The communities of contemplative life launch an SOS
The rise in prices of basic supplies such as electricity and water, together with the fall in income from the sale of products during the pandemic and the illness of many nuns and religious resulted in a particularly difficult situation in many Spanish monasteries.
The monasteries and convents of contemplative life face a difficult situation: their productive activity continues to be greatly affected by the pandemic that has aggravated the vital situation of monasteries and convents, together with their small number and, in many cases, the advanced age of the nuns and monks of these communities.
The DeClausura Foundation, through which many of these communities are helped, encourages all those who can to collaborate with alms to support these communities that have opened their doors to the foundation in a video in which they share their lives and explain their situation.
In recent years there has been a decrease in vocations and a greater lack of protection due to the depopulation of the rural areas in which these monasteries are located.
The pandemic has been especially hard on communities that are struggling to make a living from their work and pay for the costly works required to preserve the monasteries and convents in which they live.
During the last few years of the pandemic, the contemplative communities have suffered the death of sisters and brothers, some from old age and others from Covid-19; the paralysis of their productive activity during the confinement; the lack of guests and the scarcity of sales of their products due to the socio-economic crisis and their geographical location in a rural environment also affected by the tourism crisis.
This situation has led many communities to turn to the food bank to cover their basic food needs and to help each other among the convents to try to alleviate this situation.
The DeClausura Foundation
Fundación DeClausura is a non-profit organization managed by lay members of the Church that has been supporting monasteries and convents since 2006. This accompaniment allows the Foundation to know the real situation of the communities that pray and work in enclosure. In the last year, the Foundation has supported 73 communities by assuming the running costs of electricity, gas, heating, maintenance and upkeep; the payment of debts to Social Security; or burial expenses.
In addition, a great deal of work has been done for the welfare of the elderly sisters and brothers: repair of elevators, installation of ramps or cranes to facilitate their mobilization.
The Foundation also supports the initiatives implemented by the communities to continue living from their artisan work through the purchase of machinery, equipment and utensils and seeks help for the conservation of the buildings.
Spain is home to 751 monasteries with an active contemplative community, which represents a third of the monasteries and convents in the world. As for the monasteries and convents catalogued as Sites of Cultural Interest (BIC), only 33% are being inhabited by contemplative communities, 183 in total. Of the 565 BICs once built for cloistered life, 355 are now used as hotels, universities or have another private use. It is encouraging to know that the monastic jewels declared World Heritage are inhabited by stable monastic communities: the monasteries of Yuso and Suso in San Millán de la Cogolla; and those of Guadalupe, El Escorial and Poblet.
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Signing the Florence Charter: a concrete commitment to peace, cooperation and dialogue
One hundred bishops and mayors from countries bordering the Mediterranean met in Florence to discuss together how to foster peace in those territories. They signed a document that aims to inspire a truly peaceful path for the future.
The war disaster that has struck the borders of Europe in recent days and kept everyone on edge has passed into silence, but last weekend in Florence something happened that needs to be given more importance, especially at this particular historical moment.
A hundred bishops and mayors from countries bordering the Mediterranean - among them the Archbishop of Barcelona, the Auxiliary Bishop of Madrid and the mayors of Valencia and Granada - met for the first time to discuss together how to foster peace in these often war-torn territories, religious clashes and international rivalries that foster isolation and spread death, if we think of the many migrants who have attempted to cross the Mediterranean in makeshift boats over the years and then ended tragically.
The central theme of peace
The Florence event had been planned for some time, at the request of the Italian Bishops' Conference, and only by a sad coincidence it took place close to the war that broke out on the Russian-Ukrainian front. But it has much to do with the present day, because the central theme was and is precisely peace. Two years earlier, a meeting of bishops was held in Bari, attended by Pope Francis, who on that occasion loudly reiterated that war, any war, is "madness, a madness to which we cannot resign ourselves."
How timely these words are and how significant it is, therefore, that the representatives of the Catholic Church and the administrators of the various cities bordering the Mediterranean have come together to find lasting paths to peace, seeking to "institutionalize" processes of mutual dialogue. They have done so in the footsteps of the Venerable Giorgio La Pira, who in the years immediately following the Second World War embodied evangelical values in his political activity as mayor of Florence, and imagined the Mediterranean as a "modern Lake Tiberias".
Alternative ways to war
In the midst of a war of unpredictable consequences, it is all the more urgent to find alternative ways to war, taking advantage of every possible opportunity for encounter. And this is the purpose and meaning of the document signed in Florence, a "Charter" that aims to inspire a truly peaceful path for the future, starting from the important crossroads of history, traditions and different cultures that is the Mediterranean.
But let us turn to the contents of the Florence Charter.
First of all, the signatories are aware of the benefits to be derived from "intensifying cooperation in their own cities" in order to promote justice, fraternity, respect for religious denominations, the safeguarding of the planet and the fundamental rights of each individual.
To better meet these challenges, it is necessary to recognize "the diversity of heritage and traditions" as an element shared by all humanity (nature, environment, culture, languages, religions); the importance of educating young people in the values of good; the creation of common university programs; the recognition of the universal right to health and social protection; the urgency of solutions to avoid catastrophic climate change; the opportunity to initiate new forms of cooperation between politicians, scientists and cultural and spiritual leaders; the importance of caring for the vulnerable and those who are forced to migrate....
The Charter concludes with some specific requests ("invocations"), firstly to the governments of all Mediterranean countries to establish "regular consultation" with mayors, religious representatives and cultural institutions to involve them in decisions affecting the future of communities.
Next, they call for the promotion of educational programs at all levels, "to achieve a new universal solidarity and a more welcoming society", and for the promotion of initiatives to strengthen fraternity and religious freedom. Finally, the implementation of greater international cooperation to work for "a more equitable sharing of economic and natural resources".
The Spanish Golden Age is a historical period to which I always return, especially because, at practically all levels, it provides me with the canon of the best artistic activity in the history of Spain in any of its disciplines. To reread from time to time Cervantes, St. Teresa, St. John of the Cross, or the very creator of the new art of making comedies (I am referring logically to Lope de Vega) is always a pleasure for the spirit and, in my case, a passion. If to these literary figures we add those of other great university intellectuals such as Francisco de Vitoria, or his disciples, Domingo de Soto or Melchor Cano, my enthusiasm becomes even greater. We could go on naming other great authors such as Garcilaso de la Vega, Fray Luis de León, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Quevedo, Góngora or Calderón de la Barca..., all of them figures who dazzled with their professional courage and lucidity.
Book
TitleVoices of the Spanish Golden Age
AuthorJosé Ignacio Peláez Albendea
Pages: 409
EditorialRialp : Rialp
City: Madrid
Year: 2021
With the utmost intentionality, José Ignacio Peláez, compiler of this splendid work, has written Voices of the Spanish Golden Age. His main idea is that the example of the lives and works of the selected characters: "men of Christian faith," he says, "who knew how to make their faith a more human culture" (p. 396) can serve as a model for the readers of the 21st century; an objective that he finally reiterates as a synthesis of his book: "In summary: we have the challenge of showing our contemporaries the beauty of the Christian faith with our lives, with our example and words, and with our sincere friendship, because faith gives answers to all the questions that trouble the heart of man" (p. 396).
With a rigorous sampling of each selected author, Peláez develops his task by first presenting the respective biography of each one and then making both an admirable summary of his written work and choosing those fragments that seem most revealing. And, when he deems it appropriate, he updates the spelling.
Undoubtedly, we are looking at a conscientious and didactic study, a posterioriThe book should be used as a reference book, that is, as one of those to which it is convenient to return from time to time. Pelaez himself makes it very clear in his introduction: "This book offers the reader a brief approach to some great writers of the 16th and 17th centuries in Spain (...), with the aim of awakening the desire to read them again in a public that has already heard about them. Here I will try to open a window for them to take a look at these great writers and encourage them to read them again directly". Be that as it may, Peláez's agile, comprehensible and illustrated prose achieves its purpose: that the reader -at least it has happened to me- is inserted in the diachrony of each character, of whom a detailed tour is traced through the most relevant episodes of his life, so that the reader can get the most out of the reading.
On some occasions, the compiler himself links some of the figures studied with others of the twentieth century. He does so, for example, by interrelating Garcilaso de la Vega with his legacy in poets of the so-called generation of 1936, such as Luis Rosales or Dionisio Ridruejo (p. 37) or others after the Spanish Civil War, as in the case of José García Nieto (p. 37), also explaining his specific influences: "Among our professors," Peláez notes, "many have studied Garcilaso's work in detail. I highlight some references from one of them [Dámaso Alonso]: his sense of rhythm in the hendecasyllables (...), with accents on the sixth and tenth syllable or accents on the fourth, eighth and tenth syllable, which indicate the most representative words of the verse (...); for example, from Eclogue III (I put in boldface the most significant words and where they carry the accent)" (p. 37)" (p. 37). In short, we are before a kind, pedagogical, formative book, which surprisingly is oriented to make us better people and, in the end, drives us to more heroic deeds in our own daily life. A book to enjoy, to learn, to keep in mind, one of those that make readers.
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A woman and her child on an evacuation train in Kiev
A woman and her child look out from an evacuation train at the Kiev railroad station on February 25, 2022, after Russia launched a military operation against Ukraine.
We present two themes among the teachings of Francis in February. On the one hand, St. Joseph and his relationship with us. On the other hand, the figure of the Catholic priesthood, in the present context and in relation to evangelization, as an introduction to a symposium on the priesthood.
As an explanation of the Apostolic Letter Patris corde (December 8, 2020), which celebrated the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of St. Joseph as patron of the universal Church by Blessed Pius IX, Francis dedicated twelve general audiences to him. His aim was to present him as "support, comfort and guidance"for "to let ourselves be enlightened by their example and testimony"..
This catechesis on St. Joseph covers three main areas: the figure and role of the saint in the plan of salvation, his virtues and his relationship with the Church.
St. Joseph and his role in the design of salvation
The "environment in which St. Joseph lived". (cfr. 7-XI-2021) invites us to value the essential in the simple, through discernment, personally and in the Church. The role of the saintly patriarch in the "salvation history". (24-XI-2021) is that of guardian of God's plans and, therefore, of those whom the Lord entrusts to us (a recurring argument in this pontificate from the beginning, cf. 19-III-2013).
In discussing "Joseph, righteous man and husband of Mary". (1-XII-2021) gave a message to engaged and newlyweds, about the need to move from infatuation ("romantic" aspect) to mature love, a demanding but necessary step to free true love and make it resistant to the tests of time, turning difficulties into opportunities to grow.
San José as "man of silence". (December 15-2021), invites us to "to make room for the Presence of the Word made flesh".. With references to Sacred Scripture, St. Augustine, St. John of the Cross and Pascal, the Pope noted that Jesus grew up in that "school" of silence in Nazareth, which favors prayer and contemplation, as noted in the Gospel.. This teaches us to use the tongue to bless and not to harm (cf. James 3:2-10), and not to fall into the activism of work.
The virtues of St. Joseph
San José, "persecuted and courageous emigrant".(29-XII-2021), was the theme of the following catechesis. Joseph seems like a just and courageous or strong man as required by ordinary life, which always brings us adversity. This prompted the Pope to invite us to pray for migrants, the persecuted and the victims of adverse circumstances, political, historical or personal.
Already in the new year, Francis reflected on St. Joseph, putative father of Jesus(5-I-2022). He considered the reality of adoption in contrast to the sense of orphanhood that we experience today; and asked that it be facilitated by the institutions, monitoring the seriousness of the procedure.
He then stopped at work, under the heading. St. Joseph the carpenter (12-I-2022). The work is "an essential component in human life, and also in the path of sanctification".. Invited to think "what can we do to recover the value of work; and what can we contribute, as a Church, so that it may be rescued from the logic of mere profit and may be lived as a fundamental right and duty of the person, which expresses and increases his dignity?".
It later passed to the consideration of saint Joseph, father in tenderness (January 19, 2022), focusing on his affection and mercy. He evoked the mercy of the Lord, who always forgives (sacrament of Confession). And the need for a "revolution of tenderness".to promote the redemption of offenses - also for the incarcerated - as part of justice.
By focusing on the figure of "St. Joseph, a man who dreams". (26-I-2022), Francis reflected on the four dreams of St. Joseph according to the Gospels (Mt 1:18-25; Mt 2:13; Mt 2:19-20; Mt 2:22-23). He proposed, especially when faced with situations we do not understand, to turn to the prayer. God never leaves us without help or at least inspiration. In this context, he proposed to pray for so many people who need faith and hope in the face of various problems and difficulties. Francis referred to "parents who see different sexual orientations in their children".and prayed that they would know "how to manage this and accompany the children and not hide in a condemning attitude.". He did not fail to note that, as we see in the life of St. Joseph, authentic prayer translates into work and love.
St. Joseph, the "Communion of Saints" and his protection in death
Already in the final stretch of these catecheses, in February, the Pope addressed the reality of saint Joseph and the communion of saints (2-II-2022), which is precisely the Church (cfr. Catechism of the Catholic Church946), both on earth and in heaven.
On earth, Francis pointed out, "the Church is the community of saved sinners."We are brothers and sisters by baptism, which is an indestructible bond on earth. Hence our solidarity, both for good and for evil. The "communion of saints" includes the deceased (in purgatory) and unreconciled sinners, while they are in this world, including the dead. "those who have denied the faith, who are apostates, who are persecutors of the Church, who have denied their baptism, (...) the blasphemers, all of them"..
Indeed, it should be recalled that, according to the Second Vatican Council (cf. Lumen Gentium, nn. 14 and 15) sinners, if baptized, "belong" to the communion of saints, which is the Church, in an imperfect or incomplete way. And if they are not baptized, they are "ordained" to the mystery of the Church, in some way related to her insofar as they seek the truth and consistently live charity.
The penultimate catechesis was about St. Joseph, Patron of the good death (9-II-2022). Francis evoked the help that we Christians traditionally ask of the patriarch at the moment of death. And he praised Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who, at the age of 95, testified to his awareness of the reality of death. The Christian faith," Francis explained, "helps us to face death. It illuminates it from the resurrection of Christ; it helps us to detach ourselves from material things and to focus on charity; it urges us to care for the sick and not to "discard" the elderly.
Finally, the bishop of Rome reflected on St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church (16-II-2022). We too are responsible for the protection and care of life, of the heart, of work and of mankind, and of the Church: "We are the ones who are responsible for the protection and care of life, of the heart, of work and of mankind, and of the Church.Every person who is hungry and thirsty, every foreigner, every migrant, every person without clothes, every sick person, every prisoner is the 'Child' that Joseph guards.". We must also learn from Joseph to "guard" the goods that come to us with the Church: "to love the Child and his mother; to love the Sacraments and the people of God; to love the poor and our parish." (cfr. Patris corde, 5).
We must love the Church as it isThe Pope concluded, as a people of sinners who encounter God's mercy. At the same time, we must recognize all the good and holiness that is present in the Church. The Church is all Christians. Therefore, we must take care of and protect ourselves, and not destroy ourselves. And for this he asked the intercession of St. Joseph for all of us.
The priest and his "surroundings": from the priestly heart of Christ
The Pope's address to the Symposium For a fundamental theology of the priesthood (February 17-19, 2022), organized by the Congregation for the Bishops, consists of an introduction and four sections, corresponding to the "four commuter trains" of the priest.
In his introduction, the Pope claims to speak from his own experience and the witness received from so many good priests; and also from the experience of having accompanied others whose priesthood was in crisis. He affirms that in priestly life, trials can coexist with peace, provided that one allows oneself to be helped by God and others.
He points out that in times of major changes -such as the current one- it is necessary to avoid a double risk: that of taking refuge nostalgically in the past, and of trusting too much in the future with exaggerated optimism, thus disregarding the wisdom that comes from discernment in the present. The desirable attitude "arises from confidently taking charge of reality, anchored in the wise living Tradition of the Church, which can allow itself to put out into the deep without fear (...) with the confidence that He is the Lord of history and that, guided by Him, we will be able to discern the horizon that we must travel.".
As for the priest, he must seek his own holiness, following the call he first received in baptism; and let himself be helped and evangelized (cf. John Paul II, Exhortation ap. Pastores dabo vobis26), so as not to fall into functionalism.
As for the "vocation discernment".each, Looking at his humanity, his history and his disposition, he must ask himself if in conscience this vocation can unfold in him the potential of Love that he received at baptism. To this end, Christian communities that are fervent and apostolically vibrant are of great help.
From these elements, the Pope explained the four harmonies of the priest (and of the bishop) that he has explained on other occasions, such as pillars for a style that imitates that of God (reflected in the priestly heart of Christ): closeness, compassion and tenderness.
Closeness to God (spiritual life)
It is about spiritual life of the priest, of his "life of prayer" in order to remain in Christ (cf. Jn 15:5-7). From this comes the strength for the ministry and its fruitfulness; the ability not to be scandalized by anything that happens, whether humanly pleasing or not; the strength to overcome temptations, counting on the struggle, on the spiritual combat of the priest. It is not just a matter of "religious practice" (practices or devotions), but also of "of listening to the Word, of the Eucharistic celebration, of the silence of adoration, of surrender to Mary, of the wise accompaniment of a guide, of the sacrament of Reconciliation"..
The priest should not take refuge in activism or in other distractions, but should present himself in prayer with "a contrite and humbled heart" (cf. Ps 34 and 50). In this way, his heart will be enlarged to the measure of Christ's, in order to accommodate the needs of his people, which in turn will bring him closer to the Lord. Prayer is the first task of the bishop and the priest. There he learns to "diminish" before God (cf. Jn 3:30), and it is no problem for him to make himself small in the eyes of the world.
Closeness to the bishop (obedience)
For a long time, Francis says, it has been misinterpreted as a obedience. "To obey, in this case the bishop, means." -The successor of Peter points out. "learn to listen and remember that no one can claim to be the possessor of God's will, and that it must be understood only through discernment. Obedience, therefore, is listening to the will of God which is discerned precisely in a bond.". This avoids closing in on oneself and leading a "bachelor" life with the corresponding manias.
The priest, therefore, must "defending the links" with the bishop and with the particular Church. He should pray for the bishop and express his opinion with respect, courage and sincerity. This "it also requires from the bishops humility, the ability to listen, to be self-critical and to allow themselves to be helped.".
Closeness among priests (priestly fraternity)
The priestly fraternity, the Pope stressed, has Christ as its foundation (cf. Mt 18:20). "Fraternity is deliberately choosing to try to be saints with others and not in solitude, saints with others.". The characteristics of fraternity are those of love (cf. 1 Cor. 13), presided over by patience and the capacity to enjoy and suffer with others. In this way, indifference, isolation and even envy are combated. bullying priestly, rancor and gossip.
Brotherly love is like "a training camp for the spirit" and the thermometer of the spiritual life (cf. Jn 13:35). It leads to living the mission, opening oneself and feeling at home, guarding and protecting one another. This is how celibacy is lived with serenity, as a gift for sanctification, a gift that requires healthy relationships. "Without friends and prayer, celibacy can become an unbearable burden and an anti-testimony to the very beauty of the priesthood.".
Closeness to God's people (passion of the shepherd)
For this, the Pope refers to Lumen gentium It is, he points out, not a duty but a grace (cfr. Evangelii gaudium, 268-273). The priestly mission implies at the same time "passion for Jesus and passion for his people".We should not be the "orphans" in the midst of the difficulties, the wounds, the "orphanhood" that abounds in our society of "networks". Not as civil servants, but as courageous, close and contemplative pastors, in order to be able to "to proclaim over the wounds of the world the operative power of the Resurrection"..
The forgetfulness that the priestly life is due to others - Francis observes - is at the basis of the clericalism and its consequences. "Clericalism is a perversion, and also one of its signs, rigidity, is another perversion.". Clericalism is constituted, curiously enough, not on proximity, but rather on distances. And it is associated with the "clericalization of the laity".forgetting their own mission.
By taking care of these four areas, concludes the Pope, the priest can better identify himself with the priestly heart of Christ, to allow oneself to be visited and transformed by Him.
"In the desert, the love of the Son for the Father", I Sunday of Lent
Commentary on the readings of the First Sunday of Lent and brief video homily by Father Luis Herrera.
Andrea Mardegan / Luis Herrera-March 3, 2022-Reading time: 2minutes
Luke speaks, like Matthew and Mark, of Jesus' forty-day period in the desert, where he is tempted by Satan; and, like Matthew, he relates the three temptations. But he changes the order to end with the temptation of the temple of Jerusalem: his entire Gospel looks towards the holy city. In the story of the Baptism, the love of the Father is manifested: "You are my Son, the beloved."In the desert we see the love of the Son for the Father. The devil, in the first temptation, refers precisely to his divine filiation: "The devil, in the first temptation, refers precisely to his divine filiation: "I am the Son".If you are the Son of God".. Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit, and it is the Spirit who leads him into the desert. For Matthew, the temptations occur at the end of the forty days of fasting; for Luke, they take place throughout the whole period, as if to tell us that during the most intense prayer, in the greatest closeness to God, it is possible that the trials will be more numerous.
