invitation to Conversion, Freedom and Healing through Jesus.
AuthorMiriam James Heidland, S.O.L.T.
EditorialAve Maria Press
Year: 2014
Pages: 106

"Every pain which is not transformed is transmitted - Every wound which is not transformed is transmitted". This is one of Sister Miriam James Heidland's strongest statements in her impressive testimonial and thematic talks (which can be seen on social media) or in her recent publication: Loved as I Am. An invitation to Conversion, Freedom and Healing through Jesus (Loved as I am. An invitation to Conversion, Freedom and Healing through Jesus).

The author, sister Miriam James Heidland

In fact, experience teaches us that a soul sickened by sin oozes poison and bitterness. At the same time, we can see that every wound of the heart healed by grace makes a person wiser, more grateful and humble: it enables him to pour out the tenderness and goodness of the Lord all around him, especially to his suffering brothers and sisters. 

This is what happened to this dynamic Texan religious, a descendant of German immigrants, who in her university youth was a volleyball player and also went through a painful period, far from God, trapped by addictions. The Lord came to her with compassion in the merciful gaze of an elderly priest, who helped her to get up and courageously embark on the beautiful path of total love for Christ.

We can see that every wound of the heart healed by grace makes the person wiser, more grateful and humble.

The audiences were moved by the authenticity and strength of this consecrated woman who simply showed her miseries purified by divine mercy, becoming a convincing witness of the joy of the Gospel. Her new heart radiates the beauty of the following of Christ.

Also our life, transformed and healed by the Spirit of the Lord, full and luminous, will lead many to accept the power of Jesus, physician of souls, dear friend and savior of the world.

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The Vatican

"He who prays is like a lover, he carries in his heart the beloved person".

Pope Francis has reflected, in the hearing this wednesday, february 10The theme of the conference is prayer in daily life, which permeates all aspects of our lives.

David Fernández Alonso-February 10, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsPope's Audience: "Mass is not simply listened to; it is celebrated and lived".Related NewsGeneral Audience: Praise God always, in good times and in bad.Related NewsPope to diplomats: "Education is the antidote to individualistic culture".

Pope Francis addressed the faithful around the world from the Library of the Apostolic Palace on Wednesday morning, February 10.

Prayer in ordinary life

In the previous catechesis, the Holy Father reflected on how Christian prayer is "anchored" in the liturgy. On this occasion, Francis emphasized how from the liturgy prayer returns to daily life: "on the streets, in the offices, in the means of transport... And there the dialogue with God continues: those who pray are like those in love, who always carry the loved one in their hearts, wherever they may be".

The Pope affirms that "in fact, everything is taken up in this dialogue with God: every joy becomes a reason for praise, every trial is an occasion for a request for help".

Therefore, "prayer is always alive, like an ember of fire, even when the mouth does not speak. Every thought, even if it is apparently "profane", can be impregnated with prayer".

The Mystery Of God

In the same vein, he also addressed the prayerful aspect of intelligence, pointing out that "it is a window onto the mystery: it illuminates the few steps that lie before us and then opens up to the whole of reality, which precedes and surpasses it". For the Pope, "this mystery does not have an unsettling or distressing face: the knowledge of Christ makes us confident that where our eyes and the eyes of our mind cannot see, there is not nothingness, but infinite grace.

Christian prayer instills in the human heart an invincible hope: "whatever experience touches our path, God's love can turn it into good".

Each day that begins, if it is welcomed in prayer, is accompanied by courage.

Pope Francis

The Pope then reflected on the importance of facing the present with joy: "There is no other wonderful day than the day we are living today. And it is prayer that transforms it into grace, or rather, that transforms us: it pacifies anger, sustains love, multiplies joy, instills the strength to forgive. At some point it will seem to us that it is no longer we who live, but that grace lives and works in us through prayer. Each day that begins, if it is welcomed in prayer, is accompanied by courage, so that the problems to be faced are not obstacles to our happiness, but calls from God, occasions for our encounter with Him".

Pray for all

Pope Francis also encourages us to pray always for everything and everyone, both for our loved ones and for our enemies: "Prayer disposes us to a superabundant love. Let us pray above all for unhappy people, for those who weep in loneliness and despair that there is still a love that beats for them.