The first temptation refers to the use of the power of being God's son. Jesus refuses to use the divine power for himself; it is a power that, because it is divine, he will always and only use it in the service of others: he will heal, feed, forgive, save. Thus, from the treasure of the Church every Christian is invited to use spiritual and material goods for the service of others and not for his own benefit, even if it is only his own vainglory. To the proposal to transform stones into bread, Jesus responds with Deuteronomy: "Man does not live by bread alone.". The word of God rejects the tempter.
In the second temptation, the devil leads Jesus upward, proposing to him to conquer the earthly power of dominion over all temporal kingdoms and the corresponding glory, avoiding going through the way of passion and death on the cross in obedience to the Father's plan, but inclining to the worship of the prince of this world. Jesus, with the absolute simplicity of Scripture (Dt 6:13) tells him that worship and adoration are due only to God. Thus he manifests his total adherence to the mysterious plan of the Father: the way of annihilation in death on the cross in order to be later on the way of the Father. "exalted to the right hand of God." (Acts 2:33).
In the third temptation, the devil imitates Jesus and uses Scripture to convince him to throw himself from the top of the temple, asking the Father for a miraculous intervention to save him. It is the temptation to ask God to use his strength for a whim of ours that is not in his plans. "It is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." God is present, loves us and saves us according to his providence and his times, which sometimes contrast with our expectations. The devil is defeated, but he will return at the time of the end. Jesus will defeat him again with his total obedience to the Father.
The Homily in one minute
The priest Luis Herrera Campo offers its nanomiliaa small one-minute reflection for these readings.
"Speeding pulverizes life, it doesn't make it more intense."
During the day of prayer and fasting for peace, as part of the cycle of catechesis on old age, Pope Francis reflected on the speed to which we are accustomed in our daily routine, affirming that "excessive speed makes every experience more superficial and less nourishing," especially in young people.
At the general audience this Ash Wednesday, a day of prayer and fasting for peace in Ukraine, Pope Francis gave the second catechesis of the cycle on old age.
"In the biblical passage of the genealogies of the ancestors," Francis began, "we are immediately struck by their enormous longevity: they speak of centuries! When does old age begin here? And what does it mean that these ancient fathers live so long after having generated their children? Fathers and sons live together for centuries! This secular cadence of the age, narrated in ritual style, gives the relationship between longevity and genealogy a profound symbolic meaning."
"It is as if the transmission of human life, so new in the created universe, called for a slow and prolonged initiation. Everything is new, at the beginning of the history of a creature that is spirit and life, conscience and freedom, sensibility and responsibility. The new life - human life - immersed in the tension between its origins "in the image and likeness" of God and the fragility of its mortal condition, represents a novelty completely undiscovered. And it requires a long period of initiation, in which reciprocal support between generations is indispensable, in order to decipher the experiences and confront the enigmas of life. In this long time, slowly, the spiritual quality of man is also cultivated".
"In a certain sense, every epochal passage in human history offers us this sensation: it is as if we had to take up again our questions about the meaning of life from the beginning and calmly, when the stage of the human condition appears full of new questions and unpublished interrogations. Certainly, the accumulation of cultural memory increases the familiarity necessary to face unpublished passages. The times of transmission are reduced; but the times of assimilation always call for patience. The excess of speed, which already obsesses all the passages of our life, makes each experience more superficial and less "nourishing". Young people are unconscious victims of this split between the time of the clock, which wants to be burned, and the times of life, which require an adequate "fermentation". A long life allows to experience these long times and the damages of haste".
"Old age, certainly, imposes slower rhythms: but they are not only times of inertia. The measure of these rhythms opens for everyone spaces of meaning of life unknown to the obsession of speed. Losing contact with the slow rhythms of old age closes these spaces for everyone. It is on this horizon that I wanted to institute the grandparents' festival, on the last Sunday of July. The alliance between the two generations at the extremes of life - the children and the elderly - also helps the other two - the young and the adults - to bond in order to make everyone's existence richer in humanity".
"Let us imagine," the Pope proposed, "a city where the coexistence of different age groups is an integral part of the overall design of its habitat. Let us think of the formation of affective relationships between old and young that would radiate in the general style of relationships. The overlapping of generations would become a source of energy for a truly visible and livable humanism. The modern city tends to be hostile to the elderly (and not by chance to children as well). Excessive speed pulls us into a centrifuge that sweeps us away like confetti. The overall view is completely lost. Everyone clings to his own piece, which floats on the flows of the city-market, for which slow rhythms are losses and speed is money. Excessive speed pulverizes life, it does not make it more intense".
"The pandemic," the Holy Father recalled, "in which we are still obliged to live, has imposed - very painfully, unfortunately - a setback for the obtuse cult of speed. And in this period, grandparents acted as a barrier to the emotional "dehydration" of the little ones. The visible alliance of the generations, which harmonizes times and rhythms, gives us back the hope of not living life in vain. And it restores to each one of us the love for our vulnerable life, closing the way to the obsession of speed, which simply consumes it. The rhythms of old age are an indispensable resource for grasping the meaning of life marked by time. Thanks to this mediation, the destiny of life in the encounter with God becomes more credible: a design that is hidden in the creation of the human being "in his image and likeness" and is sealed in the becoming man of the Son of God".
The Pope concluded by affirming that "today we are witnessing a greater longevity of human life. This offers us the opportunity to increase the alliance between all the stages of life; and also with the meaning of life in its totality. May the Spirit grant us the intelligence and strength for this reform: the arrogance of clock time must be converted into the beauty of the rhythms of life. The covenant of generations is indispensable. May God help us to find the right music for this harmonization".
During the general audience on Ash Wednesday, the Pope thanked Poland for its solidarity with the Ukrainian people. From the neighboring country, hundreds of people welcome refugees, bring them food and blankets and facilitate their entry into Poland. He also recalled that the translator in Polish is precisely from Ukraine and his family is suffering from the war at the moment.
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Lent begins today, and today is a time to believe, to hope against all hope, for the miracle of faith to appear and to put it to the test... Lent is only a time, a time of miracles.
March 2, 2022-Reading time: 2minutes
40 days and 40 nights: that is the time that the synoptic gospels coincide in pointing out that Jesus was in the desert praying, fasting and being tempted by Satan. Forty days without eating and drinking in the desert is not endurable, pardon the expression, not even God in his humanity. Since the intention of the evangelists was not to narrate an epic of a hero named Jesus, but to faithfully reflect the salvation history of God-with-us, we deduce that those 40 days mean something that we can only understand with the interpretation keys of the readers of the time.
Benedict XVI explained it to us during Lent 2012: "40 is the symbolic number by which both the Old and New Testaments represent the most outstanding moments of the faith experience of the people of God (...). This number does not constitute an exact chronological time, the result of the sum of the days. It indicates rather a patient perseverance, a long trial, a period sufficient to see the works of God, a time within which it is necessary to make up one's mind and assume one's responsibilities without further delay. It is the time of mature decisions".
The Flood lasted 40 days, Moses was 40 days on Sinai, the people of Israel walked 40 years in the desert and for 40 days we too will walk towards Easter in this time of conversion that begins on Ash Wednesday and that we call Lent. But will this Lent be enough to convert me or how many Lents will I need? How long will this non-chronological time last in which God will test my perseverance? How many hours, days, months or years will I need to see the works of God and the miracle of orienting my whole life towards Him?
While I was reflecting on this, I came across the story of Juan Manuel Igualada, known as "the last conscript of the military service", who died unexpectedly a few weeks ago, almost three decades after the fateful accident that caused him serious brain injuries while he was doing his military service. He was 19 years old at the time and, until his death 28 years later, this replacement soldier remained in a vegetative state, bedridden in the Gómez Hulla Central Defense Hospital. At his side, Milagros Durán, his mother, who did not hesitate to leave her home and her job in Cuenca to move to Madrid to take care of her son.
How long are 28 years? More than 10,000 days, at the foot of a bed, washing him, shaving him, talking to him every day to get as a response just a few involuntary movements or moans with no more sense than what a mother is capable of interpreting, putting love and hope before logic. 10,000 days of deprivation, of much prayer (Juanma's room looked like a shrine full of holy cards and images of the Virgin Mary), of thinking of others above oneself... Fasting, prayer, almsgiving... What a long Lent for Milagros and what an example for the world! How many temptations must she have had to face in this, her time?
Lent begins today, and today is a time to believe, to hope against all hope, for the miracle of faith to appear and to put it to the test... Lent is only a time, a time of miracles.
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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As Russia shells Kharkov, and a convoy of Russian tanks heads for Kiev, more than half a million Ukrainians are fleeing their country, claims the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The Pope Francis asked for today, the beginning of Lent, special prayer and fasting for peace in Ukraine, and to put "faces and concrete stories of suffering", it was recalled during a day of prayer at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Rome).
UNHCR counted at about 3 p.m. on Monday more than half a million people fleeing the fighting between the Russian and Ukrainian armies. Today there are around 600,000. People with sadness and sometimes panic on their faces, who have left these days crowding subways, train stations and roads in Ukrainian localities, as happened in Afghan airports, especially in Kabul, not so long ago.
Ajmal Rahmani, for example, left Afghanistan a year ago thinking he would find peace in Ukraine, but is now fleeing back to Poland, along with thousands of refugees, because of the Russian advance, France Press reports from Medyka, Poland. "I fled one war, and I find myself in another. I have not had much luck," laments this Afghan in his forties, who has just arrived in Poland with his wife Mina, his son Omar, 11, and his daughter Marwa, seven, who is not separated from her brown stuffed dog."
It is estimated that the number of Ukrainian refugees to other countries could reach five million, according to a Pentagon and U.S. intelligence assessment cited a few days ago by The Washington Post. The exodus would generate, and is already causing, a humanitarian crisis of major proportions in neighboring countries, mostly in Poland.
Poland: 300,000, plus 1.5 million today
This is the "largest exodus within Europe" since the Balkan war. The United Nations has warned that this number could increase in the next few days, notes The Debate citing Europa Press sources, taking into account that most of them are women and children.
"This number has been increasing exponentially, hour by hour, literally, since Thursday. I have worked in refugee crises for almost 40 years and rarely have I seen such an incredibly rapid exodus of people," the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said, Filippo Grandi.
Ukraine borders seven countries. Russia to the north and east, Belarus in the north, Poland and Slovakia to the west and Romania, Hungary and Moldova in the southwest. The Black Sea to the south. Well, as of yesterday, according to UNHCRIn the past, 280,000 migrants have fled to Poland, 94,000 have migrated to Hungary, almost 40,000 are currently in Moldova, and 34,000 and 30,000 are in Romania and Slovakia, respectively.
"I would like to congratulate the governments of host countries for allowing refugees access to their territory. The challenge of admitting and registering, meeting the needs and ensuring the protection of those fleeing, is daunting," says Filippo Grandi.
The exiles are going to numerous countries, not only bordering ones. In Trieste (Italy), some fifty people arrived by bus, including a nine-month-old girl, all of them destined for friends or acquaintances, mainly in the north.
"Building the future with migrants and refugees."
The Ukrainian Health Ministry on Monday updated the civilian death toll as a result of the Russian invasion and, while maintaining the provisional death toll at 352, has already put the number of wounded above 2,000 - specifically, 2,040 - according to the Ministry of Health. The Objective.
In his invitation that this March 2, Ash Wednesday, believers and non-believers unite in prayer and fasting for peace in Ukraine, the Holy Father said that it is "a day to be close to the suffering of the Ukrainian people, to feel that we are all brothers and sisters and to implore God for an end to the war".
On the other hand, Pope Francis stressed that those who wage war forget about humanity: "It does not start from the people, it does not look at the concrete life of the people, but puts partisan interests and power before everything else. He entrusts himself to the diabolical and perverse logic of weapons, which is the farthest from the will of God. And it distances itself from the common people, who want peace; in all conflicts - the common people - are the true victims, who pay for the follies of war on their own skin".
In his Message for this Lenten season, which begins today, the Pontiff encourages, as he has reported Omnes: "Let us not tire of praying. Jesus has taught us that it is necessary to 'pray always without becoming discouraged'. We need to pray because we need God. To think that we are sufficient on our own is a dangerous illusion".
The Pope goes on to add: "Let us take special advantage of this Lent to care for those close to us, to make ourselves neighbor to those brothers and sisters who are wounded on life's journey. Lent is a propitious time to seek out - and not avoid - those who are in need; to call - and not ignore - those who wish to be heard and to receive a good word; to visit - and not abandon - those who suffer loneliness. Let us put into practice the call to do good. to allby taking time to love the smallest and most defenseless, the abandoned and despised, those who are discriminated against and marginalized (Fratelli tutti, 193).
"Ordinary people, the real victims"
In the same vein, looking ahead to the 108th Day of Migrants and Refugees, which will take place on September 25, the Holy Father has chosen as the title for his Message "Building the future with migrants and refugees", in order to underline the commitment to which we are all called to put into practice to build a future that responds to God's plan, excluding no one, the Vatican Press Office reported.
"Building with" means, above all, recognizing and promoting the contribution of migrants and refugees to this work of construction, because only in this way will it be possible to build a world that guarantees the conditions for the integral human development of all men and women."
To encourage preparation for the Day, the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development will launch, beginning in late March, a communication campaign aimed at promoting a deeper understanding of the theme and sub-themes of the Message.
Truthful account of the migratory phenomenon
Just a few days ago, Father Fabio Baggio recalled some initiatives that the Migrants and Refugees Section of this Dicastery has adopted in the last five years, in harmony with the Magisterium of Pope Francis. He did so in a Journey The event was organized by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross on February 16 and promoted by the Faculty of Communication and the Association of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. ISCOMin collaboration with the Migrants and Refugees Information Committee, informs Antonino Piccione.
The aim, according to its promoters, was to promote a truthful account of the migratory phenomenon without starting from polarized or sterile divisive narratives, respecting the dignity of the people involved (dignity "is the cornerstone of our commitment, of our civil passion", mentioned the Italian Head of State Sergio Mattarella, in his speech on February 3) in line with professional ethics and deontology.
Father Fabio Baggio pointed out, in particular, that "special attention must be paid to the question of work, which is at the service of man, and not the other way around. The unemployed, or those with irregular and precarious jobs, run the risk of being relegated to the margins of society." "A challenge," Father Baggio stressed, "that poses a great challenge for migrants and refugees: "many of them are as if they did not exist, exposed to various forms of slavery and exploitation.
"Let us listen to these stories!" is Pope Francis' exhortation. "Everyone will then be free to support the migration policies he or she considers most suitable for his or her own country. But we will have before our eyes, in any case, not numbers, not dangerous invaders, but faces and stories of concrete people, looks, expectations, sufferings of men and women to listen to."
A name and a story for each migrant
"To overcome prejudices about immigrants and melt the hardness of our hearts, we should try to listen to their stories. Give a name and a story to each one of them."
Following the Message of the Holy Father Francis for the 56th World Communications Day, some testimonies of refugees, collected by the Center, were projected during the university academic day. Astalli.
The video contributions offered Mario Marazziti, of the Community of Sant'Egidio, the opportunity to reflect on the importance of "true welcome" and "true integration" in the light of a personal experience at the origin of a great collective event. "I was in Lampedusa two days after the great shipwreck. 172 bodies were to be recovered," he recalls. Antonino Piccione.
That October 5, 2013, we decided to 'invent' the humanitarian corridors to remain human, us and Europe, noted Mario Marazziti. "Thanks to sponsorship and civil society, since then 4,500 refugees have resumed their lives in Italy and the rest of the continent thanks to Sant'Egidio, the Protestant Churches, the Church, ordinary citizens, and a model of integration available to governments. Humanizing' can no longer be just an extraordinary event.
We must avoid the "globalization of indifference" denounced by Francis in Lampedusa. Gian Guido Vecchi, of the Corriere della SeraAfter greeting one by one the refugees in the Lesbos camp, the Pope said: 'I am here to look you in the eye. Those who fear you have not seen your face.' How do you break through the wall of fear and indifference? How do you report the tragedy of migration? For a journalist, it is paradoxically a matter of taking a step back. Flaubert's lesson: don't show your emotions, but move the reader and show the details, the faces, the stories."
Other speakers at the conference included Stefano Allievi, Professor of Sociology at the University of Padua, and Adele Del Guercio, of the Department of Human and Social Sciences (University of Naples L'Orientale). The perception of the phenomenon derived from communication, including social networks, was the focus of the debate moderated by the notary Vincenzo Lino, between Aldo Skoda (Pontifical Urbaniana University) and Fabrizio Battistelli (president of the International Research Institute Archivio Disarmo). Finally, Raffaele Iaria (Fondazione Migrantes), Annalisa Camilli (Internazionale) and Nello Scavo (Avvenire) discussed the relationship between truth and the journalistic profession. For the latter, "the worst enemy of journalists and journalism is not crime, but the lie of the State".
The Mediterranean, a frontier of peace
To complete this overview of the migratory phenomenon, in this case caused by the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, it is useful to recall the meeting of bishops and mayors of the Mediterranean coastal towns, held this weekend at the initiative of the Italian Episcopal Conference, reported by Omnes.
This is the second initiative of its kind, personally led by Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, President of the Italian Bishops' Conference. The first took place two years ago, just before the outbreak of the pandemic, in Bari, in the presence of Pope Francis, who was unable to attend this year. About sixty bishops from some twenty countries bordering the 'mare nostrum' took part in the meeting, to reflect on how to make it more and more a 'frontier of peace'.
Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti lamented the "terrible scenario" that Ukraine is experiencing in the midst of the invasion it is suffering at the hands of Russia, and made an appeal to "stop the madness of war." "With the bishops present in Florence," he said, "we have expressed our sorrow for the terrible scenario in Ukraine. We have appealed to the conscience of policy makers to stop them from using weapons," he added.
"With less money the Church has had and has to do many more things."
The Spanish Episcopal Conference has presented the provisional data relating to the tax allocation registered in favor of the Church in the 2021 Income Tax Return, corresponding, therefore, to the economic activity carried out in 2020.
In 2021, 31.57% of Spanish taxpayers checked the box for the allocation to the Catholic Church.
In total, 7,337,724 taxpayers marked the X on the Income Tax Return, which means, counting joint returns, 8.5 million taxpayers who trust in the work of the Church. Although this data highlights an increase of 40,000 Income Tax returns in favor of the Catholic Church with respect to the previous fiscal year, the amount collected has been lower than the 2019 fiscal year.
295,498,495 euros was the amount received by the Catholic Church in this fiscal year, which represents a decrease of 5.58 million, with respect to the previous year.
The EEC Vice-Secretary for Economic Affairs, Fernando Giménez Barriocanal insisted that this is a "logical and foreseeable" decrease given that the economic crisis generated by the coronavirus pandemic is already noticeable in this year and wanted to thank and highlight the commitment of all those who value and support the activity of the Church, which has multiplied in these months of pandemic.
"With less money the Church has had and has to do many more things," said the deputy secretary for economic affairs of the Spanish bishops.
Fewer new filers
Likewise, Giménez Barriocanal pointed out the decrease in the number of new taxpayers who mark the X in favor of the Church. In this regard, he explained that during 2020 and the entry of the ERTE workers, a high percentage of people who did not file their income tax return before had to do it that year and have not taken into account the tax allocation for the Church or for the Church. Other social purposes.
In fact, he stressed that "we see that it is not a Church issue because the percentage of new taxpayers who have not checked this box is exactly the same as those who have not checked it. Other social purposes". For this reason, he has again insisted on the need to remember these two allocations "that it does not cost us more or we will get back less and that we can help twice as much by checking the two boxes".
New "Por tantos" portal
For his part, the director of the Secretariat for the Support of the Church, José María Albalad, stressed the "sincere and emotional gratitude" to all the contributors who make it possible for the stories of so many people helped by the Church to be found behind their "x" in the declaration.
He also reviewed the website portantos.es which presents a new look and feel as well as improved content and presentation to bring the Church's work, economic data, etc. closer to the public. Among the new features of the website are the interactive graphics through which you can know, for example, the percentage of tax allocations that have marked the "x" of the Church by autonomous communities or the amount collected in each of them.
He also wanted to highlight the more than 700 initiatives included in the website. Solidarity Church and shows the work promoted by the Church in Spain during this time of pandemic.
The chaplain Ivan Lypka: "Ukraine wants to live in freedom. This conflict must be stopped".
While the Russian troops enter the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, the Catholic chaplain of the Ukrainian community in Madrid, Ivan Lypka, speaks with Omnes. Si tratta di un gruppo di ottomila-diecimila persone, molte delle quali partecipano al culto nella parrocchia di Buen Suceso. "L'Ucraina è un popolo pacifico," he says.
Rafael Miner-February 28, 2022-Reading time: 4minutes
The news and images leave no room for doubt. The Russian troops are already in Kiev, very close to the Ukrainian parliament. We spoke with the Ukrainian priest, the chaplain Ivan Lypka, who yesterday celebrated a Mass for the Ukrainian community in Madrid, and then led an Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament praying for his country and its people. All her family lives in Ukraine. Some of his words may become 'surpassed' in a few hours, because the Kiev's prey is already at stake, as you can see.
He has spent many years in Spain serving the Ukrainian community.
- Sì, circa vent'anni. I come from Ukraine. In the province we are about twenty thousand. In these years that I have been here I have organized three groups of fedeli. In Alcalá de Henares, in Getafe and here in Madrid, where the Ukrainian community was already organized, and the chaplaincy. The cardinal of that time was very interested. The first Ukrainians arrived in 1997, due to an economic crisis, and they came here to work to support their families. There are many people already living in Spain and with Spanish nationality. And there are young people who have already had success here in their careers.
Many people originating from Ukraine have relatives in their country ...
- Surely, my family, my parents, my brothers, my sisters, my brothers, my daughters, my grandchildren, are here, the whole family is here. First only two provinces were involved in this conflict, but now it is a total war.
What news are arriving?
- Si sentono suonare sempre le sirene degli allarmi, per avvertire di andare nei rifugi in luoghi protetti dai bombardamenti. Ho parlato con mio fratello proprio stamattina. Every night you have to hide, you never know when they will attack. Ieri they have attacked important places, airports, military bases, they have also bombed areas where civilians live, and they have taken to the roads. Now they are moving to the capital. Belarus is very close.
Is there anyone among your relatives or acquaintances who is thinking of leaving the country? Do you want to stay?
- You don't know anything for sure. To think about whether to leave or remain one must have time. The conflict began in 2014. Politicians were working, yesterday the military were subentrati. Now we don't know. There are so many dead, wounded, the whole Ukraine at this moment is at war, it is fighting in different places, because the Russian soldiers enter from different roads, from all sides. They are also attacking from the air.
We ask for you, for peace, as Pope Francis has asked.
- We have been fighting for years to save and solve the economy. Many people should think about taking care of their work, because it is with what we live and help the family we have there.
On Sunday, we celebrated a Mass, and then participated in a Prayer Vigil for Peace in the parish, so that all this would come to an end. Then a Veglia with the young people of the parish and of the Ukrainian community. And part of us stayed all night in the chapel to adore our Lord, and in these days it will continue.
What would you like to do now? Should we appeal to the political leaders?
- It is a necessity. This war must be stopped as soon as possible. It is all in the hands of politicians, who can stop this massacre. The people are not to be ignored. Our president [Volodymyr Zelensky] says it very clearly: Ukraine does not want to fight with anyone, it is not attacking anyone. Now, in these days, we defend our freedom, our independence, our culture, our faith, our homes, our families, our country.
In your country there is an orthodox majority ...
- Yes. Siamo cattolici di rito greco ortodosso, ed esiste anche una comunità cattolici di rito latino. The majority, however, is orthodox.
In this frangente sarete tutti uniti.
- Believe in yourself. Now is the time to unite. We want unity. To spread the faith, the Church, the culture, our country, because it is very important. Ukraine has already said it a thousand times, and very clearly, through its politicians, young people, etc., that it wants to live in freedom, as now the whole world wants, in particular Europe, wants democracy, etc.. And it is also what the Ukrainian people want, I believe. We appreciate the request very much. We need it, even the military who defend peace and Ukraine.
There are more than 4,800 Catholic priests in Ukraine and more than 1,300 suore.
- When the conflict began in 2014, the Pope organized a worldwide collection throughout the Catholic Church. We also contributed to it. That collection was dedicated to help the people involved in the conflict, in these two provinces that are now under Russian control. The representatives of the humanitarian organizations could enter those areas to bring necessary things; food, medicine, etc.
At the moment of the Ukraini, there is a shortage of foodstuffs?
- I think that there will be a lack of food generics, but we don't know it yet. Today is the second day. Nobody expected it and people are getting organized. All those with their heads on their shoulders thought that what is happening now would not be right, because what reason is there to start a war in Europe? There is no explanation.
While we talk to each other, the chaplain Ivan Lypka says: "It is a very special weapon, the preghiera. There are people who fight in the front line, but even those who ask are very supportive, because we are defending the truth and our tradition of faith, because we do not know what could happen next. Ukraine is a peaceful people, who want to live by their work, take care of themselves and support their families".
"Metaverse": a new concept, which refers to a virtual world to which people connect through avatars, to coexist and relate to each other; and which is intended to serve for everything, through a combination of technologies that facilitate this possibility.
Metaverse is the new concept that will probably be the protagonist of the evolutionary process of digital society in the current decade. It will be important to see where faith, the Church and spiritual life will be in this new reality or situation. The metaverse makes it possible to overcome the physical and temporal limitations of the real universe to enter new and infinite universes through avatars or virtual projections of people.
But it will be the metaverses of Goal (formerly Facebook), Microsoft and Google will popularize these new virtual environments. For these large companies, it is a key concept in their long-term growth strategy. It is very likely that the metaverse will follow a long, slow trajectory and, at a given moment, experience a sudden development. This is what happened with the bitcoins or with mobile telephony. Making the leap to metaverses seems much more plausible after the sudden and intense digital transformation brought about by the pandemic, which has revolutionized teleworking and the digital insertion of many people who were previously reluctant or alien to change. Shopping online or participating in video calls has reached all ages and strata of the population. Thus, the transition from web browsing or grid-screen meetings to the virtual immersive experience will be more natural and understandable.
Metaverses are all the rage. But what is meant by metaverse? Metaverse is understood as a virtual world in which we connect with avatars, to coexist and interact with each other.
The renewed idea of metaverse goes further in the search for a multipurpose, i.e., all-purpose, through a combination of technologies. The 5G, virtual reality, augmented reality, and the blockchain with the possibility of asset tokenization and NFTs, make it possible for people in the near future to live within the metaverse: to work, navigate, play, interact, educate, etc.; to be a digital extension of their physical life, to change the screen of their mobile or tablet for an integration in the metaverse, so that the line between the physical and digital universe will blur a little more.
Metaverses are expected to reach popularity within the next five years, and several technology companies are bidding to create the most attractive one, where we will all end up. It is estimated that Goal has invested $28.5 billion through 2021, and Bloomberg estimates that the business will be worth about $800 billion by 2024.
The implications of the metaverse for legislation are enormous and span all branches of law. Let us look at some examples:
-in some metaverses it is already possible to buy plots of land and even develop real estate projects on them. Recently, the sale of a plot of land for 450,000 dollars has been in the news, as well as the payment of 2.5 million dollars for several plots in a digital street for fashion establishments. So, will it be possible to mortgage these plots, can there be leasing, subleasing, assignment, usufruct or easement?
-at Decentralanda metaverse in blockchainWhat kind of voting will be possible in the metaverse? Will the majority of the inhabitants of the metaverse be able to impose their will, or will there be some kind of external control?
-If we work in the metaverse for a DAO (decentralized autonomous organization), we will have to comply with labor regulations. What should a virtual workplace look like? Can a workplace be inspected in the metaverse?
The casuistry is enormous and encompasses all types of relationships in which humans interact. The more similar the interaction in the metaverse is to that in the real world, the greater the legal implications.
Orthodox leaders stand in solidarity with Ukraine, Catholic unity with Pope
In parallel to the request for prayer and fasting for peace, implored by the Pope FrancisIn addition to the condemnation of the "Russian invasion" by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Omnes spoke with Metropolitan Archbishop Bessarion of Spain and Portugal (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople) and Ukrainian Orthodox Father Constantin.
Rafael Miner-February 27, 2022-Reading time: 7minutes
Omnes has reflected these days some reactions of the Catholic hierarchy, priests and religious, and some Catholic organizations, such as ACNThe Russian President Vladimir Putin's attitude towards Ukraine, and his subsequent decision to launch a "special military operation" on the Ukrainian country.
These statements and initiatives follow the Holy Father's intense appeal to prayer and fasting during these days, especially on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, on March 2. And also his efforts in favor of peace.
For example, his visit last Friday to the Russian embassy to the Holy See to express to the ambassador "his concern about the war" in Ukraine, in an unusual gesture and despite the fact that he cancelled his engagements due to severe pain in his knee, among others, the trip planned for today to Florence.
Mention was also made of his phone call on Saturday to Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski to express his "deep sorrow for the tragic events" in his country, invaded by Russian troops, the Ukrainian embassy to the Holy See said.
The Holy Father also telephoned His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halyč. He inquired about the conditions of those living in the territories most affected by the Russian military operations. and thanked the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church "for its choice to stand by the suffering population and for making available the basement of the main cathedral of the archbishopric, which has become a real shelter."
"Violation of international legality."
Now, Omnes collects the testimony of the new Orthodox Metropolitan Archbishop Bessarion of Spain and Portugal (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople), and of Father Constantin, Ukrainian Orthodox bishop, a tradition to which the great majority of the Orthodox in the country belong.
Archbishop Bessarion, a Greek, refers to the words of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who promptly called, at the outbreak of hostilities, His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphanius, Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, to express "his enormous regret for this flagrant violation of any notion of international law and legality, as well as his support for the Ukrainian people fighting 'for God and for the country' and for the families of the innocent victims."
Patriarch Bartholomew "condemns this unprovoked attack by Russia against Ukraine, an independent and sovereign state of Europe, as well as the violation of human rights and the brutal violence against our fellow human beings, especially civilians," and "prays to the God of love and peace to enlighten the leaders of the Russian Federation so that they understand the tragic consequences of their decisions and actions, which may even trigger a global military conflict."
The Orthodox Patriarch has also appealed for dialogue with the leaders of all states and international organizations in a statement that reads here.
"Moscow Orthodox Church in Ukraine with Putin".
Saints Andrew and Demetrius Orthodox Cathedral in Madrid
The Ukrainian Orthodox have their liturgy in the Orthodox Cathedral of Saints Andrew the Apostle and Demetrius Martyr (Madrid), where we met for a chat. Father Constantin, a Ukrainian Orthodox, has been in Spain for 22 years, is married and has two children. He recalls that this church is Greek Orthodox, and "the Ukrainian Orthodox rent it" for worship.
Virtually all Ukrainians living in Spain have relatives in Ukraine, he notes. "In our country we have three churches: one Greek Catholic, one Ukrainian Orthodox, and a third Russian Orthodox. I am Ukrainian from the Patriarchate of Constantinople."
As to whether there is a common position of the churches in Ukraine in the face of the Russian intervention, he replies, "There are differences," Father Constantin answers, "because on Ukrainian territory there is the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which is supporting Putin."
In his opinion, "any kind of negotiations will not satisfy Russia, because what they want is Ukrainian territory. This is politics. I do not want to intervene in politics. For us, for priests, the main thing is to reach out by prayers to our people, to reassure their hearts and their thoughts. And to pray that this war will end as soon as possible, and there will be as few deaths as possible."
"We are encouraging the Orthodox community to pray for peace," he adds. "Right now I am coming from the Russian embassy, where our people are protesting against violence and against war. In the 22 years I have been here, I am known all over Spain. Now I am constantly getting calls asking us to pray for peace in Ukraine."
Olena, a Ukrainian Orthodox translator, says her family is "suffering, scared, living in basements, very afraid".
Catholic unity with the Pope
On Thursday, a few hours after the attack on Ukraine by Russian troops, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, stated that "there was still room to negotiate (...), to find a peaceful way out of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict."
"The tragic scenarios that everyone feared are coming true. But there is still time for good will, there is still room for negotiation, there is still room for the exercise of a wisdom that prevents the prevalence of vested interests, protects the legitimate aspirations of each and every one and spares the world the folly and horrors of war," Cardinal Parolin added.
"We believers do not lose hope in a ray of conscience of those who hold the destinies of the world in their hands. And let us continue to pray and fast - we will do so next Ash Wednesday - for peace in Ukraine and in the whole world," he concluded.
Prayer and ways to peace
On the other hand, institutions such as the Community of Sant'Egidio or the Prelature of Opus Dei have seconded the Pope's invitation, and have even proposed ways of pacification.
Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz encouraged in his Message to rely "on the power of prayer. Without the Lord, all efforts to pacify hearts are insufficient".
The prelate asked us to join "wholeheartedly in the Pope's invitation to respond to violence with prayer and fasting. In addition to the day of fasting for peace that we will experience on March 2, let us continue to implore God, many times a day, with childlike trust, for the gift of peace. Prayer and the experience of fasting bring us closer to people who are suffering deprivation and anguish, and whose future becomes uncertain." "Especially at Holy Mass and in our prayer to St. Mary, Queen of Peace, let us keep all those who are suffering very much in mind."
For his part, the founder of the Community of Sant'Egidio, Andrea Riccardi, has launched a Manifesto to which anyone who wishes can join, to reach an immediate ceasefire and urgently proclaim Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, as an "open city".
"Kiev, capital of three million inhabitants, is today a battlefield in Europe," says Andrea Riccardi, and "the civilian population, defenseless, lives in a situation of danger and terror while seeking protection in subway shelters. The weakest, from the elderly to children, or the homeless, are even more exposed. The first civilian casualties have already occurred".
"Kiev is a sanctuary city for many Christians, first of all for Orthodox Christians from all over the world," Riccardi adds. "In Kiev began the history of faith of the Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian peoples. In Kiev Ukrainian and Russian monasticism was born. We implore those who may decide to refrain from using weapons in Kiev to declare a ceasefire in the city, to proclaim Kiev as an "open city", not to attack its inhabitants with the violence of weapons, not to violate a city to which today the whole of humanity looks. May this decision facilitate a negotiation for peace in Ukraine.
CELAM: no to destabilization
The Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM) has expressed its concern over the situation in Ukraine, and has joined Pope Francis' appeal to political leaders, based on an examination of conscience, to put aside everything that causes suffering and destabilizes coexistence.
Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte, archbishop of Trujillo (Peru) and president of the entity, and Cardinal Odilo Scherer, archbishop of Sao Paulo (Brazil) and secretary general, reported Vatican News, the official Vatican agency.
"In union with Francis", CELAM has invited "the 22 Episcopal Conferences of Latin America and the Caribbean, the ecclesial institutions of the continent and all brothers and sisters of good will to adhere to the day of prayer and fasting for peace, called by the Bishop of Rome for next March 2 (Ash Wednesday). At the same time, CELAM encouraged to internalize the Pope's message for Lent this year, in which he calls us to never tire of doing good". Together with the Pope, they ask that "the Queen of Peace preserve the world from the madness of war," they said.
"We invoke God's tender mercy."
The Archbishop of Los Angeles, Archbishop José H. Gomez, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has also issued a statement, in which he stresses that, in times of distress, "we invoke the tender mercy of God, to guide our steps on the path of peace."
The Mexican Episcopal Conference, for its part, has recalled the words of Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, who in his statement last Thursday, pointed out that "there is still time for good will, there is still room for negotiation, there is still room for the exercise of a wisdom that spares the world the folly and horrors of war".
European Bishops
On behalf of the European Bishops' Conferences, Cardinal Hollerich reiterated "fraternal closeness and solidarity with the people and institutions of Ukraine." "And sharing Pope Francis' sentiments of anguish and concern," he has made "an appeal to the Russian authorities to refrain from further hostile actions that would inflict even more suffering and disregard the principles of international law. Therefore, the Cardinal said, "we urgently call on the international community, including the European Union, to continue to seek a peaceful solution to this crisis through diplomatic dialogue".
On the other hand, the bishops of the Mediterranean, who have met in Florence at theMeeting "Mediterranean, frontier of peace"., organized by the Italian Episcopal Conferencereported by Omnes, have expressed their "concern and grief over the dramatic scenario in Ukraine."They have renewed their closeness to the Christian communities of the country. In addition, the bishops "appeal to the conscience of those with political responsibilities to lay down their arms.".
Spain, solidarity and more prayer
In Spain, the president of the Episcopal Conference, Cardinal Juan José Omella, has sent letters to the president of the Conference of Roman Catholic Bishops of Ukraine and of the Committee for the Doctrine of the Faith, Bishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki; to the president of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk; and to His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphanius I of Kiev and All Ukraine.
The president of the CEE joins the prayer of Pope Francis, and conveys "the closeness and solidarity of all the members of the Spanish Episcopal Conference with all the people of Ukraine, which is hit by the conflict situation with Russia". Cardinal Omella also offers "our constant prayer that peace agreements may be reached soon".
Alicia LatorreRead more : "Abortion law reform aims to whitewash evil".
She is one of the greatest fighters for the cause of life. Alicia Latorre coordinates the Platform Yes to Life, which has called the March for Life 2022 on March 27, and chairs the Spanish Federation of Pro-Life Associations. In her opinion, the reform of the abortion law is "intimidating" and "a steamroller of rights and liberties".
Rafael Miner-February 27, 2022-Reading time: 4minutes
They have coincided almost on the same days this week. On the one hand, the Minister of Equality, Irene Montero, announced in Congress some lines of a legislative reform that obliges public hospitals to have professionals who perform abortions; eliminates the mandatory three-day period of reflection before having an abortion, and puts an end to the requirement of parental consent for girls aged 16 and 17, an issue introduced by the PP. "Abortion will be free, free and safe," said the minister.
On the other hand, the Platform Yes to Life, made up of 500 associations, and whose coordinator is Alicia Latorre, president of the Spanish Federation of Pro-Life Associations, has once again called on civil society in Spain.
The meeting will take place on March 27th at 12:00 noon in Madrid (c/Serrano/Goya), with the aim of taking to the streets in defense of all human life, asking for "respect for the dignity of all people and show the rejection of the latest laws passed, which directly threaten human life", as reported by Omnes.
This year, therefore, the International Day of Life will be celebrated once again. The closest precedent for the defense of life in the streets took place in January, with the rally of Every Life MattersThe group's main issues were the lack of public aid for maternity, the law on euthanasia, the unborn, the attack on doctors' conscientious objection, and the reform of the Penal Code against the freedom of expression of pro-lifers.
On the occasion of the March for Life at the end of March, Omnes spoke with Alicia LatorreShe has not dodged any question, and we have seen her as enthusiastic as ever.
What are the main objectives of the March for Life in March?
- On the one hand, to show one more year (and 11 since 2011) our public and united commitment to the defense of life and its dignity, from all the fields in which the different associations that make up this platform are working.
On the other hand, to raise our voices to denounce the injustice and shame of the most recent laws that threaten life (euthanasia and persecution of pro-lifers), as well as the previous ones that have taken millions of human lives.
Likewise, as every year, we want to show the precious and intense face of human life with so many positive aspects, so many testimonies of struggle, overcoming and generosity, which are almost never shown and are happening every day.
The color green hope and the resounding answer of saying Yes to life for everyone at any time and in any circumstance will run through the streets of Madrid, preceded by a joyful race for life.
How do you assess the reform that criminalizes counseling women who go to abortion centers as a "coercive, intimidating" act?
- It is yet another twist in the evil of abortion on the part of its entrepreneurs and the perverse ideology of the culture of death. It reveals, on the one hand, that they recognize that the action of those who offer information and help, or those who pray and see them as a real danger to their business, is effective.
It is an intimidating law, a steamroller of rights and liberties and, worse, they intend to whitewash evil, with a law to confuse the legal with the good. It is to present good as evil to be persecuted. They know perfectly well that there is no harassment or intimidation.
The law is written in the worst possible way, because there is a presumption of guilt, and the complaint does not even have to be made by the women, but can be made by the abortion centers themselves.
Evidently all of this will have to be demonstrated later, but in the meantime, there are previous penalties similar to the also unjust, because discriminatory, law of the so-called gender violence.
Describe that task performed by those who provide information or assistance.
- These courageous people, together with the hundreds of associations that also prevent abortions and care for pregnant women and their families, are carrying out a silent and effective revolution that gives us well-founded hope. Their mere existence has already saved tens of thousands of human lives and has supported and helped hundreds of thousands of women, men and families.
I hope and wish with all my heart that all this is just the last throes of this current of hatred and arrogance, and that as soon as possible the culture of life can spread to all corners of the world. In the meantime, we will continue to sow and spread it.