In short, that "prayer works miracles; and the poor then sense, by the grace of God, that even in their precarious situation, the prayer of a Christian has made present the compassion of Jesus: He in fact looked with great tenderness on the tired and lost crowd like sheep without a shepherd (cfr. Mc 6,34).

We are fragile beings, but we know how to pray: this is our greatest dignity. And when a prayer is according to the heart of Jesus, it obtains miracles.

Pope Francis

Prayer from our fragility

The Holy Father wanted to remind us that by loving the world in this way, we encounter the mystery of God: "It is necessary to love each and every person, remembering in prayer that we are all sinners and at the same time loved by God one by one. By loving this world in this way, loving it with tenderness, we will discover that every day and every thing has hidden in it a fragment of the mystery of God".

Finally, the Pope concluded his catechesis by alluding to the philosopher Pascal: "Man is like a breath, like grass (cfr. Salt 144,4; 103,15). The philosopher Pascal wrote: "It is not necessary that the whole universe be put together to crush it: a vapor, a drop of water is enough to kill it".

"We are fragile beings, but we know how to pray: this is our greatest dignity. And when a prayer is according to the heart of Jesus, it obtains miracles".

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RelatedRelated NewsPope's Audience: "Mass is not simply listened to; it is celebrated and lived".Related NewsGeneral Audience: Praise God always, in good times and in bad.Related NewsPope to diplomats: "Education is the antidote to individualistic culture".
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  • Law professionals denounce LOMLOE before the European Parliament
Education

Law professionals denounce LOMLOE before the European Parliament

The National Legal Commission for the Freedom of Education has filed a Petition requesting the protection of the EU institutions against the attacks on the freedom of education resulting from the recently approved Organic Law for the Improvement of the LOE (Ley Orgánica de Mejora de la LOE).

Maria José Atienza-February 9, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsEducation by Right" is born in defense of freedom of educationRelated News'Family Forum' asks to listen to parents to stop LOMLOERelated NewsHow does the Religion class look like in the LOMLOE?

In its letter to the European Parliament, registered by the European Parliament on January 28th, the National Legal Commission for the Freedom of Education The company denounced, among others, the violation of Articles 14 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and 27 of the Spanish Constitution, which protect the freedom of education and teaching.

The Commission has highlighted six basic aspects of this new regulation that violate EU or national legislation:

  • Infringement of educational and religious freedomThe lack of a link to the subject of Religion among the subjects to be taught, which may lead to its direct suppression, or to its undervaluation, as it loses the requirement of comparability and evaluation of the subject.
  • The inclusion of ideological subjects that could violate the beliefs of parents and students, distancing themselves from common values and outside of those that are found in the Spanish Constitution and community texts.
  • The open discrimination against charter schoolsby changing the concept of the right to education to the 'right to public education'. Furthermore, it turns the subsidized education system into a subsidiary educational system and, by eliminating the concept of social demand, aims at its gradual asphyxiation, infringing on the freedom to create educational centers and educational freedom.
  • – Supernatural pursuit of the differentiated education model, violating the ideology of the centers and the freedom to choose the pedagogical or educational model that parents consider most appropriate for the development of their children's personalities in freedom.
  • The progressive disappearance of special education against the criteria of a large majority of parents.
  • The lack of protection of Spanish or Spanish in the classroomThe use of the official language of the State is left to the whim of arbitrary administrative or political decisions, ignoring the duty of all Spaniards to know it and their right to use it.

The aim of the letter presented by this Legal Committee is to achieve a political response from the European Parliament in order to open avenues of intervention so that the Community institutions can legally protect the essential rights of so many families that have been violated.

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RelatedRelated NewsEducation by Right" is born in defense of freedom of educationRelated News'Family Forum' asks to listen to parents to stop LOMLOERelated NewsHow does the Religion class look like in the LOMLOE?
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The Vatican

The valuable testimony of the elderly

This morning, the Pontifical Academy for Life made public the document "Old Age: Our Future. The state of the elderly after the pandemic", in which it reflects on the situation of our elderly and the valuable contribution they make to society. 

David Fernández Alonso-February 9, 2021-Reading time: 5 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsPope institutes the first World Day of the ElderlyRelated NewsElderly: Listening, patience and timeRelated NewsCaring for elderly priests

On Tuesday morning, February 9, at 11:30 a.m., live streaming from the "John Paul II" room of the Holy See Press Office, the Pontifical Academy for Life presented the document: "Old Age: Our Future. The state of the elderly after the pandemic".