Abortion has been decriminalized in Colombia up to 24 weeks, and some media have spoken of a "historic advance".
- It is a terrible tragedy for a country that is already punished with the euthanasia law, with violence, kidnappings, drug trafficking and other fruits of the culture of death. All this only creates death, extreme suffering, hopelessness and corruption, so our pain is immense for the Colombian population, most of whom have a big heart and are being attacked in their values and beliefs. The consequences are not only for those innocent creatures whose lives are going to be taken away in such a cruel way, nor for their mothers, something we sadly already know in Spain after 36 years of abortion, but for the individual and collective conscience of the Colombian people and other countries it may influence.
Presenting it as a historical advance is part of the strategy of those who pull the economic and ideological strings of the culture of death, of those who have drawn up a plan to advance their plans for the extermination and control of peoples and nations.
These are well-known strategies of manipulating language, presenting abortion as women's freedom and pro-lifers as their enemies. The reality is that children are ignored and objectified, women are of no interest to them except as merchandise and not only do they not help them to solve their problems, but they abandon them after the abortion without wanting to solve the physical, psychological and moral consequences.
We end the brief conversation with Alicia Latorre. About the Colombian constitutional decision, the coordinator of the Platform Yes to Life affirms: "Much more could be said, but of course it is not only not an advance but a step backwards from a legislative point of view, as well as in human rights and progress". Just a small recommendation. If you have a few minutes, watch the report 'What do you need in order not to have an abortion?' Maybe it will help to think a little.
Chaplain Ivan Lypka: "Ukraine wants to live in freedom. This has to be stopped"
As Russian troops enter the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, the Catholic chaplain of the Ukrainian community in Madrid, Ivan Lypka, talks to Omnes. This is a collective of eight to ten thousand people, of whom many attend worship at the parish of Buen Suceso. "Ukraine is a peaceful people," he assures.
Rafael Miner-February 26, 2022-Reading time: 3minutes
The news and images leave no room for doubt. Russian troops are already in Kiev, very close to the Ukrainian Parliament. We spoke with the Ukrainian priest, chaplain Ivan Lypka, who yesterday evening celebrated Mass for the Ukrainian community in Madrid, and then led an Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament praying for his country and its people. His entire family resides in Ukraine. Some of his words may become 'old' in a few hours, because the seizure of Kiev is already taking place, as can be seen.
You have been serving the Ukrainian community in Spain for many years.
- Yes. About twenty years. I came from Ukraine. In the province there are about twenty thousand of us. In these years that I have been here I organized three sites. In Alcalá de Henares, in Getafe and here in Madrid, where the Ukrainian colony was organized, and the chaplaincy. The previous cardinal was very interested. The first Ukrainians began to arrive in 1997, due to an economic crisis, and they stayed here to work to support their families. There are many people who are already residents in Spain and have Spanish nationality. And there are young people who have already finished their studies here.
Many Ukrainians will have relatives back home....
- My family, my parents, my brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, are there, the whole family is there. Before there were only two provinces in this conflict, but now it is a total war, everywhere.
What news reaches them?
- They are always beeping sirens, to go to places shielded by bombing. I spoke to my brother this morning. Every night he has to hide, he doesn't know when they are going to attack. Yesterday they were attacking important places, airports, military bases, they also dropped bombs on places where people live, and they are approaching the streets. Now they tend to the capital. Belarus is very close.
Are there people among your relatives or non-relatives with the idea of leaving the country? Or do they want to stay?
- It is not clear. To leave or to stay you have to have time to think. The conflict began in 14. Politicians were working, yesterday the military began. Now it is not known. There are many dead, wounded, the whole Ukraine right now is at war, they are fighting in different places, because they are entering from different roads, from all sides. They are attacking also from the air.
We pray for you, for peace, as Pope Francis has asked.
- We have been struggling for years to start up and lift the economy. Many people have to take care of their work, because that is what we live on, and we help the family we have there.
In addition, yesterday evening we had a Mass, and then a Vigil for peace in the parish, to end it all. Then a Vigil with the youth of the parish and the Ukrainian community. And a group stayed to adore the Lord all night in the chapel. We will continue these days.
What would you like to see happen now? Make an appeal to political leaders.
- It is a necessity. This has to be stopped as soon as possible. Politicians have everything in their hands, and they can stop this slaughter. The people are not to blame. Our president [Volodymir Zelensky] says it very clearly: Ukraine does not want to fight with anyone, it is not attacking anyone. Now, these days, we are defending our freedom, our independence, our culture, our faith as well, our homes, our families, our country.
In your country there is an orthodox majority....
- Yes, we are Greek Catholics, and there is also a Latin Rite Catholic community. Most of them are Orthodox, yes.
On this issue, they will all be united.
- I think so. Now is a time for unity. Unity. To defend the faith, the Church, the culture, our country, because it is very important. Ukraine has already said a thousand times, and very clearly, politicians, bishops, etc., that Ukraine wants to live in freedom, as the whole world is asking now, especially Europe, democracy, and so on. And that is what the Ukrainian people want, I think.
I am very grateful for your prayers. They need it, also the military who are defending peace and Ukraine.
Catholic priests in Ukraine number more than 4,800, and women religious more than 1,300.
- When the conflict began in '14, the Pope organized a worldwide collection throughout the Catholic Church. Those collections were dedicated to help the people who were in the conflict, in these two provinces that are now under Russian control. There representatives of organizations could come in to bring necessary things; food, medicine, etc.
Are Ukrainians lacking food, food, now?
- I think there is going to be a shortage, but we don't know yet. Today is the second day. Nobody expected this, and people are getting organized. Everybody with a good, normal head thought that this was not going to happen, because what is the reason to start a war inside Europe? There is no explanation for this.
Chaplain Ivan Lypka says at the farewell: "We need a very special weapon, prayer. There are people who are in the front row, but those who pray are also supporting a lot, because we are defending the truth, and our tradition in faith, because you don't know what can happen next. Ukraine is a peaceful people, who want to live from their work, care for and support their family."
ACN launches campaign to support the Church in Ukraine
Aid to the Church in Need wants to strengthen its support for the nearly 5,000 priests and religious and 1,350 nuns in Ukraine, so that they can continue their pastoral and social programs.
The Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has launched the campaign "Aid to the Church in Need".Emergency Ukraine: War begins, the Church remains". With it they want to send one million euros of emergency aid in support of the Church in Ukraine, in the face of the advancing war and increasing needs in the country.
The Catholic Church in Ukraine is offering assistance to the displaced and wants to continue its mission with those who suffer the most. A few days ago, at a meeting organized by ACN, Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church had indicated that they would not abandon the population despite the attacks. He also stressed the need for the believers' prayers to support those suffering from the conflict.
ACN Help
With the outbreak of war, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is strengthening its support for the 4,879 priests and religious and 1,350 nuns in Ukraine so that they can continue their pastoral and social programs.
The Pontifical Foundation will also provide emergency assistance to the four Greek Catholic exarchates and two Latin Catholic dioceses in eastern Ukraine, which include Kharkov, Zaporizhya, Donetsk, Lugansk, Odessa and Crimea.
Ukraine was the second most aided country by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in 2020, with 4.8 million euros. The aid is mainly for the training of clergy and the reconstruction of churches, monasteries, seminaries and parish houses, many of which were confiscated or destroyed during Soviet control.
At this time, the aid will focus on ensuring "the presence of priests, religious men and women with their people, in parishes, with refugees, in orphanages and homes for single mothers and the elderly," as highlighted by the director of Aid to the Church in Need in Spain. Javier Menéndez Ros also recalled that "this conflict is also a psychological war. People need comfort, strength and support. We also want to assure them of our prayers for peace in Ukraine".
Juan Ignacio GonzalezBishop of St. Bernard: "It is not clear what religious freedom is".
Interview with Juan Ignacio González, Bishop of San Bernardo, who talks about the situation in Chile, on the occasion of the latest changes made by the Constituent Convention regarding religious freedom in the country.
In July 2021, the 155-member Constituent Convention began operating in Chile. They were elected in a democratic vote last May. They have a maximum term of 12 months to draft a new Constitution, which must be approved by 2/3 of its members. Sixty days later (year 2022) it must be submitted to a Plebiscite with a mandatory vote. If the majority of Chileans approve it, the Chilean Congress will enact it. On the other hand, if the majority (50 % +1) rejects it, the current Constitution would remain in force.
In recent months, various citizens' initiatives have been presented to the Convention. In October, representatives of various religious denominations (Catholics, Orthodox, Evangelicals, Muslims, Jews, Mormons, Pentecostals, Adventists and indigenous groups) submitted a common proposal with the ideas they considered fundamental to ensure religious freedom in the future Magna Carta. This was joined by several similar proposals, which gathered 80,000 signatures in support of this initiative.
In October 2021, the group of confessions proposed a document agreed by them, which established the essential elements of religious freedom in a modern and democratic state. They requested to favor the collaboration and cooperation between the religious confessions and the State; that the State does not have the competence to intervene in the conscience, nor in the life and development of the religious confessions, whose limits are the respect of the laws, the good customs, the morals and the public order; that it be recognized that "the confessions have the right and the duty to teach their own doctrine on society, to exercise their mission among men without hindrance and to give their moral judgment, even on matters concerning the social order, when the essential rights of the human person so require."
More specifically, they requested that "without prejudice to the right of the State to regulate civil effects, religious denominations have the right to regulate the marriage of their members, even if only one of the contracting parties is married". In the field of education, the State must respect the right of parents over the religious and moral orientation of their children's education. They should be able to promote and direct educational establishments for their children and the State must recognize such establishments and subsidize them.
Finally, they proposed that religious denominations have the right to promote social initiatives (hospitals, media, orphanages, shelters, soup kitchens, etc.) and that the State should recognize these works under the same conditions as other initiatives of this type promoted by other citizens (tax exemptions, subsidies, possibility of collecting donations, etc.).
In December, the confessions presented to the Convention a specific article to be studied by the commissions and then the plenary of the Convention. In January, the Bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardo, Juan Ignacio González - lawyer and canonist, member of the Standing Committee and coordinator of the legal team of the Episcopal Conference - intervened on behalf of the religious communities before the Convention's Commission on Fundamental Rights. At the beginning of February, this Commission rejected this proposal and approved a different one, drawn up by a group of Convention members; it does not include most of the proposals of the confessions. This proposal will have to be voted on by all the Convention members at an unspecified date.
We spoke with Bishop Gonzalez, who has first-hand knowledge of what happened.
González, how was it possible for such different churches and religious communities to make a common proposal?
-It was a practical exercise in true ecumenism, because in this area all the confessions share the same principles. The document presented in October is a novelty in the ecumenical field. We have had a very fluid and open dialogue with all the confessions for many months, until we arrived at a common text.
Do you consider that the proposal approved by the constituents represents a step backward for religious freedom with respect to the current Chilean Constitution? Why?
-The Convention, it must be said, is dominated by many ideological prejudices, also in the area of the consideration of religious confessions. The prevailing conceptions are far removed from a Christian anthropology. Perhaps out of ignorance and a failure to understand that the treatment of religion by the State should be as an essential social factor in the life of the country. In this sense, the approved article, which came from within the Convention, implies a step backwards in relation to the reality that exists today in Chile regarding religious freedom. We hope that with indications some points can be corrected.
But do you believe that there is an intention to persecute or control the life of the denominations?
-I think that in theory no, but in practice yes. The norms that were approved are introduced in subjects outside the competence of the State. Basically, the confessions are subject to the State and to the administrative authority in their own juridical existence. They are treated as just another associative phenomenon and anyone who knows a little knows that this does not correspond to the proper physiognomy of the religious phenomenon. For example, they try to demand - in the Constitution of the country - that the directors are not criminally convicted. That they must keep transparent accounts, etc. Obvious things, which are proper of the law and apply to all social groups, but which in this case denote the distrust of many conventional people towards religious confessions.
Reading the approved proposal, one gets the impression that, although it has positive aspects, it does not protect the right of parents to the religious education of their children; nor does it mention that religious denominations can promote and manage various social and health initiatives, etc., and receive some state aid. What is your opinion?
-The proposals that are being approved by the Convention indicate a path towards an intervening State, which manages not only the economy, but also institutions, people and also realities such as religious faith. It is clear that in this scheme the rights you mention are undermined or disappear. We will see, if this is approved, how we will move from a regime of freedom as it exists today, to one of control and subjection.
Are any privileges requested for the confessions?
-None. The idea was to move forward from the current situation, which is acceptable and allows the confessions a regime of freedom, proper of a democratic country, towards something better and in accordance with the norms recognized by the international treaties signed by Chile. But what is happening is the opposite: a minimalist recognition of the confessions.
What is your opinion on the article that has been approved?
-It is a very basic wording, which can still be changed in the harmonizing committee. But there is already a marked line, with a wrong direction.
What aspects of the approved proposal do you find most dangerous to religious freedom?
-Many. It is not specified what religious freedom is in its fullness. It is imprecise in essential matters such as education, an essential element being the right of parents to choose the religious education of their children; it does not recognize the autonomy of the confessions to have their own norms; freedom of conscience - which is mentioned - should have its correlate in that no one can be forced to act against it; the right of the confessions to establish agreements with the State and its institutions, especially in the field of service to the most needy and needy, is not recognized. It is said that the State will encourage peaceful coexistence and the collaboration of religious entities. Nothing is said about the goods, essential for the development of the work of the confessions.
What does it mean to establish that Chile is a secular and non-denominational state?
-The imprint of the article is not secular, it is secularist. It is reaffirmed by saying that the State in this matter is governed by the principle of neutrality. It is an equivocal wording. It is affirming that the State is neither concerned nor interested in the religious faith of its members. Of course it is interested, but not specifically as a religious faith, but as an essential social factor in the life of Chile. This wording implies a very serious ignorance of the organization of a modern State.
How do you interpret the provisions of the approved article that "legal entities with religious purposes may not be for profit and their income and expenses must be managed in a transparent manner"?
-As an expression of the distrust, distance and ignorance of the drafters with respect to the religious phenomenon. I do not believe that there is a Magna Carta that establishes something like that. It starts from an assumption of suspicion. It is of the essence of a confession not to have lucrative purposes. And if they have assets that produce income, they must pay taxes like all persons and institutions, according to Chilean law.
What to say about the requirement that the ministers of worship, authorities or directors do not have convictions for child abuse or domestic violence... Now it is the Constitution that regulates the internal regime of the confessions. One more expression of the tremendous distrust towards religious entities.
What do you think of the treatment of the legal personality of denominations?
-A setback in every sense. It is another example of how confused we are on this issue. The confessions are prior to the State, religious faith is not in its sphere, nobody asks the State to make an act of faith: people do it. But the wording indicates that "religious entities and groups of spiritual order may choose to organize themselves as juridical persons of public law, according to the law..." That is to say, they exist on the juridical level because the law grants them to exist... That same law that can make them disappear... This is an attack against the connatural autonomy of the confessions.
What do the denominations that submitted the proposed article, which was rejected, think?
-There is a lot of disagreement. We worked for many months, we made serious efforts and in one session the Commission rejects it. This will logically have consequences in the future. There are many laws that will have to be rewritten and these ideas will be embodied and developed in them. The opportunity for a freer and more respectful society of the essential rights of the person seems lost. And that is always serious.
Lucas Calonje. Divine content in the ordinary of every day.
Lucas will be ordained a priest in May in Rome: a native of Madrid, a music lover and member of Opus Dei, he longs to fill everything ordinary with divine content and to be very universal, living with youthfulness of soul.
"I love music, I play the guitar, the harmonica and I hope to learn to play the Xaphoon that the Three Kings brought me.". Lucas Calonje Espinosa, 31, was ordained a deacon in Rome along with 23 other faithful of Opus Dei on November 20. He tells me that on that great day, with a bit of fear, the question came to his mind: "Lucas, but what kind of trouble are you getting into?". He was consoled by the thought that his vocation was a decision of God that he accepted, because he knows that he is in good hands: "He always delivers what he promises.".
Surrender to God
In his adolescence, he decided to give himself completely to God's plans as a numerary of Opus Dei. He studied for a degree in Economics and before the opportunity to go to Rome, he spent two years in two cities: Barcelona (two years) and La Coruña (three). He enjoyed them so much that he even composed a song for them.
It reminds me of how St. Josemaría defined Opus Dei, which he founded on October 2, 1928, as a great catechesis: "its members, especially the numeraries and aggregates, study philosophy and theology, combining it with our studies and professional work wherever we are.".
Going to Rome to study meant maturing little by little the possibility of the call to the priesthood within the vocation to Opus Dei. He arrived in 2013 and plunged into the study of theology. From 2015 until now he combined it with other assignments thanks to the CARF foundation that helped him finance a large part of his studies. From 2015 to 2018 he was in charge of the maintenance and care of Cavabianca, the headquarters of the Roman College of the Holy Cross: he managed workers, small renovations or part of the accounting. It was office work but with some adventure:"I remember when I literally had to go diving, dressed in a jacket and tie, to unclog a drain that almost flooded the house.". What he learned the most from this stage came from dealing with the workers: gardeners, bricklayers, painters, small businessmen. Lucas tells me that they were simple people ".who knows how to give importance to the important things, both inside and outside of work, something that is sometimes difficult for us.".
He spent the next three years almost fully involved in training young people. Lucas is optimistic: "it is an exciting job because it is very easy to sow good seed, even if it takes a long time for the soil to bear fruit.". She confesses as an undeserved gift that the children have wanted to entrust her with so many things of their soul: "I am very grateful to them.I have seen them cry, laugh, sing or fall in love.". Some came closer to God, others moved away. Of the latter he says that they will return to the right path, even if they do not know it yet.
So many experiences
I force him to summarize what he has learned during this time. He is a little reluctant at first: there are so many experiences! What has filled him the most is living with people who know how to fill with divine content the ordinary of every day: "I have learned to live with people who know how to fill with divine content the ordinary of every day.I have seen it incarnated in normal people, flawed like everyone else, but heroic.". As if that were not enough, his stay in Rome has taught him to be Roman, Catholic and universal: "I am a Roman Catholic.I have met seminarians, priests and consecrated persons at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, each one called to live the faith in the Church in very different ways.". He states that he was surprised to note that ".in spite of the differences in charisma or style, we all felt that we were looked at by Christ, which quickly generated a great harmony.". That is why he has often thought that "the lack of unity that unfortunately exists in the Church would disappear if we would remember that it is One who has sought us all out and called us all.".
May 21 is approaching, the day on which Luke will receive the gift of priestly ministry. He asks God to make him faithful: "I will be faithful to you.I would like to die an old man one day, if I ever get there, but in love with Him and happy.". In Rome he has been able to care for elderly priests who "when they lost their minds due to some kind of dementia, they said ejaculatory prayers, tenderly kissed a crucifix or caressed an image of the Virgin thinking that no one was watching them.". Lucas wishes to live always with that youthfulness of soul, looking with a clean look at everything noble and good that God gives him.
Pope makes strong appeal for peace in Ukraine, prayer and fasting
Pope Francis called on "believers and non-believers" to unite in prayer for peace in Ukraine on March 2, Ash Wednesday, and urged all parties involved in the crisis to "a serious examination of conscience before God", "who is the God of peace and not of war", in order to stop "the diabolical senselessness of violence".
Rafael Miner-February 24, 2022-Reading time: 3minutes
"I have great pain in my heart about the worsening situation in Ukraine. Despite the diplomatic efforts of recent weeks, increasingly alarming scenarios are opening up." Thus began the Pope a Appeal at the end of yesterday's General Audience in the Paul VI Hall.
"Like me, many people around the world feel anguish and concern," the Pontiff added, noting that "once again the peace of all is threatened by the interests of the parties."
The Holy Father then made a pressing appeal to political leaders: "I would like to appeal to political leaders to make a serious examination of conscience before God, who is the God of peace and not of war; who is the Father of all, not just of some, who wants us to be brothers and sisters and not enemies. I ask all parties involved to refrain from any action that causes even more suffering to populations, destabilizing coexistence among nations and discrediting international law".
"God's weapons, prayer and fasting."
The Holy Father extended the appeal to all, "believers and non-believers", inviting them to unite in a day of joint prayer for peace: "Jesus taught us that the diabolical senselessness of violence can be answered with the weapons of God, with prayer and fasting. I invite everyone to make March 2, Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting for peace. I especially encourage believers to dedicate themselves intensely to prayer and fasting on that day. May the Queen of Peace preserve the world from the madness of war.
"Ukraine suffers and deserves peace"
This is not the first time that the Pope has made an appeal for peace in the conflict affecting that country. At the end of January, Francis appealed to the filiation to God the Father and to fraternity among men, in relation to Ukraine: "Let us pray for peace with the Our Father: it is the prayer of children who address the same Father, it is the prayer that makes us brothers, it is the prayer of brothers who implore reconciliation and concord".
The Papa asked "the Lord with insistence that this land may see fraternity flourish and overcome the wounds, fears and divisions". The Day of Fasting and Prayer for Peace had three key points: the Vatican, the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome, and the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. Ukraine "is a suffering people, they have suffered much cruelty and they deserve peace," the Holy Father cried out.
"Gathered together in prayer we implore peace for Ukraine," Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See, asked at the. Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome, in a celebration promoted by the Community of Sant'Egidio. "May the winds of war be silent, may the wounds be healed, may men, women and children be preserved from the horror of conflict."
"We are in communion with the Pope so that every initiative may be at the service of human fraternity," added Monsignor Gallagher. His words highlighted, first of all, the drama of conflicts and the disparity between those who decide them and those who suffer them, between those who systematically carry them out and those who suffer the pain, the official Vatican agency reported.
"We know how dramatic war is and how serious its consequences are: they are painful situations that deprive many people of the most fundamental rights," he added. But even more scandalous "is to see that those who suffer most from conflicts are not those who decide whether or not to start them, but are above all those who are only helpless victims of them," Archbishop Gallagher stressed.
Subsequently, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of the Greek Catholic Church of Ukraine, said that "the Catholics of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, are united in prayer, and seek peace". He made this statement at an online press conference organized by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) on the Ukrainian crisis.
Maximum voltage
According to various sources, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, assured last night that, "in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, with the approval of the Federation Council" (Russian Upper House), he has decided to "carry out a special military intervention", which has set off all the alarms.For his part, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, has assured, according to the BBC, that Ukraine is suffering "an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces", following Vladimir Putin's announcement of a "special military operation" against the neighboring country.
Pope Francis breaks down in his Message for Lent a passage from St. Paul's letter to the Galatians where he encourages perseverance in this "favorable time for personal and community renewal."
Today, Thursday, February 24, Pope Francis published his message for Lent 2022. Next Wednesday, March 2, Ash Wednesday, will mark the beginning of a time "favorable for personal and communal renewal that leads us to the Easter of Jesus Christ, dead and risen". For this reason, Francis wants us to meditate on this passage from the letter of St. Paul to the Galatians: "Let us not grow weary in doing good, for if we do not lose heart, we will reap the rewards in due season. Therefore, while we have the opportunity, let us do good to all" (Gal 6:9-10a).. To this end, the pontiff has broken it down: he assures that this is a "favorable time" for sowing and harvesting, as well as encouraging us to have hope and not grow weary of doing good. Finally, he affirms that the harvest of good is a fruit of perseverance.
We reproduce in full below Pope Francis' Message for Lent 2022:
"Lent is a favorable time for personal and communal renewal that leads us toward the Easter of Jesus Christ dead and risen. For our Lenten journey in 2022, it will do us good to reflect on St. Paul's exhortation to the Galatians: "Let us not grow weary in doing good, for if we do not lose heart, we will reap the rewards in due season. Therefore, while we have the opportunity (kairos), let us do good to all" (Ga 6,9-10a).
Sowing and harvesting
In this passage the Apostle evokes the image of sowing and reaping, which Jesus was so fond of (cf. Mt 13). St. Paul speaks to us of a kairosWhat is this favorable time for us? Certainly, Lent is a favorable time, but so is our whole earthly existence, of which Lent is in some way an image.[1] All too often, greed and pride prevail in our lives, the desire to have, to accumulate and to consume, as shown in the Gospel parable of the foolish man, who considered his life safe and happy because he had accumulated a great harvest in his barns (cf. Lc 12,16-21). Lent invites us to conversion, to change our mentality, so that the truth and beauty of our life do not lie so much in possessing as in giving, not so much in accumulating as in sowing goodness and sharing.
The first farmer is God himself, who generously "continues to pour out into humanity seeds of goodness" (Encyclical Letter, p. 4). Fratelli tutti, 54). During Lent we are called to respond to God's gift by welcoming his "living and effective" Word (Hb 4,12). Assiduous listening to the Word of God makes us mature a docility that disposes us to welcome his work in us (cf. St 1:21), which makes our life fruitful. If this is already a reason to rejoice, even greater is the call to be "God's co-workers" (1 Co 3,9), using the present tense well (cf. Ef 5:16) so that we too can sow by doing good. This call to sow good must not be seen as a burden, but as a grace with which the Creator wants us to be actively united to his fruitful magnanimity.
What about the harvest? Isn't all the sowing done with a view to the harvest? Of course it is. The close link between sowing and reaping is corroborated by St. Paul himself when he affirms: "To a stingy sower, a stingy harvest; to a generous sower, a generous harvest" (2 Co 9,6). But what is the harvest? The first fruit of the good that we sow is in ourselves and in our daily relationships, even in the smallest gestures of kindness. In God no act of love is lost, no matter how small it may be, no "generous fatigue" is wasted (cf. Evangelii gaudium, 279). Just as a tree is known by its fruit (cf. Mt 7:16,20), a life full of good works is luminous (cf. Mt 5:14-16) and brings the perfume of Christ to the world (cf. 2 Co 2,15). Serving God, freed from sin, brings forth fruits of sanctification for the salvation of all (cf. Rm 6,22).
In reality, we only see a small part of the fruit of what we sow, since according to the Gospel proverb "one sows and another reaps" (Jn 4,37). It is precisely by sowing for the good of others that we participate in the magnanimity of God: "It is a great nobility to be capable of unleashing processes whose fruits will be gathered by others, with the hope placed in the secret forces of the good that is sown" (Encyclical Letter, 4:37). Fratelli tutti, 196). Sowing good for others frees us from the narrow logic of personal benefit and gives our actions the broad scope of gratuitousness, introducing us to the marvelous horizon of God's benevolent designs.
The Word of God broadens and elevates our gaze even more, announces to us that the truest harvest is the eschatological harvest, that of the last day, the day without sunset. The complete fruit of our life and our actions is the "fruit for eternal life" (Jn 4:36), which will be our "treasure in heaven" (Lc 18:22; cf. 12:33). Jesus himself uses the image of the seed that dies when it falls to the ground and bears fruit to express the mystery of his death and resurrection (cf. Jn 12:24); and St. Paul takes it up again to speak of the resurrection of our body: "The corruptible is sown and rises incorruptible; the dishonorable is sown and rises glorious; the weak is sown and rises full of strength; in short, a material body is sown and a spiritual body is raised" (1 Co 15,42-44). This hope is the great light that the risen Christ brings to the world: "If what we hope for in Christ is reduced only to this life, we are the most miserable of all human beings. What is certain is that Christ has risen from the dead as the first fruit of those who have died" (1 Co 15:19-20), so that those who are intimately united to Him in love, in a death like His (cf. Rm 6:5), let us also be united to his resurrection for eternal life (cf. Jn 5,29). "Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father" (Mt 13,43).
2. "Let us not grow weary of doing good".
The resurrection of Christ enlivens earthly hopes with the "great hope" of eternal life and introduces the seed of salvation already in the present time (cf. Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter, p. 4). Spe salvi, 3; 7). Faced with the bitter disappointment of so many broken dreams, with concern for the challenges that concern us, with discouragement at the poverty of our means, we are tempted to withdraw into our own individualistic selfishness and take refuge in indifference to the suffering of others. Indeed, even the best resources are limited, "the young grow weary and tired, the young stumble and fall" (Is 40,30). Nevertheless, God "gives strength to those who are weary, and increases the strength of those who are exhausted. [Those who hope in the Lord renew their strength, they fly like eagles; they run and do not grow weary, they walk and do not grow tired" (Is 40,29.31). Lent calls us to place our faith and hope in the Lord (cf. 1 P 1:21), because only with eyes fixed on the risen Christ (cf. Hb 12:2) we can welcome the Apostle's exhortation: "Let us not grow weary in doing good" (Ga 6,9).
Let us not tire of praying. Jesus has taught us that it is necessary to "pray always without becoming discouraged" (Lc 18,1). We need to pray because we need God. To think that we are sufficient on our own is a dangerous illusion. With the pandemic we have felt our personal and social fragility. May Lent now allow us to experience the consolation of faith in God, without which we cannot have stability (cf. Is 7,9). No one is saved alone, because we are all in the same boat amid the storms of history;[2] but above all, no one is saved without God, because only the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ enables us to overcome the dark waters of death. Faith does not exempt us from the tribulations of life, but it enables us to go through them united to God in Christ, with the great hope that does not disappoint and whose pledge is the love that God has poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (cf. Rm 5,1-5).
Let us not tire of removing evil from our lives.. May the bodily fasting that the Church asks of us during Lent strengthen our spirit for the fight against sin. Let us never tire of asking for forgiveness in the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, knowing that God never tires of forgiving[3]. Let us not tire of fighting against concupiscence.The fragility that drives us to selfishness and to all kinds of evil, and which throughout the centuries has found different ways to plunge man into sin (cf. Encyclical Letter, "The Eternal Life of Man"). Fratelli tutti, 166). One of these ways is the risk of dependence on digital media, which impoverishes human relationships. Lent is a propitious time to counteract these insidiousnesses and cultivate, instead, a more integral human communication (cf. ibid., 43) made up of "real encounters" (ibid., 50), face to face. Let us not grow weary of doing good in active charity towards our fellow man. During this Lent let us practice almsgiving, giving joyfully (cf. 2 Co 9,7). God, "who provides seed for the sower and bread for food" (2 Co 9:10), provides each of us not only with what we need to subsist, but also so that we can be generous in doing good to others.
If it is true that our whole life is a time for sowing good, let us take advantage especially of this Lent to care for those close to us, to be neighbor to those brothers and sisters who are wounded on life's journey (cf. Lc 10,25-37). Lent is a propitious time to seek out - and not avoid - those in need; to call - and not ignore - those who wish to be heard and receive a good word; to visit - and not abandon - those who suffer loneliness. Let us put into practice the call to do good. to allWe must take time to love the least and defenseless, the abandoned and despised, those who are discriminated against and marginalized (cf. Encyclical Letter, p. 4). Fratelli tutti, 193).
3. "If we do not falter, we will reap in due time".
Lent reminds us every year that "goodness, as well as love, justice and solidarity, are not achieved once and for all; they must be conquered every day" (ibid., 11). Therefore, let us ask God for the patient constancy of the farmer (cf. St 5:7) so as not to give up doing good, one step after another. Whoever falls, reach out to the Father, who always raises us up again. Whoever finds himself lost, deceived by the seductions of the evil one, let him not delay in returning to Him, who "is rich in forgiveness" (Is 55,7). In this time of conversion, relying on the grace of God and the communion of the Church, let us not tire of sowing good. Fasting prepares the soil, prayer waters, charity makes fruitful.
We have the certainty in faith that "if we do not lose heart, in due time we will reap" and that, with the gift of perseverance, we will attain the promised goods (cf. Hb 10:36) for our salvation and that of others (cf. 1 Tm 4,16). By practicing fraternal love with everyone, we unite ourselves to Christ, who gave his life for us (cf. 2 Co 5:14-15), and we begin to savor the joy of the Kingdom of heaven, when God will be "all in all" (1 Co 15:28), that the Virgin Mary, in whose womb the Savior was born and who "kept all these things and pondered them in her heart" (Lc 2:19) obtain for us the gift of patience and remain at our side with her maternal presence, so that this time of conversion may bear fruits of eternal salvation."
La Marcia per la Vita 2022, guardando a Washington e alla Colombia
The fight for life continues, on the streets and in parliaments, with victories and defeats. In Washington, thousands of people are sitting in the piazza in January to celebrate life with Marchforlifewhile Colombia has decriminalized abortion until the twentieth week. In Spain, the Yes to Life platform has declared the March for Life for Sunday, March 27, 2022 in Madrid.
Rafael Miner-February 24, 2022-Reading time: 4minutes
The Piattaforma Yes to Life has once again called on Spanish civil society to take to the piazza in defense of all human beings, on March 27 at 12 noon in Madrid, to demand "respect for the dignity of all people and to demonstrate the rejection of the latest laws recently passed, which directly undermine human life". The International Day of Life will be celebrated again after two years without taking place due to the sanitary situation.
The procession of demonstrators will start in via Serrano in Madrid at the intersection with Goya, and will reach Plaza de Cibeles, where a demonstration will take place with testimonies, music and a final manifesto prepared by the participating organizations.
The Piattaforma Yes to Life is composed of more than 500 associations working for the promotion of Life from its beginning to its natural end. In 2011, all of them gathered in this platform to celebrate around March 25th, the International Day of Life, a public and unitary event to celebrate this date under the same color: green hope and under the same motto: Yes to life.
Depenalization in Colombia
The call of the Piattaforma has usually annual frequency, and this time comes a few days after the Constitutional Court of Colombia has approved the decriminalization of abortion up to 24 weeks this very Monday, with a historic vote but with a narrow result: five votes in favor and four against - criticized by the president of the Latin American country.
Iván Duque has underlined his concern for the fact that the decision "makes it easier for abortion to become almost a contraceptive practice, a restrictive and regular one". In a radio interview, the Colombian president called himself "a pro-life person", and insisted on the fact that "life begins at conception", according to him. El Mundo. .
Marce per la Vita: Washington
At the end of January, the annual Marcia per la Vita, sponsored by Marchforlife with the participation of thousands of people, who have joined in the hope that it would be the last national march, and who have joined in a new cry for "the gift of every human life to be protected by law and accepted with love".
The freezing temperatures of -6º Celsius in the North American capital and the high infection rates of the omicron variant of Covid.19 did not dampen the spirits of thousands of young people from all over the country who returned to the 40th edition of MarchforLife, as our guest Gonzalo Meza reports.
Catholic colleges and universities were represented by hundreds of students who came to the capital from different parts of the country to participate in the march.
Also in Finland
In September of last year a historic event took place in Helsinki: the first Marcia per la Vita in Helsinki. Finland. The objective, as Raimo Goyarrola refers, was identical to that of the other marches that have been held in many places, i.e. to stimulate public debate on the reality of human life in the maternal body, on the phenomenon of abortion and on the defense of the right to life of unborn children.
Abortion in Finland is allowed almost freely. And that Saturday March 11 September in Helsinki was a first and a second. "About 9,000 unborn Finns come to abortion every year. This is exactly the number that would be useful for a general change in society. We are at unsustainable numbers for a stable future. There are still children. But now the time has come to talk, to communicate, to dialogue", wrote Raimo Goyarrola.
500 associations in Spain
In Spain, the Yes to Life Platform is made up of more than 500 associations working for the promotion of Life from its beginning to its natural end. In 2011, the associations met within the framework of this Platform to carry out, around March 25 - International Day of Life - a public and unitary event with the same motto: Yes to Life.
Since then, the piattaforma has not failed in its commitment. In the last two years, the demonstrations have been held online, with a wave on the Piattaforma's YouTube channel; and according to the note published today, "this 2022 we will once again be on the square with strength to celebrate life in a well-established demonstration, which grows every year in the number of participants, especially young people. In addition to expressing this commitment and the greatness of life, respect for the dignity of each person will be sought and the refusal of the latest laws passed, which directly undermine human life, will be expressed.
L' Associazione of Sportivi per la Vita e la Famiglia will carry out the second Corsa di Solidarietà per la Vita, as a sign of the union of the world of sport in favor of human life. This event, preceding and complementary, will take place at 10:00 a.m. in Via Serrano, in the form of the Urban Run and with a maximum of 500 participants.
During these days the site will be updated with materials of interest: merchandising, locations to advertise the Marcia, ecc. Who wants can collaborate as a volunteer by registering in the module that compares on the page. And whoever can collaborate with a donation is encouraged to do it through Bizum ONG: 00589: also through a bonus on account ES28 0081 7306 6900 0140 0041, intestate to the Spanish Federation of Associations for Life. The reason to indicate is: Yes to Life, with the name of the person or the association that is making the will.
Convening associations
Among the convening associations are ABIMAD, ACdP, ADEVIDA, AEDOS, AESVIDA, Associazione di Bioetica di Madrid, Associazione Spagnola di Farmacia Sociale, Associazione Europea degli Avvocati di Famiglia, ANDEVI, Associazione Universitaria APEX, AYUVI, Centro Legale Tomás Moro, CIDEVIDA, CIVICA, COFAPA , CONCAPA, e-cristians, El Encinar de Mambré, Evangelium Vitae, Famiglia e dignità umana, Famiglie affidatarie, FAPACE, Federazione spagnola delle associazioni per la vita, Forum delle famiglie, Fondazione Educatio Servanda, Fondazione Jérome Lejeune, REDMADRE, Fundación Vida, Fundación Más Futuro, Fundación Villacisneros, Fundación +Vida, HO- Right to Live, Hogares de Santa María, Hogares de Santa Maria, Lands Care, One of Us, Más Futuro, NEOS, Professionals for Ethics, Red Mission, RENAFER, Giovanni Paolo II Soccorritori, SOS Famiglia, Spei Mater, Fondazione Valori e Società, Voce Postaborto, ecc.
Natalia PeiroCaritas' key points of action are people".
Cáritas Española celebrates its 75th anniversary. Since 1947, Spanish society has changed a lot in terms of its needs and social structure. However, as its secretary general, Natalia Peiro, emphasizes in this interview with Omnes, the heart of Caritas remains unchanged.
Interview with the Secretary General of Cáritas Española.
Cáritas Española is, according to its official denomination, the official confederation of charitable and social action entities of the Catholic Church in Spain, instituted by the Episcopal Conference. But, beyond its structural definition, Cáritas could be called, as its Secretary General calls it, "Cáritas Española", "the caress of God".
Today, and for three quarters of a century, Caritas has been the charitable arm for hundreds of thousands of people who find accompaniment, help, a way out or training for employment through the various diocesan and parish Caritas and the various projects.
A year ago, the Permanent Commission of the Spanish Episcopal Conference renewed Manuel Bretón as president of Cáritas Española and Natalia Peiro as secretary general, a task she had held since 2017, for a new three-year term. This General Services team has lived through the socioeconomic crisis resulting from the pandemic, as well as the emergence of new gaps of social exclusion. A change in society that makes essential, even more if possible, that ministry of charity that Caritas volunteers and workers personify.
Caritas is preparing to celebrate 75 years of life in Spain. What has changed and what remains since its birth?
-The root remains. Our feet are founded on the Gospel, on the Christian community. Caritas is an expression of that Christian community and that remains true in all countries of the world.
What remains? The spirit that animates us and the experience of God that we have in our work in Caritas. In Caritas there is a special care for the formation of the heart of the people who are part of it. Our work breaks down these disjunctions between action and contemplation, between justice and spiritual life.
There remains that raison d'être that tells us that our task is an expression of our faith. And it remains, always, the service to all, without exception, without asking where you come from or how they are.
The organization and activities have changed a lot because the social reality has changed. From the American milk that was distributed when Caritas was born to the employment and recycling projects... many things have changed. Life has changed.
What makes Caritas different from any other NGO, even one made up of Catholics?
-The key difference is our organization, which is indivisible from the Church. In each diocese our presidents are the bishops, and our local organization is the parishes. We are the Church. We are the Church's ministry of charity, one of the three ministries along with Liturgy and the Word.
This identification gives us, apart from the sense, that permeability, the possibility of reaching all places, all corners. Being Church gives us a universality that other NGOs, not even international ones, do not have. By belonging to the universal Church we have a different capillarity, a vision of the world as a single human family.
In these 75 years, Caritas has seen the evolution of Spanish society and has evolved with it. What are the key points of Caritas' work today?
-I think Caritas makes a huge effort to try to support and accompany people on their way to a full, integrated life. You ask me what are the key points of Caritas' work: the key points are people.
We are not an organization that has a set of priorities, for example, in the field of health or education, but we accompany people along the way.
If I had to highlight some different challenges today I think that, at present, we work with some situations of more extreme marginality: people who are victims of trafficking or homeless people. This work has very different challenges if we think about the life we can give to those people. Another big challenge is loneliness and isolation. This is especially evident in the elderly or, for example, in migrants. We are in a more individualistic society and accompaniment changes.
In this regard, we view with great concern the intergenerational transmission of poverty and the danger of the breakdown of the welfare state. When we presented the FOESSA report on the consequences of the pandemic in Spain, we spoke of the rupture of the social contract with youth. In other words, if we do not transfer the best we can to present and future generations, if we do not help the weakest, we are heading towards a society that has nothing to do with the rule of law or social cohesion.