Vincenzo Paglia, the Secretary of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development, Msgr. Bruno-Marie Duffè, and Professor Etsuo Akiba, professor at the University of Toyama (Japan), a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, connected from the Japanese city.

The title of the document proposes a reflection on the lessons to be learned from the health emergency caused by the spread of Covid-19, on its consequences for today and for the future of our societies.

A way of the Church

In this sense, this situation that we are experiencing on a global scale leads us to learn lessons that have given rise to a dual awareness: "on the one hand, the interdependence between all and on the other the presence of strong inequalities. We are all at the mercy of the same storm, but in a certain sense, it can be said, we are rowing in different boats, the most fragile are sinking every day".. 

"It is essential to rethink the development model of the entire planet," says the document, which takes up the reflection already begun with the Note of March 30, 2020 (Pandemic and Universal Fraternity), continued with the Note dated July 22, 2020 (The Humana Communitas in the Age of Pandemic. Timeless considerations on the rebirth of life.) and with the joint paper with the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development (Vaccine for all. 20 points for a fairer and healthier world) December 28, 2020.

The intention, as can be seen, is to propose the path of the Church, teacher of humanity, with respect to a world that has been changed by the pandemic situation, addressed to women and men in search of meaning and hope for their lives.

The pandemic hit

The elderly were a particularly hard-hit sector during the early stages of the pandemic, specifically in nursing homes, places that were supposed to protect the most fragile in society and where, instead, death struck disproportionately more than in the home and family environment.

"What has happened during the COVID-19 pandemic prevents us from resolving the issue of care for the elderly by looking for scapegoats, individual culprits and, on the other hand, raising a chorus in defense of the excellent results of those who prevented the contagion in nursing homes. We need a new vision, a new paradigm that allows society to take care of the elderly".

In 2050, one in five will be elderly

The document highlights a striking situation, that "under the statistical-sociological profile, men and women have today, in general, a longer life expectancy". "This great demographic transformation represents, indeed, a great cultural, anthropological and economic challenge." According to data from the World Health Organization, - reads the document - in 2050 in the world there will be two billion people over sixty years of age, that is, one in five will be elderly. Therefore, "it is essential to make our cities inclusive and welcoming places for the lives of the elderly and, in general, for frailty in all its expressions".

The gift of being an elder

In our society, the idea of old age as an unhappy age, understood only as the age of care, need and expenses for medical treatment, often prevails. However, nothing could be further from the truth: "Becoming old is a gift from God and an enormous resource, an achievement to be safeguarded with care," says the document, "even when the disease becomes disabling and the need for integrated and high quality care arises." "And it is undeniable that the pandemic has reinforced in all of us the awareness that the 'wealth of years' is a treasure to be cherished and protected."

A new model for the most fragile

With regard to care, the Pontifical Academy for Life indicates a new model, especially for the most fragile, inspired above all by the person: the application of this principle implies an intervention organized at different levels, which realizes a continuous assistance between the home itself and some external services, without traumatic censures, not suitable to the fragility of aging, that "nursing homes should be requalified in a continuum The aim is to offer some of its services directly in the homes of the elderly: hospitalization at home, care for the individual person with care responses modulated according to personal needs at low or high intensity, where integrated socio-health care and domiciliation remain at the heart of a new and modern paradigm". It is hoped to reinvent a wider network of solidarity "not exclusively and necessarily based on blood ties, but articulated according to belonging, friendship, common feeling, reciprocal generosity to respond to the needs of others".

The young and the elderly

The document evokes an "encounter" between the young and the elderly that can bring to the social fabric "that new lymph of humanism that would make society more united." On several occasions Pope Francis has urged young people to help their grandparents. The document recalls that "the aging man is not approaching the end, but the mystery of eternity" and, to understand it, "he needs to draw close to God and live in relationship with Him." Hence it is a "task of charity in the Church" to "care for the spirituality of the elderly, their need for intimacy with Christ and for sharing their faith." The document makes it clear that "It is only thanks to the elderly that the young can rediscover their roots, and only thanks to the young that the elderly regain the ability to dream."