We have to ask ourselves in which society we want to live: in a State where those who do not have papers are forced to live and even die in the street? Or in a place where there is social cohesion and solidarity that allows us to live in peace and justice? Our accompaniment has resulted in a work of prophetic denunciation that we frame in the Gospel.
These two years of pandemic have undoubtedly been a challenge for the entire organization of Caritas Española. How have you experienced these moments from within and in your work?
-It has been a shock for the Church and, especially, for an institution like Caritas, where the difference lies in the being and being. We are used to being very close to people and, therefore, this situation has violated our way of working, our volunteers' way of being, etc. A very big impact for the whole Spanish society and especially strong in those groups, parish or neighborhood communities... which are rooted in human relationships on a daily basis.
The first transformation we had to make centered on how to follow being close without being able to be physically close. Power remain open having to close.
Our campaign of these years points out that "charity does not close", and so it has been. All Caritas, diocesan and parochial, received many people referred by the public administration, which could not take care of them....
Half a million new people reached Caritas through the hotlines, the website and social networks.
Just as many people came asking for help, we also had to transform ourselves to have the capacity to receive initiatives, proposals, and many people who wanted to help.
Attending to all this tsunami of petitions and solidarity had to be very tightly organized. We had to put in a lot of work, from the parish Caritas to the General Services. We all had to be at 150% to be able to attend to everything that was asked of us.
We quickly saw that the digital issue was leaving many people out. The administration, collapsed and completely digitalized, was leaving many people out. The regulatory tangle that arose required a lot of analysis: what volunteers could and could not do, how to apply for the Minimum Vital Income, what happened with domestic workers, what social canteens and insertion companies could do, etc.
We had to make a very quick analysis, within an organization that is not dedicated to just one thing. This analysis was an opportunity to dialogue with the administration, asking, for example, to be declared essential services, or how to transform our insertion companies so as not to lose jobs.
In the medium term, we had to face the accompaniment of families, and the training programs that already had to be very digital. We analyzed which were the jobs that could be most required for our employment programs and, already in summer 2020, many courses were scheduled for people specialized in cleaning and disinfection, mask manufacturing, etc.
In addition to all this, many initiatives were also promoted to help neighbors, those close to us... to solve, in a way, the difficulty of the presence. In this sense, the young people gave a lot of support: they got involved in social networks, made videos, virtual presence...
Are there still volunteers and is there a future for Caritas volunteers?
-There are still volunteers, thank God. We have a great challenge in this field, which is the challenge of the whole Church. Caritas volunteers are born from the Christian community and the parishes. Volunteering in Caritas has to do with our learning about the logic of gift, of gratuitousness, of giving ourselves to others. It is not the same as other volunteer work we know.
The challenge, like that of the whole Church, is the transmission of faith, the transmission of values. Caritas has to contribute that part to the Church.
We see, for example, how in rural environments, in parishes, there is a lack of young people to make this transition. At this point there is an important issue. Caritas is the caress of the Church. It has an outreach and an outreach to the people, and we have to learn to integrate volunteers who are not strictly "parish volunteers", but who discover the face of Christ through the people we work with and accompany.
Being Church has given us everything, and we want to be a contribution to the future of this transmission of faith.
In Europe, for example, there is a youth Caritas revolution. It has been difficult to understand that young people are in universities, in companies or in movements and we have to let ourselves be surprised by them and integrate them. Welcome these people who have a lot to give.
Obviously, we have to be very careful because being a volunteer in Caritas is not the same as being a volunteer in any other NGO. With this challenge in mind, we are trying to change ways and means, so that more people can become part of Caritas.
There are some years in which it is very difficult to be a volunteer; the profession and the care of the family do not leave any time, etc. But, if you have been a volunteer when you were young at university, it is easier that, at the age of 50, when your children are already grown up, you can take up this task again. That seed had to be planted by someone and there we have a task.
Our strategic plan has a key focus on the renewal of volunteerism and, within it, a very nice point, which is the intergenerational relationship of volunteers.
What do you consider to be the new forms of poverty?
-I believe that, in general, there is little new in terms of the difficulties that people have and that cause them to be excluded. The profiles are essentially young people, women with dependent minors and immigrants.
The new forms of poverty are those caused by two fundamental issues. The first is the deterioration of labor market conditions. The working conditions of people who started working before 2008 and keep that job have nothing to do with the working conditions of those who started working after the 2008 crisis. This is a reality that we see all around us. In addition to this reality, there is the second issue, which is the opposite trend between wages and housing prices. In the end, employment and housing remain the fundamental keys to social inclusion. If a person earns little and, when paying housing costs, remains poor, it is very difficult to do anything else: education, health, social relations or to fix a deterioration of the house. These new poor are people who work, maybe only part-time or on temporary contracts, but most of them prefer working to the "little paycheck".
Have we come out of this crisis "better" or worse?
-The truth is that I have doubts. The Pope told us, at the beginning of this crisis, that we are not going to come out of it the same way. It is true that, in the pressure of need, all people bring out the best in themselves, but in the exit from an emergency there is a great tendency not to look back to get out. This "not seeing" is reflected, for example, in the data of the FOESSA report. Those of us who have a certain stability in life -a paycheck, a job-, have some daily problems, but there are other issues that are there and we do not "see" them. For example, what has happened to those children who have been left alone because their parents had to go out to work and teleworking did not fit, or to those households in which only one person works and has been fired, what about people who have no digital skills and could not go to the bank or make a doctor's appointment? We have to realize that the gap exists, that these realities exist, even if we don't see them every day or don't want to "look back".
And these realities do not occur because these people do not make an effort. When we ask people what they are doing to get out of this situation, eight out of ten are active: working a few hours, actively looking for a job or participating in a training program. As a society, we sometimes close doors because we don't know the reality. It is necessary to know it in order to understand it.
Pope Francis has called believers and non-believers to a day of prayer and fasting for peace in Ukraine on Wednesday, March 2, which coincides with Ash Wednesday.
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The meeting of bishops and mayors of the Mediterranean began this Wednesday in Florence. The main theme was to reflect on how to make the Mediterranean a "border of peace".
At the initiative of the Italian Bishops' Conference, a meeting of bishops and mayors of Mediterranean coastal towns is being held in Florence. Pope Francis is also expected to visit next Sunday. This is the second initiative of its kind, personally led by Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, president of the Italian Bishops' Conference. The first took place exactly two years ago, just before the outbreak of the pandemic, in Bari, also in the presence of the Pope.
The bishops of no less than 20 countries bordering the "mare nostrum" participated in the meeting to reflect on how to make it more and more a "frontier of peace", and today this concern of the local Churches becomes even more urgent and necessary in the face of the winds of war blowing over Europe in these very weeks.
The Florence meeting, like that of Bari, was born from the example of a happy intuition of the Venerable Giorgio La Pira, mayor of the Renaissance city and constituent father, who in the 1950s and 1960s gave life to the so-called "Mediterranean talks" as a strategic opportunity to achieve world peace. And he suggested an analogy between the time of Jesus and the contemporary era, between the environment in which the Messiah moved and that in which the peoples of the Mediterranean lived then - but also today: a heterogeneous context of culture and beliefs, multiform, not exempt from economic, religious and political conflicts and, therefore, in need of unity and peace.
To the bishops gathered in the Basilica of St. Nicholas of Bari, Pope Francis reiterated that, precisely because of its conformation, the Mediterranean "obliges the cultures and peoples bordering it to a constant proximity", in the awareness that "only by living in harmony can they enjoy the opportunities that this region offers from the point of view of resources, the beauty of the territory and the different human traditions".
If the ultimate goal of every human society remains peace," the Pontiff explained on that occasion, "war is rather the failure of every human and divine project. But there can be no peace without justice, which is trampled underfoot whenever "the needs of the people are ignored" or "partisan economic interests are placed above the rights of individuals and the community", or people are treated "as if they were things".
The Pope's program for Sunday includes, after greeting civil and religious authorities, including the mayors of Athens, Jerusalem and Istanbul, a meeting with refugee and displaced families and Holy Mass in the Basilica of the Holy Cross.
"As Christian communities, we have the moral duty and missionary task of fostering and promoting, with faith and courage, new international balances based, first of all, on the defense and valorization of the human person, as well as on an effective and concrete solidarity" - said Cardinal Bassetti in his opening address to the Meeting of Bishops of the Mediterranean. He then recalled: "Our brothers and sisters crushed by wars, hunger, climate change, some of whom are freezing to death on the borders of Europe or drowning in the Mediterranean, are the first and privileged recipients of the proclamation of the Gospel".
The meeting will be attended by 58 bishops - among them the Archbishop of Barcelona and president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, Juan José Omella, and the auxiliary bishop of Madrid, José Cobo Cano - and 65 mayors, among them those of Granada, Seville and Valencia.
March for Life 2022, with an eye on Washington and Colombia
The fight for life goes on, in streets and parliaments, with victories and defeats. In Washington, thousands of people took to the streets in January to defend life with Marchforlifewhile Colombia has decriminalized abortion up to the 24th week. In Spain, the Platform Yes to Life has called for the March for Life 2022 on Sunday, March 27 in Madrid.
Rafael Miner-February 23, 2022-Reading time: 4minutes
The Plataforma Sí a la Vida (Yes to Life Platform) has once again called on civil society in Spain, on March 27 at 12:00 noon in Madrid, to take to the streets in defense of every human being, to demand "respect for the dignity of all persons and to show rejection of the latest laws passed, which directly threaten human life". The International Day of Life will be celebrated again after two years without taking to the streets due to the health situation.
The tour will begin in Madrid's Serrano and Goya streets, and will reach the Plaza de Cibeles, where a ceremony will be held with testimonies, music and a final manifesto prepared by the member organizations.
The Platform Yes to Life is made up of more than 500 associations that work for the defense of Life from its beginning to its natural end. All of them joined together in 2011 under this Platform to perform around March 25, International Day of Life, a public and unitary act to celebrate this date under the same color: green hope, and under the same slogan: Yes to Life.
Decriminalization in Colombia
The Platform's call is usual every year, and comes a few days after Colombia's Constitutional Court approved the decriminalization of abortion up to 24 weeks on Monday, in a historic vote with a close result -five votes in favor and four against-, which has been criticized by the president of the Latin American country.
Iván Duque stressed his concern that the decision "will make it easier for abortion to become an almost contraceptive, recurrent and regular practice". In a radio interview, the Colombian president declared himself to be "a pro-life person", and insisted that "life begins at conception", as reported by El Mundo.
Marches for Life: Washington
A few weeks earlier, at the end of January, the annual March for Life took place in Washington, D.C., promoted by Marchforlife and supported by thousands of people, which took place in the hope that it would be the last march nationwide, and which was a new cry for the "gift of every human life to be protected by law and welcomed with love".
The freezing temperatures of -6º Celsius in the U.S. capital and the high infection rates of the Omicron variant of Covid.19, did not dampen the spirits of thousands of young people from all over the country who gathered at the 49th edition of the MarchforLifeas reported by our correspondent, Gonzalo Meza. Catholic colleges and universities were represented with hundreds of students who traveled from different parts of the country to the capital to participate in the walk.
Also in Finland
In September last year, a historic event took place in Helsinki: the first March for Life in Helsinki. Finland. The objective, like that of other marches that have been held in numerous places, was to stimulate public debate on the reality of human life in the womb, the phenomenon of abortion and the defense of the right to life of unborn children, reported Raimo Goyarrola.
Abortion in Finland is allowed almost freely. And that March on Saturday, September 11 in Helsinki marked a before and after. "About 9,000 unborn Finns are killed every year. That's just the number needed for a generational replacement in society. We are at unsustainable numbers for a stable future. Children are needed. But the time has come to talk, to communicate, to dialogue," wrote Raimo Goyarrola.
500 associations in Spain
In Spain, the Platform Yes to Life is made up of more than 500 associations that work for the defense of Life from its beginning to its natural end. In 2011, the associations united under this Platform to carry out, around March 25 -International Day of Life-, a public and united act with the same slogan: Yes to Life.
Since then, the platform has not failed to fulfill its commitment. The last two years have been carried out online, with a retransmission through the YouTube channel of the Platform; and according to the note made public today, "this 2022 will again take to the streets with force to celebrate life in an already consolidated act, which is growing every year in number of attendees especially young people. In addition to expressing this commitment and the greatness of life, respect for the dignity of all people will be demanded and the rejection of the latest laws passed, which directly threaten human life, will be shown".
– Supernatural Association of Deportistas por la Vida y la Familia will hold the II Carrera Solidaria por la Vida, as a sign of the union of the sports world to the defense of human life. This event, previous and complementary, will take place at 10.00 am in Serrano Street, in the form of Urban Mile and with a maximum of 500 participants.
During these days, the website will be updated with materials of interest: merchandising, posters to promote the March, etc. Anyone who wishes to collaborate as a volunteer can register in the form that appears on the page. And those who can collaborate with a donation are encouraged to do it through Bizum ONG: 00589: Also by transfer to the account ES28 0081 7306 6900 0140 0041, whose owner is the Spanish Federation of Pro-Life Associations, concept: Yes to Life, indicating which person or association is making the payment.
Convening associations
Among the convening associations are ABIMAD, ACdP, ADEVIDA, AEDOS, AESVIDA, Asociación de Bioética de Madrid, Asociación Española de Farmacia social, Asociación Europea de Abogados de Familia, ANDEVI, Asociación Universitaria APEX, AYUVI, Centro Jurídico Tomás Moro, CIDEVIDA, CIVICA, COFAPA, CONCAPA, e-cristians, El Encinar de Mambré, Evangelium Vitae, Familia y Dignidad Humana, Familias para la acogida, FAPACE, Federación Española de Asociaciones Provida, Foro de la Familia, Fundación Educatio Servanda, Fundación Jérome Lejeune, Fundación REDMADRE, Fundación Vida, Fundación Más Futuro, Fundación Villacisneros, Fundación +Vida, HO- Derecho a vivir, Hogares de Santa María, Hogares de Santa María, Lands Care, One of Us, Más Futuro, NEOS, Profesionales por la Ética, Red Misión, RENAFER, , Rescatadores Juan Pablo II, SOS Familia, Spei Mater, Fundación Valores y Sociedad, Voz Postaborto, etcetera.
"The admiration for the German poet Novalis has gone ahead of his knowledge in Spain. The halo has preceded the image. His attractiveness was intuited. Spanish authors had forged an image of him with a few sentences. It took him more than a century to arrive in Spain and before he arrived he already aroused enthusiasm. And both his life and his work can shed some light today in these times in which we live".
In 2020 we celebrate -coinciding with the beginning of the pandemic- the 250th anniversary of the birth of three German geniuses: Beethoven, Hölderlin and Hegel. That year I was able to read the excellent biography of the German romantic poet Novalis, a contemporary of the above, written by Antonio Pau. It was not and is not his birthday, but it seems to me that his life and work can be tremendously luminous these days. For as he once wrote: the poet understands nature better than the scientist.
In this strange situation that we are still dragging along in which we receive so much news about deaths, hospital admissions, daily heroes, lights and meanness, loneliness and solidarity, it seems inevitable - as has already been rightly said by some - to realize what is really valuable in our lives, and I think that this is precisely what the great German artist can help us with.
Everything about Friedrich von Hardenberg, who was called Novalis before he chose his famous pseudonym, is brief in his fruitful life. Just twenty-eight years on earth, a minuscule geography - he only moved through a few villages in Saxony - a few friends, a few pages. And yet his life was a constant search for the absolute.
Exercise slowness, he wrote in one of the notebooks he always had at hand. He felt almost from childhood the imminence of death and precisely for that reason he had to write slowly. There would be no time for revision. Everything is seed, he also wrote, in another place, in another notebook. A seed that he knew well that he would not see germinate.
He searched for the absolute that every man intuits among the ephemeral that surrounds him. We search everywhere for the absolute -he wrote- and we always and only find things. But the fact that he only found things did not discourage him. What he did was to delve into them, and he did so by two seemingly contradictory paths: the study of things through science and the search for their mystery through poetry.
The events we have lived and are living through with intensity, which bring us the experience of pain together with the clear insufficiency of a fragile material well-being to attain happiness, can be propitious for reflection. Faced with the loneliness of the sick who have been forced to fight for their lives with the help of so many heroic doctors and nurses, there is no choice but to try to delve into the spiritual dimension of our lives.
Novalis was a good man, of a kindness that was at once childlike and mature. His life and his work are impregnated with that gaze of kindness -recious and wholehearted, not soft or tearful- with which he contemplated everything. The romantic is usually assimilated to a childish candor, to a vaporous and vague reverie. And our poet was rigorous and precise. That is why he wrote: Scientific accuracy is what is absolutely poetic.
The life and work, both truncated, of the great poet, have remained like those Greek torsos that time has mutilated with such beauty. Goethe lived eighty-two years in perfect health and left an impeccable work. Novalis lived twenty-eight, a great part of it ill, and has left only unconnected fragments, unfinished novels and a handful of poems. It seems as if his life and his work had to have been like this, suffering and mutilated, to reach the perfection that corresponded to them.
In that short life he left two imperishable works: Christianity or Europe and the Hymns to the night. In the first essay, written in 1799 while the cries of the French Revolution and Napoleon's cannon fire and the collision between religious fervor and anti-religious enthusiasm resounded, Novalis adopts a radical stance for those times.
The young poet, as a good romantic, is nostalgic, if one can call it that, for a more spiritual and harmonious future time. The romantic is uncomfortable in the days he has had to live. He feels stateless and bets that the present difficulties will serve as the birth of a better future time: the time of the reconciliation of Europeans, the time of a new unity of Europe founded on eminently spiritual ties.
For their part, the Hymns to the Nightare, at the same time, the story of an intimate experience and a cosmogony. The premature death at the age of 15 of his fiancée, Sophie von Kühn, paradoxically leads him to exalt the world - of worlds, better, the visible and the invisible -, the great realities - light, night, infinite spaces, time, earth, nature, man, death, joy - and God.
It is striking that a man who suffered so much during his short life writes with an enthusiasm that, at a distance of more than two centuries, is still moving. The same man who wrote that every man has his years of martyrdom, also said that through prayer everything is achieved. Prayer is a universal medicine and that God must be sought among men. It is in human events and in human thoughts and feelings that the spirit of heaven is most clearly revealed.
I recommend reading this wonderful biography of Novalis while so many people suffer in silence, some in the solitude of their illness and others trying to fight the physical and psychological virus of living in permanent fear. These are hard times, as Saint Teresa of Avila used to say, but among so many difficulties, the goodness of so many people shines brightly and can emerge transfigured from this journey we share. And that is why I wanted to share it with you.
In the central part of the "sermon on the plain", Jesus had opened to his disciples and to the pagans who listened to him the way to become Sons of the Most High and to be merciful like the Father. Central words of Jesus' message and of Luke's Gospel. Jesus had expressed in a positive way the program of life of his disciples, with seventeen exhortative imperatives: "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who slander you; offer your cheek, do not deny him the robe, give to him who asks you, do not demand from him who takes from you; do unto men as you would have them do unto you, love, do, lend, be merciful, do not judge, forgive, give, measure abundantly". In the next part of his discourse, Jesus warns them about possible spiritual dangers in their relationship with God and with their brothers and sisters in the faith.
If they do not accept the way of Mercy, and follow other ways, or consider themselves better than others, or think they are better than the Master, then they will be like blind men, and if they act as a guide they will be blind leading other blind men. Jesus uses this image in Matthew speaking of the Pharisees. In Luke, Jesus uses it for his disciples. Thus we understand that the deviations of the Pharisees are not their exclusive domain, they can also happen to Christians. In fraternal relationships, those who do not follow the path of non-judgment and non-condemnation easily fall into the temptation of wanting perfection for their brothers without specks in their eyes, but also without reference to God and his mercy. This temptation is comparable to having a beam in one's eye, which blinds.
Paul writes to the Philippians that he sees himself as ".a Jew, son of Jews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the Church; as to the righteousness arising from the observance of the Law, blameless". But after knowing Christ he considers all these things to be "a loss before the sublimity of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake I have lost all things, and count them as garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him.". If we abandon the pursuit of perfection in our own strength and embrace the path of the sublimity of the knowledge of Christ, then we can help a brother remove the speck from his eye. We are no longer blind. Thus we bear good fruits of God's love, received and given, which undoubtedly reveal to us that the tree is good, even if it is flawed. Jesus assures us that from the good treasure of the good man's heart good works and words and fruits of the Spirit are born:"love, joy, peace, magnanimity, benevolence, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control".
Homily on the readings for the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The priest Luis Herrera Campo offers its nanomiliaa small one-minute reflection for these readings.
The investigation of abuses in the Spanish Church will have "all the necessary scope".
The law firm Cremades-Calvo Sotelo has been chosen by the Spanish Episcopal Conference to carry out an independent legal audit on cases of sexual abuse of minors committed by members of the Church in Spain.
The investigation will have "all the necessary scope to clarify the cases that occurred in the past and to incorporate the highest levels of responsibility to prevent the repetition of these cases in the future", this was the statement of Mons. Juan José Omella, president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference in a large press conference in which the audit that the law firm Cremades-Calvo Sotelo has initiated in order to know, clarify and repair the victims of sexual abuse in the Church was presented.
The EEC, emphasized its president, "wants to assume its responsibility to the victims, to the authorities and to society by establishing a new vehicle to help clarify the events of the past and help prevent them from happening again".
"It is a service to society, especially to the victims and to clarify some episodes that must be overcome", added Javier Cremades, who assumes this task aware of the "delicacy and exceptionality of the matter". In fact, Cremades himself wanted to point out that this concept of service to society has led to the decision not to charge the Episcopal Conference for this audit, except for third party expenses.
Complement government research, not supplant it.
Both the president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference and Javier Cremades have insisted that this investigation opens a new stage in the management of child abuse by the Spanish Church.
"Omella pointed out that "the objective of this audit is the reparation of the victims by establishing new channels of collaboration and assistance in addition to those that already exist and, secondly, to create a bridge that facilitates the work of the authorities by establishing a close and efficient channel of collaboration, regardless of the means with which the authorities are equipped for their investigations".
In the same line Cremades has expressed himself by emphasizing that this investigation commissioned by the Spanish bishops does not come to "supplant the authorities but to complement them and help them to fulfill their function". In fact, Javier Cremades himself has pointed out that, upon receiving this assignment from the EEC, he himself informed the parliamentary Ángel Gabilondo, Ombudsman and one of the members to be included in the commission that the Spanish government wants to form to investigate these cases of abuse but only in the Catholic Church.
A "Spanish" methodology with German influence
For the firm, with more than 25 years of professional experience, this investigation into the abuse of minors in the Spanish Church is "the most complex matter we have faced to date", according to Javier Cremades, partner of the firm.
For the execution of this audit, "the work methods carried out in countries such as France, Germany, Ireland and Australia have been studied". The work carried out in the diocese of Munich by the Munich law firm Westpfahl, Spilker, Wastl offers, in Cremades' opinion, "very interesting references", so that two members of this firm, Ulrich Wastl and Martin Pusch, will be part of this investigation contributing, in monthly meetings, their methodology and points of view.
However, Cremades - Calvo Sotelo will create its own "Spanish model" that incorporates the useful points of those already studied and at the same time corrects the methodological deficiencies that some of these studies may have had.
The audit will also include the work of the offices of the Spanish dioceses that, for more than a year, have been working with and accompanying victims of abuse throughout the country. This work will also be analyzed and improved as required. CONFER will also collaborate in this audit.
In principle, 18 people will take on this audit in a team that is expected to grow and for which lawyers of the stature of Encarnación Roca, former vice-president of the Constitutional Court and member of the Supreme Court, Rafael Fernández Montalvo, emeritus judge of the Supreme Court, Juan Saavedra, former president of Chamber II of the Supreme Court, Vicente Conde Martín de Hijas, also a former judge of the Supreme Court, and Santiago Calvo Sotelo, partner of the firm, among others, are already working for the firm.
Over time, and taking into account the process and needs of the victims and victims' associations, as pointed out by Javier Cremades, the team could be expanded to include people from the fields of "culture, society, psychiatry or psychology".
"We need everyone's input."
The planned duration of the audit, which began its work a few days ago, is set at one year. A reasonable time, according to the jurist "to have a true picture of what happened".
The "necessary amplitude" requested by the Episcopal Conference points to the fact that there will be no time limit for the cases to be investigated, despite their civil statute of limitations.
In this line, Cremades has appealed to society "we need information from everyone", he stressed, "first of all from those affected, the victims, their associations, from the media that have done work in this regard and have lists. Of course, from the offices and the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Ombudsman and the authorities".
The firm has created a specific e-mail address for this matter. [email protected] in order to receive complaints from individuals and associations and to initiate contact with them.
The new stage in the management of abuse in the Spanish Church has begun with this investigation which, as the president of the Episcopal Conference also wanted to point out, will be carried out in parallel to what the Church is already doing in this field and with which, in the words of Bishop Omella, "we want to clarify the facts, to communicate to society what is being done and what we must improve".
Coordination and advisory service for diocesan offices
Likewise, coinciding with the presentation of this research, the new Coordination and Advice Service for Diocesan Offices created by the Spanish Episcopal Conference has been made public. This new service was created with the aim of serving as a support and reference to these offices in their work and will be formed by the psychiatrist Montserrat Lafuente, who already works in the Office of the diocese of Vic; Mª José Diez, responsible for the Office of Astorga; the priest Jesús Rodríguez, member of the Tribunal of the Rota; and Jesús Miguel Zamora, secretary general of CONFER.
Every living organism subject to evolution goes through crises, which are understood as moments of necessary transition in the development process of its own life cycle. Crises are moments of instability, which can generate in people a degree of insecurity and even fear. Every crisis poses challenges in which aspects that need to be changed emerge. If crises were necessarily irreparable failures, there would be no trace of organized life left on earth.
The family, as a network of relationships, also has a vital cycle, in which moments of crisis inevitably occur. Today, many, with a negative and pessimistic vision, live these family crises -normal and necessary- as authentic failures, as irreparable ruptures. They act in their family relationships as they would not act with their property. As if, on detecting a crack in a wall of the house, or on discovering a fault in the electrical connections, or in the heating pipes, they would consider as the only solution to demolish the house and try to build a different one, in another place.
Mariolina Ceriotti affirms that being oneself and, at the same time, "being in relationship" requires flexibility and adaptability. It also requires, on certain occasions, to be able to re-establish the relationship on new bases. A sort of renewed pact between the same people. It is necessary to lose the fear of facing crises, which mark the end of a way of relating, and require finding the way to a new fullness. It is the end of a vital stage and the beginning of another, which must be based on a love and trust given with greater maturity, assuming the limitations and defects of each one. The result is a relationship that is not only stronger, but also renewed.
We live in a complex world, full of tensions. It is therefore not surprising that difficulties and crises are more frequent, and sometimes deeper. It is not easy to get out of these situations alone. It is increasingly necessary - almost essential - to have the support and accompaniment of other people. Ordinarily we experience difficulties, for which extraordinary actions will not be necessary: the example of other family friends, a good advice from our loved ones, or from other people we trust, can be enough. At other times, however, it will be necessary to turn to an expert who can help restore damaged relationships by providing deeper structural support. In any case, it is always worth investing in repairing what can be repaired. In not foolishly giving up something as valuable and irreplaceable as one's own family.
Professor at the Faculty of Law of the International University of Catalonia and director of the Institute for Advanced Family Studies. She directs the Chair on Intergenerational Solidarity in the Family (IsFamily Santander Chair) and the Childcare and Family Policies Chair of the Joaquim Molins Figueras Foundation. She is also Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Law at UIC Barcelona.
The purpose of an institutional communication plan in a brotherhood is not to gain prestige and recognition; that would be the means to be more effective, efficient and effective in its mission: evangelization.
February 21, 2022-Reading time: 3minutes
Since people are sociable by nature, they need others in order to develop their potential, this leads them to join different groups: cultural societies, commercial companies, sports clubs, political parties, neighborhood associations and also brotherhoods.
Organizations are very different, depending on the purpose of each one, but they all have something in common: they need basic management tools, more or less sophisticated depending on their size and the complexity of their purposes: accounting, process management, definition of objectives, attention to their associates, and something that is often forgotten, manage your institutional communication wellThis means taking care of and promoting their image, which is more than just publishing press releases and handling concepts such as positioning, brand image, identification of the target public, communication policy and some others.
It would be convenient to overcome the resistance that is observed in some environments at the time of applying these concepts to the sisterhoods. Living with one's back turned to this reality has a very high cost. There are companies that become engrossed in production and one day, without knowing why, find themselves out of the market. This can also happen in the brotherhoods, which sometimes try to protect them from concepts and models that are not strictly ecclesiastical, or rather clerical, isolating them in a bubble that leads them to lose contact with reality, transforming them into organizations with a lot of past and little future.
The person in charge of a sorority might be surprised, or even uncomfortable, if someone were to ask him or her what is the brand image But if you ask him what is the opinion that is held in the street about the brotherhood sure he would tell us something, although perhaps his opinion does not match the reality.
The brand image is something like the perceptions and feelings that people have towards a certain organization. There are brands that are associated with exclusivity, quality and high price; others are identified with reliability and so on for each product, service or organization. In order to apply these ideas to sisterhoods, we must make some clarifications, at least two fundamental ones: the first is that the purpose of most organizations is to attend to the needs of the market, that of a sisterhood is evangelization; there we deal with clients, here with souls.
Two preliminary questions: everything communicatesis not only the task of specific people at specific times. The organization of the procession, the care of the liturgy or the actions, even private, of those responsible for the brotherhood, among others, are transmitting a model of brotherhood. The second issue is that it is not a matter of planning a series of actions, disjointed, more or less original, but of designing a model of brotherhood. institutional communication plan complete and consistent.
In order to do so, it is necessary to reflect on the character of my brotherhood by sincerely answering a threefold question.
How do I think my sisterhood should be perceived?
Is this how it is perceived?
What should I do to make the two perceptions coincide and reinforce each other?
The image of a brotherhood is not built from scratch, it has been developed over the years, sometimes centuries. There are classic, popular, rigorous, flexible, universal, neighborhood, innovative, sober in its heritage, rich and exuberant. Thus we could combine different characteristics to define the profile that the years and the environment has been giving it, assumed and reinforced by those responsible for it.
There are no good and bad brotherhoods, each one is comparable only with itself according to its evangelizing mission; but it is convenient to identify, fix and implement its image, eliminating the adherences and deformations that have been fixed over time (one thing is that a brotherhood is recognized for its musical importance and another that in the end it is not a brotherhood, but a music band that is placed in front of a procession).
From here, develop an institutional communication policy of the institution and plan the appropriate measures. The purpose of an institutional Communication Plan in a brotherhood is not to gain prestige and recognition, that would be the means to be more effective, efficient and effective in its mission: evangelization.
This poses a challenge to those responsible for it: to dare to be progressive in the literal sense of the term, or in other words, to overcome the loop of managing routine and dare to set new challenges, new horizons.
D. in Business Administration. Director of the Instituto de Investigación Aplicada a la Pyme.
Eldest Brother (2017-2020) of the Brotherhood of the Soledad de San Lorenzo, in Seville.
He has published several books, monographs and articles on brotherhoods.
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"To believe" or "not to believe": what do these personal expressions (these decisions) mean? Professor Antonio Aranda analyzes the motives and factors surrounding or explaining these two different attitudes, particularly in the context of a social and cultural environment with Catholic roots.
Antonio Aranda-February 21, 2022-Reading time: 10minutes
To ask oneself about the reason for personal attitudes which, as in the case we are studying, refer mainly to the freedom and availability of man in the face of the mystery of God and of himself, is to enter into a question of a certain difficulty.
Not only, in fact, is the magnitude of the notions that come into play (God, man, faith, freedom, truth, etc.) unmanageable, but also, since these are acts that belong to the particular sphere of each subject, the objective of giving a general answer is inadequate. The verb creer or its opposite is not properly conjugated in the impersonal form (se cree-no se cree), but in the first person singular (creo-no creo), or in the plural (creemos-no creemos).
This double question (why one believes-why one does not believe), given the reality and transcendence of the human phenomenon it contains, has been studied in its fundamental anthropological meaning, since in all times and in all places there have been, and there are, men who have believed or have not believed. Analyzing the tendency to believe that beats in the human creature as such, as well as that of its opposite, is undoubtedly of great interest.
However, without fundamentally abandoning this terrain, we will approach the question from a different point of view. We will situate ourselves in the here and now of contemporary society, but what we will take into consideration, looking above all at the Western world, is not so much its "postmodern" condition as its nature as a "post-Christian" society, as it is sometimes called, that is to say, religiously and culturally influenced by faith in Jesus Christ and trust in the Church, but now distanced in practice - albeit only partially - from its roots. In this context, when a citizen raised and educated in a social and cultural environment with Catholic roots says "I believe", or "I do not believe", what is he saying and why is he saying it?
Faith, trust and truth
Believing is a personal act and attitude, essentially linked to the rational and relational nature of man. It means to accept the truth of what is made known to me by someone else, in whom I trust. It is not only to know what is transmitted to me, but to accept it as truth, and this because it is communicated to me by someone in whom I have placed my trust. The attitude of faith, insofar as the acceptance of something as true even though it is here and now inevitable, is inseparably linked to the trust that the believer has placed in the one who manifests that truth to him. The knowledge of faith is, above all, as it is usually said, a knowledge of the truth. per testimonium.
Faith in the truth of something and trust in the one who says it are inseparable: if trust in the witness fails, the acceptance of his message as truth vanishes and, consequently, the certainty of the knowledge of faith is broken. As Christians, in particular, we accept with obedience of faith the truth of a doctrine that is communicated to us, or the coherence of a moral behavior that is taught to us, because "before", or simultaneously, we have placed our trust in the witness of the Church, in which we recognize the authority of Jesus Christ, in whom we believe and trust as God and Savior.
In the current crisis of faith - or rather of the life of faith, since it is the external actions that we can observe - in people and populations of ancient Christian tradition, various situations can be detected, which we will describe briefly until we reach the last one, on which we will dwell.
a) Sometimes, for example, there is a weakening of the acceptance of the doctrine and the model of life taught by the Church, and a distancing from the Church itself, because of a previous deterioration of trust, perhaps due to the lack of exemplarity of some of her representatives. But this, although not a minor issue, is not the main reason for the widespread crisis of faith.
b) In a second example, the distancing from the faith could be revealing a morally deficient disposition that does not want to be corrected, and that induces to deny the assent to a doctrine that would oblige to rectify the behavior. When that happens, when a believer does not want to accept a personal commitment to the truth in which he believes, he may end up refusing to be so. A wounded heart is capable, in effect, of silencing the voice of conscience and attenuating the natural tendency of the intelligence to rest in the truth.
c) As a concretization of the previous case, it could also happen that the deterioration of trust no longer refers to the Church as a witness to Christ, but rather to oneself as unworthy of God's trust. One who, by reason of his moral behavior, does not consider himself susceptible to receive divine mercy - which means wrongly distrusting it - can also end up putting his faith in quarantine. This disposition, like the previous one, can only be overcome, as the parable of the prodigal son teaches, by a movement of conversion towards the paternal mercy of God. And in both cases this conversion is achievable, because in these subjects there is a personal sense of guilt, even if they are reluctant to admit it.
d) But, in addition to these modes of behavior, which derive more towards not practicing faith or not wanting to accept it for moral reasons than towards non-belief in the strict sense, we can also observe in contemporary society an attitude contrary to faith, which is widespread and has objectively more serious consequences. It consists, in essence, in denying with theoretical arguments the very existence of any objective truth, and in rejecting any authority that claims to transmit it. The prolonged hegemony of this intellectual position, which has led to relativism and the culture of indifference prevailing in the Western world, is causally present in the current non-belief of many. If in the previous cases we alluded to a relatively feasible conversion, in this one, on the contrary, it is necessary to underline the difficulty, since the denial of all objective truth entails the rejection of the objectivity of guilt, and without consciousness of guilt there can be no conversion.
Relativism and unbelief
To know and embrace the truth is the great capacity and, at the same time, the great temptation of man, for he can also freely not embrace it. This capacity is inscribed - focusing the question from the light of faith - in the fact that man is a creature in the image of God. In God himself, the Truth known (the Word) is always Truth loved; moreover, Love in God is Love of Truth. Having placed his image in us, he has made us capable of freely loving the truth, but also of rejecting it. In this sense, when one denies the existence of truth as such and consequently rejects the natural tendency of human intelligence towards it, its quality as the foundation of personal freedom, etc., ... one is also denying at the root the condition of man as the image of God.
The great contemporary conflicts and challenges - also that of believing or not believing, which we are considering here - are in fact being debated in an essentially anthropological scenario, in which different conceptions are confronted. It is important, therefore, to refer, without departing from our theme, to what basically distinguishes the believing (Christian) understanding of man from that which is widespread in postmodern, relativistic and indifferent society. As we have just mentioned, the revealed root of man's greatness and dignity is his having been created in the image of God and made capable of becoming, through grace, a child of God. From this perspective, natural knowledge and the knowledge of faith enjoy, in the unity of the subject, an intimate coherence and continuity. Christian thought, in different cultural contexts but permanently throughout its history, has been able to show and defend this intimate relationship between faith and reason, while at the same time underlining their qualitative differences and their different epistemological statuses. This has made it possible, for example - although the example is of the utmost importance - to develop a metaphysical knowledge whose speculative vigor is admirable.
The affirmation of the objectivity of being, of the real analogy and ontological difference between the creature and God, and of the capacity to attain objective truth both in the natural order and - through grace - in the supernatural order, are indispensable elements of Christian reasoning. In it, to put it simply, man's reason is measured by objective truth, truth by being and being by the Creator.
At the same time, always within the dynamic of the development of Christian thought, the knowledge of faith is linked by its very nature to testimonial sources that transmit it faithfully and interpret it with authority. It is not that reason remains linked in the exercise of its proper operation to the faith and to the Magisterium that proposes it, but rather that it is the object of this operation (truth) that the Magisterium can show with authority. The reason of the believer says necessary reference to the doctrine of the Church through the mediation of the truth that she proposes. And in the same way, the free moral behavior of the Christian and the personal judgment of conscience must refer to that truth and to that authority, to the degree that the Church manifests it.
These affirmations, which we make so briefly because they are well known doctrines, have nevertheless been subjected to strong criticism and even rejected by a part of philosophical and theological thought for three centuries. As is well known, modern thought - through the introduction of a new notion of reason - established two ruptures with the Christian tradition: the rupture with the objectivity of being and truth, and the rupture of the intimate relationship between faith and reason. Reason is no longer seen as the capacity to know a truth that transcends it, but as a function of a truth that it itself constitutes.
Reasoning is therefore detached from everything external to the subject, and finds its justification in itself. Reason means, then, self-determination and liberation from the normative power of all tradition and authority.
A new way of understanding
We are thus faced not only with a new concept of reason and knowledge, but also, in the long run, and going to the heart of the matter, with a novelty in the way man understands himself, an anthropological conception that moves away from that taught in the Catholic tradition. The consequences of this intellectual dynamic, which postulates the fracture of the unity between faith and reason, have been and are decisive in our question.
In matters of morality, for example, such a breakdown translates into sustaining the total separation between an ethics of faith (not organically related to reason) and a rational ethics (which finds its validation in the autonomy of practical reason). And it will end up presenting the doctrine of the Church in moral matters as contrary to the dignity of man and his freedom. And, similarly, by rejecting the objective foundation of truth and reducing it to pure subjectivity, any reference of conscience to a moral norm external to the subject will be challenged as unworthy of man, as pure legalistic formalism and as the destruction of authentic morality.
It should come as no surprise, therefore, that the evangelical phrase: "the truth shall set you free" be replaced by the opposite: "freedom will make you true".. This reversal sets the premises for seriously harmful moral consequences.
In fact, the doctrine of faith and the moral praxis transmitted by the Church in these matters seem to have lost plausibility in the structure of thought of the modern world, and are presented and considered by many of our contemporaries as something that has already been superseded by time. But, while this is serious, it is objectively even more so the fact that these ways of understanding man - which basically pose the alternative between faith and opposition to faith, between believing and not believing - have become commonplace, and find an echo and even acceptance among Christians.
In the culture of relativism and unbelief
As we have been pointing out, behind belief and non-belief there is always a certain vision of man (an anthropology) that necessarily leads to a theory of moral behavior (an ethics) congruent with that starting point, and that, as a final consequence, ends up converging in a conception of social, cultural, political life, etc. (a sense of the way society is made). For this reason, in the disaffection of many of the baptized with respect to the doctrine and the meaning of life transmitted by the Church - and with respect to the Church herself - or, in other words, behind the reason for the distancing and even the theoretical or practical non-belief of so many, it is necessary to discover the weakening in them - through ignorance, through lack of formation - of the Christian sense of the person, under the dominant influence of other anthropological conceptions and, in particular, of the relativism that pervades society and the media.