The valuable testimony of fragility

The frailty of the elderly can also be a valuable witness: "It can be read as a 'magisterium', a teaching of life", the document points out, and clarifies that "old age must also be understood in this spiritual horizon: it is the age particularly conducive to abandonment to God": "as the body weakens, psychic vitality, memory and mind diminish, the dependence of the human person on God becomes ever more evident".

The cultural turning point

Finally, he calls for "the whole of civil society, the Church and the various religious traditions, the world of culture, schools, volunteer work, the performing arts, the economy and social communications to feel a responsibility to suggest and support - within the framework of this Copernican revolution - new and incisive measures to accompany and care for the elderly in family contexts, in their own homes and, in any case, in domestic settings that are more like homes than hospitals. This is a cultural change that must be implemented."

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RelatedRelated NewsPope institutes the first World Day of the ElderlyRelated NewsElderly: Listening, patience and timeRelated NewsCaring for elderly priests
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ColumnistsHosffman Ospino

U.S. Catholicism with a Hispanic Flavor

U.S. Catholic leadership and communities in the coming years have a Hispanic face and accent. 

February 9, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes

Not so long ago, and I am only referring to a few decades ago, to speak of American Catholic realities meant speaking of communities and church leaders primarily of Irish, German, Italian and other European nationalities.

Demographic and cultural shifts in the American Catholic world in recent decades have changed that. When talking about the United States Conference of Catholic BishopsThe first name that comes to mind is that of its current president, Archbishop José Gómez. Archbishop Gomez, of Mexican origin, is also the pastoral leader of the country's largest Catholic archdiocese, Los Angeles, which is home to more than 4.3 million Catholics, 74 percent of them Hispanic.

In the country's largest cities, including Chicago, Houston, Miami and New York, more than half of the Catholic population residing there is Hispanic. Some 4,500 of the country's approximately 16,900 Catholic parishes offer services and pastoral accompaniment in Spanish.

These signs and realities serve as evidence of the tectonic movement at the cultural and ecclesial levels that is occurring in the U.S. Catholic world. Perhaps the best indicator of what Catholicism in the United States will look like in the remainder of the 21st century is the youth. Approximately 60 percent of young Catholics under the age of 18 are Hispanic. There is no guessing what the face of American Catholic leadership and communities will look like in the years to come.

The history of Catholic communities

To speak of a tectonic movement also requires speaking of geography. The vast majority of Catholic immigrants who arrived from Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries settled in the Northeast and Midwest. There they established a massive network of parishes, schools, universities and social service centers that made Catholics one of the most influential groups in the American context.

Since 2015, thanks to the Hispanic presence flowing steadily from Latin America and the Caribbean, the majority of U.S. Catholics now live in the South and West of the country. It is there that the present and future of U.S. Catholicism is being forged. One of the great challenges is the lack of basic structures to support the growth of the Hispanic Catholic population, especially parishes and Catholic schools. However, it is a more agile, less structured and more diverse Catholicism.

Tennessee Procession
Hispanic community procession in Cookeville, Tennessee.

Part of my research work as a theologian is to study the structural, cultural and theological evolution of this new way of being Catholic in a country with deep Anglo-Saxon and Protestant roots. To be part of the American Catholic experience in the 21st century is to participate in the birth of a community that has been centuries in the making. And like any birth, the emergence of this community does not come without its due pains.

I like to cook. I like to experiment with ingredients and seasonings. I like to change recipes from time to time. I also like to eat in restaurants and sometimes I order the same dish in different places so I can appreciate the different ways it is prepared. It never ceases to amaze me that although the ingredients are practically the same, the flavors are different depending on who is cooking them and how they are cooked. Of course, the quality of the ingredients and seasonings also affects the taste.

Well, today we are witnessing a series of profound demographic, socio-cultural and ecclesial changes that make American Catholicism an experience with a particular flavor. It is an American Catholicism with a Hispanic flavor about which there is much to say and about which we will surely hear a great deal in this century.

The authorHosffman Ospino

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  • Fran Delgado: "Vocation is like lifting the hood of a car".
Vocations

Fran Delgado: "Vocation is like lifting the hood of a car".

Francisco Delgado is a young Jesuit in his first year of philosophy. A millennial vocation to which, like any young man with these concerns, it was not easy for him to take the step of saying yes to God's call. 

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

Founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1540, the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, is one of the best known and most widespread religious families in the world.

In these more than five centuries of history, great saints have emerged from among its members: St. Peter Canisius, St. Stanislaus Kostka, St. Aloysius Gonzaga or, more recently, St. Albert Hurtado or St. Joseph Mary Rubio.

A long history of holiness that is a mirror for new generations of Jesuits to look up to. One of them is Francisco DelgadoFran, who reports for Omnes in this month's print issue, the discovery of his vocation and his beginnings in the Society, in which he has already made his first vows.

"I'm going to be a Jesuit."

Although he had attended a Jesuit school, Fran did not have close contact with any Jesuit until university. His discovery of the Society's charism was gradual and his entry into the Society came as a surprise to everyone: "I was actively involved in Church initiatives and had my faith group, but religious life and in the Society of Jesus seemed like dissonant pieces."he explains.

They didn't shut up what they thought, and I thank them for it.

When he communicated his decision to parents and friends "No one understood it very well. I guess the unknown is always scary. I was the first. And they wouldn't shut up about what they thought... And I appreciated that. Later, on a visit to the novitiate, my parents got serious and told me that they would support me whether I decided to go forward or to plant myself and follow another path. I think that marked a turning point with them, for which I am deeply grateful," he relates, "As for friends, I was very surprised by the reaction of several of them non-Christians. Without sharing the option and being very critical of the Church, they strangely saw something good in my decision and encouraged me".

Doubts are not absurd

A promising young man, with a future ahead of him, who leaves everything... leaves everything? In the eyes of the world, including many Catholics, yes. And the doubts they raised, as Francis points out, made sense. For some of them "I was clear about the answer because I had already faced that doubt myself, other times I kept silent without an answer and other times I got on my nerves because they touched my heartstrings".  

The questions touched on deep parts of the heart and it is a gift for me to have been able to bring them to prayer.

Contrary to what it may seem, "The doubts of those close to me helped me a lot. Most of them were not absurd: "You've been in contact with the Society for so long and it has never caught your attention, it's not too demanding for you, you're not running away from something, you can't live the same vocation from a family, it's not enough with what you have?

These questions led him to prayer and discernment: "They were questions that pointed to deep parts of the heart and for me it is a gift to have been able to rest them, to take them to prayer, to share them with others, to talk about them with companions, to have been able to answer honestly what part of them could be true, what deceptions they hid, what paths to maturity they opened... and to have been able to discover this call that is deeper than all of them".

Training: knowing "the place of each piece".

Francisco is currently in Rome with 20 other companions from Southern Europe studying the first two years of philosophy after two years of novitiate.

For this young man, vocation is like "lifting the hood of the car. These first years have a lot to do with opening the engine and seeing how the machine works inside: where the driving force comes from, why each part is there, how everything fits together, what gets in the way, what can make everything flow better... the eye is on the outside, on the road, but it's time to open up inside first."

His discovery is not made alone, but within a charism and with the help of those who already know the way: "...".The best thing is to find yourself surrounded by people who have been watching engines for half their lives and who are willing to help, even if only a little, to get them ready to roll." A metaphor that, he notes, "an atheist can understand; only, for me, it is inevitable to recognize God as a driving force and as a goal."

Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Together with his brothers in the Society of Jesus, Francis brings to life the Jesuit charism inspired to St. Ignatius of Loyola, keeping in mind the figure of its founder and so many others who have preceded him on this path of holiness.

"It is a great help to be able to see how Ignatius of Loyola dealt with things and how God was leading him."

Notes that "The figure of Ignatius did not attract me much at first. It has been awakening my interest and admiration as I gradually got to know his story from the inside and as I immersed myself in the Spiritual Exercises".

He concludes:"It is a great help to be able to see how he faced all that and how God was leading him. In the end, these things are very similar to what we experience today in our daily lives"..

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Pope's trip to Iraq now has official program

The program for the Holy Father's March 5-8 apostolic journey to Iraq has been made public, with visits to Najaf, Ur, Erbil, Mosul and Qaraqosh. Francis will deliver four speeches, two homilies and a prayer of suffrage for the victims of the war.

David Fernández Alonso-February 8, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
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The Pope's trip to Iraq is a manifestation of, as he said this morning in the audience with the Diplomatic Corps, "an important aspect of the solicitude of the Successor of Peter for the People of God spread throughout the world", as well as "a favorable opportunity to deepen, in a spirit of exchange and dialogue, the relationship between the different religions".

The Pope's visit to the country will include meetings with political authorities and civil society, as well as with bishops, priests, religious and seminarians. On Saturday 6, there will be a intercollegiate meeting on the Ur PlainHe will conclude the day with a Eucharistic celebration at the Chaldean Cathedral of St. Joseph in Baghdad.

On Sunday, March 7, the Pontiff has several appointments. The Pope will travel to Iraqi Kurdistan and the Nineveh Plains. He will visit Erbil and Mosul, a city for years in the hands of the self-styled Islamic State, where there will be a prayer of suffrage for the victims of the war in Hosh al-Bieaa, the church square.

That same morning he will visit Qaraqosh, in the Nineveh Plains, a few kilometers from Mosul, occupied by the Islamic State until 2016. Francis will visit the church of the "Immaculate Conception" to visit the community of Qaraqosh, to whom he will address a speech, and then pray the Marian prayer of the Angelus.

In the afternoon, the Pope will return to Erbil to celebrate Holy Mass at the "Franso Hariri" Stadium. At the end of the celebration, Francis will return to Baghdad, from where he will leave for Rome on Monday morning at the end of the farewell ceremony.

Official program

Friday, March 5, 2021

ROME - BAGHDAD

Tomorrow

Departure by air from Rome/Fiumicino international airport to Baghdad

Afternoon

Arrival at Baghdad International Airport

Official reception at Baghdad International Airport

Meeting with the Prime Minister in the VIP lounge at Baghdad international airport

Official welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Baghdad

Courtesy visit to the President of the Republic in the private study of the Presidential Palace in Baghdad

Meeting with the authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps in the hall of the Presidential Palace in Baghdad.

Address of the Holy Father

Meeting with bishops, priests, religious, seminarians and catechists  in the Syro-Catholic cathedral of "Our Lady of Salvation" in Baghdad.

Address of the Holy Father

Saturday, March 6, 2021

BAGHDAD - NAJAF - UR - BAGHDAD

Tomorrow

Departure by plane to Najaf

Arrival at Najaf airport

Courtesy visit to Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Al-Husaymi Al-Sistani in Najaf

Departure by plane to Nassiriya

Arrival at Nassiriya airport

Interreligious meeting in the Ur Plain

Address of the Holy Father

Departure by plane to Baghdad

Arrival at Baghdad International Airport

Afternoon

Holy Mass in the Chaldean cathedral of "St. Joseph" in Baghdad

Homily of the Holy Father

Sunday, March 7, 2021

BAGHDAD - ERBIL - MOSUL - QARAQOSH - ERBIL - BAGHDAD

Tomorrow

Departure by plane to Erbil

Arrival at Erbil airport

Welcome of the religious and civil authorities of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan at the Presidential VIP Lounge of Erbil Airport.

Departure by helicopter to Mosul

Arrival at Mosul landing field

Prayer of suffrage for war victims in Hosh al-Bieaa (Church Square) in Mosul

Prayer of the Holy Father

Departure by helicopter to Qaraqosh

Arrival at Qaraqosh landing field

Visit to the Qaraqosh community in the Church of the "Immaculate Conception" in Qaraqosh

Address of the Holy Father/ Angelus

Transfer to Erbil

Afternoon

Holy Mass at the "Franso Hariri" Stadium in Erbil

Homily of the Holy Father

Departure by plane to Baghdad

Arrival at Baghdad International Airport

Monday, March 8, 2021

BAGHDAD - ROME

Tomorrow

Farewell Ceremony at Baghdad International Airport

Departure by plane to Rome

Arrival at the Rome/Ciampino international airport

The motto of the visit

"We are all brothers" is the motto of Pope Francis' visit to Iraq, whose logo shows the Pope with a gesture of greeting to the country, represented on the map and by its symbols, the palm tree and the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The logo also shows a white dove with an olive branch in its beak, symbol of peace, which flies the flags of the Holy See and the Republic of Iraq. Above the image is the motto of the visit in Arabic, Kurdish and Chaldean.

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RelatedRelated NewsThe land of Abraham, the Iraq the Pope wants to visitRelated NewsPope on the Day of Human Fraternity: "Either we are brothers, or everything falls apart".Related NewsPope to diplomats: "Education is the antidote to individualistic culture".
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