It is no easy task to present an orderly synthesis of what this obscuring of the Christian vision of the person is representing in the real life of believers, and even less to indicate particular solutions to the problems it poses. However, because of their importance, we mention, by way of example only, two areas in which the weakening of the Christian sense of man is contributing to fostering among believers moral and social attitudes of unbelief, that is, an underhand shift in practice from believing to non-belief. They are: a) lack of personal commitment to the truth; b) indifference to the crisis provoked against marriage and the family.
a) Knowing the truth and not loving it -which leads to rejecting it- is seriously damaging to the conscience, and inevitably leads to a fracture of the inner unity of the person. This is a serious spiritual illness, suffered today by many citizens born and educated in traditionally Christian societies. Those who behave in this way in matters of faith and morals contrast their generic belonging to the community of believers with an existential attitude of unbelievers. He also easily ends up postulating a "double morality" and admitting a "double truth", which is a step away from pure non-belief. On the contrary, the commitment of the believer to the truth translates into moral attitudes of great personal and social importance, capable of overcoming the current ethical conformism, dominant in almost all countries. We thus leave alluded to, although we do not develop it, the evangelizing transcendence of the Christian's unity of life.
b) In the sphere of marriage and the family - and also in that of primary and secondary education - the first and decisive transmission of the model of a believing life is ordinarily carried out. The proper unfolding of its educative function contains important reasons why people believe, just as, in a similar way, its breakdown nourishes the roots of why people do not believe. In this regard, a few words of Benedict XVI deserve to be highlighted: "There is an obvious correspondence between the crisis of faith and the crisis of marriage." (Homily at the Mass inaugurating the Synod of Bishops, October 8, 2012). Indeed, everything that harms the truth of marriage and the family also harms the transmission of the faith as a religious attitude and as a trusting adherence to certain truths.
When the Christian meaning of marriage and the family is actively combated, as is happening today in a relentless manner, and its image is disfigured before public opinion, its capacity to propagate the basic foundations of the formation of conscience and moral attitudes is also being badly wounded: the filial reference to God and the Church, the importance of sincerity, the duties of fidelity, charity and justice, the sense of sin, the obligation to do good, etc.
It is there, in the assimilation of these basic elements of moral responsibility, transmitted in the family by the most effective way, which is that of love, that the personality of the believer begins to be forged. Hence the urgent need to protect the truth of marriage and the Christian family in order to contribute to the preservation and propagation of the richness of faith, without which the human as such is also lost. The centrality of a reality also outlined by Benedict XVI is thus pointed out, although, as in the previous case, not developed: in the present situation, "marriage is called to be not only the object, but also the subject of the new evangelization". (ibidem).
The authorAntonio Aranda
Professor Emeritus, School of Theology, University of Navarra, Spain
In June 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, and without vaccines, half a thousand activists entered San Francisco's Golden Gate Park and tore down the bronze effigy of the Spanish Franciscan Fray Junipero Serra, evangelizer of California. A symbol of this 'woke' ideology or culture of cancellation that seems to be taking root in several areas.
Rafael Miner-February 20, 2022-Reading time: 7minutes
Translation of the article into English. You can read the German version here.
The toppling of the statue of Friar Junipero was just an emblem of this 'woke' movement, which I would like to describe as anything but cultural. A few weeks ago, Friar Antonio Arevalo Sanchez, OFM, who has a degree in Modern History, showed in the pages of Omnes Junípero (1713-1784), under the motto 'Always forward, never backward', "dedicated his intelligence and energy to instill human dignity in the natives of Querétaro and the two Californias, through evangelical doctrine, civilizing progress and the exemplary life of patience, humility, poverty and enormous sacrifices that consumed his body".
He also recalled that Fray Junipero Serra is the only Spaniard with a statue in Washington's Capitol, and that it was Pope Francis who canonized the illustrious Spanish friar on September 23, 2015.
Among other authors, Omnes contributor Javier Segura referred to Fray Junípero in his article 'Cultura 'woke' en el aula'. "We all remember the demolition of statues of famous people in our history such as Fray Junipero Serra or Christopher Columbus. We are witnesses to the revision of History that some social movements want to make, presumably linked to a struggle for social justice of certain groups."
And Javier Segura added: "The same pressure scheme is joined by other groups (LGTBI, radical feminism, pantheistic environmentalism, animalists, etc.) that want to promote and ultimately impose their vision of reality". The expert then alluded to one of the rare but very clear occasions in which Pope Francis has referred to this 'woke' ideology.
Alert to single thinking
It was in the usual Speech before the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the See, just one month ago, last January 10. The Holy Father said: "Frequently, the focus of interest (of many international organizations) has shifted to issues that by their nature are divisive and not closely related to the purpose of the organization, resulting in agendas increasingly dictated by a thinking that denies the natural foundations of humanity and the cultural roots that constitute the identity of many peoples".
The Pope then pointed to the "single thought" that leads to a culture of cancellation. "As I have had occasion to state on other occasions, I consider this to be a form of ideological colonization, which leaves no room for freedom of expression and which today increasingly assumes the form of that 'culture of cancellation,' which pervades many public spheres and institutions. In the name of the protection of diversitiesthe meaning of each of our products is erased. identityThe risk is to silence the positions that defend a respectful and balanced idea of the different sensitivities".
In the Pope's opinion, "a single thought is being elaborated - a dangerous one - forced to deny history or, worse, to rewrite it on the basis of contemporary categories, while every historical situation must be interpreted according to the hermeneutics of the time, not according to the hermeneutics of today".
At the drop of a hat, we could bring up here the withdrawal by the HBO Max platform, in 2020, of the movie 'Gone with the Wind', accused of giving pabulum to slavery in a Los Angeles Times column.
Or to give just another example, let us cite a young professor of Classics at Princeton (United States), Dan-el Padilla Peralta, who called against the study of Greek and Latin authors for encouraging racism, as evoked by the French philosopher Rémi Brague at the opening of the Congress of Catholics and Public Life at the CEU, as he recalled Omnes.
Salvation History
This movement or 'woke' ideology has been widely referred to by various personalities, within the framework of the aforementioned Congress, and subsequently. With them and with some other authors, I only intend to underline in these lines three aspects derived from this ideology, applicable to the present in the way each one prefers.
"Whatever we call these movements - "social justice," "woke culture," "identity politics," "intersectionality," "successor ideology" - they claim to offer what religion provides. Moreover, like Christianity, these new movements tell their own 'salvation story,'" warned Archbishop Jose Gomez, archbishop of Los Angeles and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, via videoconference.
This is the first, nuclear aspect. "Now more than ever, the Church and every Catholic needs to know the Christian story, and to proclaim it in all its beauty and in all its truth, because today, there is another story going around. An antagonistic narrative of 'salvation' that we hear in the media and in our institutions, coming from the new social justice movements," he added.
What we might call the history of the "woke" movement, the Archbishop of Los Angeles continued, goes something like this: "We cannot know where we come from, but we are aware that we have common interests with those who share our skin color or our position in society. The cause of our unhappiness is that we are victims of oppression by other groups in society. And we achieve liberation and redemption through our constant struggle against our oppressors, waging a battle for political and cultural power, in the name of creating an equitable society."
A language that, as the archbishop himself warned, sounds like a class struggle antagonism, "a Marxist cultural vision", similar to the way gender ideology confronts men and women in a thousand ways, in another antagonism present in our days.
Christian beliefs
Monsignor José Gómez also referred to a second issue that the Pope warned about in his address to the diplomats. It is about the patrimony of the faith and the sacraments, in relation to the nature of marriage and the family, or to the educational postulates of Christian roots, which some also wish to "cancel".
"In the program you set for this Congress, you allude to the "culture of cancellation" and being "politically correct." And we realize that often what is cancelled and corrected are perspectives that are rooted in Christian beliefs about life and the human person, about marriage, the family and much more," the U.S. prelate added.
"In your society and mine, "the 'space' that the Church and believing Christians can occupy is shrinking. Church institutions and Christian-owned businesses are increasingly challenged and harassed. So are Christians working in education, health care, government and other sectors."
Boycott, stigmatization
As seen at the beginning, there were moments when Pope Francis referred to these issues in his remarks to the Diplomatic Corps. For example, when he alluded to "agendas increasingly dictated by a thinking that denies the natural foundations of humanity and the cultural roots that constitute the identity of many peoples." Or when he clearly pointed out that "we must never forget that there are some permanent values. It is not always easy to recognize them, but accepting them gives solidity and stability to a social ethic. Even when we have recognized and assumed them thanks to dialogue and consensus, we see that these basic values are beyond any consensus". I wish to emphasize in particular," he added, "the right to life, from conception to its natural end, and the right to religious freedom.
We can recall here a few stories of boycotts and of stimagtization in the United States. For example, if Jeff Bezos and his wife donated 2.5 million to a campaign to legalize gay marriage in Washington State, "it was a sign of their progressive liberality and no one would argue to do so".
But when Dan Canthy, owner of the Chick.fil-A restaurant chain, declared in an interview that "the company supported the traditional family and also happened to have donated to organizations opposed to same-sex marriage, gay activist groups called for a boycott of his restaurants, and mayors of major cities were quick to say that the chain would not be well received in their communities". Ignacio Aréchaga recounts this in his article 'La cultura del boicot' (Aceprensa), who comments: "It is curious that in a country where making money has never been frowned upon, the freedom to donate it to the cause of one's choice is questioned".
Clarity
In a couple of weekends, Omnes has published in this same portal two interviews that have not left indifferent, by the echo aroused. One with the medievalist professor Manuel Alejandro Rodriguez de la Peña (CEU), in which he pointed out in no uncertain terms that "the woke movement and the culture of cancellation can only degenerate into a censorious, inquisitorial movement that prevents freedom of expression and denies compassion".
In the same line, in the middle of last month, the campaigns of Canceledpromoted by the Catholic Association of Propagandists (ACdP), in order to "give a voice to normal people who have been cancelled for saying things with common sense and making this world a more livable place," they say. Right now, they have on the portal "Dr. Jesús Poveda, one of the main promoters of the pro-life movement in Spain, who has been arrested more than 20 times for his sit-ins and rescue operations," explains their website.
The other interview has been conducted with Professor José María Torralba (University of Navarra), in the context of the presentation of the Master's Degree in Christianity and Contemporary Culture being launched by the academic center. José María Torralba, director of the university's Core Curriculum Institute, alluded to the alleged crisis in the humanities, but pointed out that "there are reasons for hope". The Master's also aims to become "a platform, a forum, to participate in the cultural and intellectual debates that are currently taking place in our country, and to be a way of being more present in Madrid. We intend to create a forum for dialogue and meeting for anyone who wants to come".
Undoubtedly, there are many more universities and media spotlights that we will continue to report on, as Omnes has done so far.
No hostility
The question we can now ask ourselves is the extent of this battle in the face of the 'woke' ideology, and others like it. This would be a third and final question.
Mario Iceta, Archbishop of Burgos, in the same session in which the Archbishop of Los Angeles spoke. "At a time when there is talk of post-truth, with an interpretation of the world linked to ideologies, in which real truth is confused with certainty or opinion, we Christians must have hope in Christ and in the Gospel, because they are capable of dialoguing with all cultures and thoughts." he stressed.
Finally, he asked: "What then is our attitude? We Christians are called not to confrontation or hostility, but to goodness and beauty. A proposal certainly, of proposal, of encounter, of enlightenment. Our proposal is to show the good, it is the fullness. That is our way".
As Pope Francis has reminded us almost to exhaustion, the way is "dialogue and fraternity". And that is complicated when others are perceived as people to be beaten down in any way. A climate of respect and tolerance must prevail.
In this dilemma that sometimes arises "between forgiving or condemning", Rémi Brague has gone so far as to say that "condemnation is a satanic stance. Satanism can be relatively gentle, and all the more efficient. According to Satan, everything that exists is guilty and must disappear. These are the words that Goethe puts in the mouth of his Mephistopheles (Alles was entsteht, / Ist wert, daß es zugrunde geht)."
Pope Francis concluded his address to diplomats last month: "We must not be afraid to make room for peace in our lives, cultivating dialogue and fraternity among ourselves. Peace is a 'contagious' good, which spreads from the hearts of those who desire it and aspire to live it, reaching out to the whole world."
Silvia LibradaSociety is aging and will need more care".
A third of people over the age of 65 and almost half of those over the age of 80 in Spain have some form of disability, bringing the number of recognized dependents to 1.4 million. Silvia Librada, director of the New Health Foundation's 'Todos Contigo' program, told Omnes: "Society is aging and we need to get involved in caring for it.
Rafael Miner-February 19, 2022-Reading time: 9minutes
The social panorama that lies ahead is complicated, and "very scary," says Silvia Librada. According to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) report on 'Aging and Health', by 2050, almost 22 % of the world's population will be 60 or older, and people over 80 will triple to almost 450 million.
In Spain, the data point in the same direction. Our country had 18.7 million households in 2020, and an average of 2.5 people per household, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE). 32 % of people over 65 years of age and 47.4 % of those over 80 years of age have some form of disability. The most frequent is difficulty in moving around outside the home, followed by disability in performing household chores.
The dependency rate - the ratio between the dependent population, under 16 years of age or over 64 years of age, and the working-age population, from 16 to 64 years of age - stood at 54.4 % in 2020, and forecasts point to a progressive increase: 60 % within a decade and 83.7 % by 2050, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE).
"The message is that society is aging, with more and more chronic disease, our life expectancy is getting much longer, life expectancy is going to increase to 86 years in men, and 90 years in women." In addition, "we will live longer, with more chronic disease, which will lead to higher rates of disability and dependency. And this is what causes a greater burden of care," says Silvia Librada, born in Mérida, who has been living in Seville for 12 years. This Extremaduran woman is director of the 'Todos Contigo' program in the New Health Foundationas part of its project 'Sevilla Contigo. Compassionate City' project.
All with you' is a audiovisual series aimed primarily at non-professional caregivers and family members in charge of people with chronic or advanced disease, explains the biologist director. These are eight short training videos on 'Care in Advanced Illness' promoted by this non-profit organization, in collaboration with the La Caixa Foundation, Cajasol Foundation and the Andalusian Regional Government, as part of the training areas aimed at caregivers and family members.
We talked with Silvia Librada, master in management tools and health research, which relates to her work on compassionate communities at the end of life, which she has developed in her doctoral thesis. This woman has been with the New Health Foundation since it was founded in 2013, and has been working in palliative care for 18 years.
About to become a doctor.
- In two weeks. I submit the thesis on March 4. It is already deposited. The only thing left is the defense before the examining board. Soon I will be a doctor in Health Sciences. It was one of the objectives and one of the dreams I had to fulfill at the academic level.
The data provided above are frightening.
- In addition to the fact that, besides needing more care, we are a society that is increasingly lonely. Loneliness is present. Almost 5 million people live alone in Spain. Loneliness, chronic, complex, increasingly advanced disease, means that there are more people who require such care. Everything converges in the fact that we are going to need care, and in many cases we have no one to provide it.
New Health Foundation vindicates the role of non-professional caregivers, who number in the millions in Spain.
- The central motif of these eight recordings, didactic videos, is 'How to care and how to care for oneself'. The idea arises in response to the need to offer basic training material that can be easily understood and implemented by caregivers at home, in the usual spaces of every home where there is a person with dependency.
In addition, it aims to be a useful tool to improve the quality of life of people affected by advanced disease and their non-professional caregivers, through training.
It is online training, and free of charge.
- Yes. The didactic material has been designed to continue with the distance training of caregivers within the program 'Sevilla Contigo. Compassionate City' program, adapting to the situation we are living in due to the pandemic and the resulting distancing measures. These circumstances do not advise the realization of face-to-face workshops for caregivers in order to avoid possible contagions.
They have published a booklet with tips and exercises for taking care of yourself while you take care of yourself. Care takes a lot of wear and tear.
- It is a compilation of recommendations and 'Self-care' exercises for caregivers and relatives of people who are in a situation of advanced illness and at the end of life. The objective is to create a physical and material space for caregivers to reflect, where they can express their feelings, draw, organize their care, and "take care of themselves with the 5 senses".
The idea for this Notebook for Caregivers came to me during the pandemic. I was writing at home as a life book for two years. I was scared, as we all were, and it was very useful for me, to make a notebook of gratitude, to tell what was happening on an emotional level, etc. In the end it was self-care... I was alone, I lived alone, and caregivers can reflect on their vital moment, during the act of caring. We have all cared at some point in our lives, we are going to be cared for... To see what we are and how we can help others.
How many people can benefit from your actions?
- Currently, the 'Todos Contigo' program is being developed to meet community objectives in the San Pablo-Santa Justa district and in the Macarena district of Seville, and reaches around 100,000 Sevillians who can benefit from this method whose progress has managed, over this period of time, to improve the quality of life of both the people facing illnesses and their families.
There will be people who need palliative care.
- We have two lines. One whereby we want to raise awareness not only among the population of Seville, but among the entire population, about the importance of caring and accompanying, so that they learn and become empowered in the act of caring. Then, in a direct way, we work with palliative care teams, with health professionals, city council professionals, directly in the care of people who are just in a process of end of life.
You started working in palliative care 18 years ago, practically your entire working life.
- I started working in palliative care, in research, at the age of 23, where I was able to enter, and there I got to know this profession, the professionals who were dedicated to it. And it was love at first sight. In love with the profession and what all the professionals do, my place has always been to help in innovation, research and development in palliative care. That is my job.
In the end, the idea is part of a project to create communities involved in care, and to create a society involved in the values of care. A message that involves citizens in the first place, and all organizations, public, private, that begin to connect and try to help with all the services that make all these needs.
We always try to promote a network of agents, institutions, organizations, professionals, citizens, volunteers..., volunteering is very important. So that everyone is involved in these values of caring, so that we wake up once and for all to this situation. We keep talking about the epidemic of loneliness that we have before us, society is getting older, more and more, but it seems that we have not woken up to the situation that we have before us, which is very scary.
What more could be done to care for people who are not currently receiving palliative care?
- Every 10 minutes a person suffers a death in Spain. The latest data from the Secpalwhich we helped to develop, highlighted the fact that in Spain we need to double the resources available for palliative care in order to reach the population.
And it is not so much a question of duplicating resources, but of trying to identify where these people are, because palliative care is still not available today. And I believe that this is due to a lack of identification, and because it is also necessary for the rest of the professionals, in primary care, in specialized care, or in any other organization, to see that they have a person in front of them who should require palliative care. Because we are still late, we are still arriving in the last days, training is very important because we need to talk about all this at universities...
I am doing a compassionate university project, which tries to include the themes of care, compassion, community, in the university. I do interviews, I do surveys with medical, nursing and psychology students. And I would tell you that in 30 percent, there are 7 out of 10 students who do not talk about death, in a faculty of Nursing, Medicine and Psychology.
The reality of death is almost absent in the university.
- And if the university does not address death, it means that we are turning our backs on a reality that occupies one hundred percent of the world's population, it is the most important prevalence we have, one hundred percent of us are going to die. And you still haven't solved that.
The training, the creation of specific resources in palliative care, all of that has to be built. I have been working in this field for 18 years, and I remember a big push in palliative care 18 years ago, maybe 20 years ago. Palliative care has been in Spain for 40 years. Eighteen years ago I saw a lot of resources available, but they have remained stagnant, those that exist are what they were 20 years ago, and I say: they have not created more..., and some have been eliminated.
It is not difficult to guess that he would agree that there should be a law to promote palliative care in Spain.
- In all this time I have known many bills, and they do not come out. Let's see. It is the right of every citizen to be treated well until the end of life. If we have that right, we should be given that benefit from a service. And if it is a public service in Spain, then it should be a public service. And we are not guaranteed this benefit for palliative care.
There are national palliative care strategies that have been put in place. There are some resources, but I do not know if it is guaranteed in rural areas, in other areas, in which they are providing you with a service just like a trauma service, cardiology, etc. Some time ago these strategies and action plans were there, but they have come to a standstill.
Compassionate cities
Will there be more compassionate cities in Spain? New Health focuses on Seville?
- The development of compassionate cities began to have an important impulse six years ago, when we started the project in Seville, which is like our demonstration project. But from the Foundation we have a process, a method, by which we help organizations to also create compassionate communities.
In Spain there are cities like Badajoz contigo, which is now promoting the Cuidándonos association. Rafael Mota, who is a doctor from Badajoz [former president of Secpal], is also promoting it, and they are called like us, Badajoz with you, we have Pamplona with you, with the order of San Juan de Dios, Bidasoa with you, the Basque Country also works with us, in Galicia also...
There are several cities in Spain that are beginning to work in the methods we use, but then other initiatives have emerged online, such as the development of communities and cities that care: there are in Vitoria, in Vic ..., are other cities that are in the same line of creating communities that care.
Its website states that there are 'compassionate cities' in Colombia...
- An important movement has begun to emerge to raise awareness in society. We also have cities in Colombia, in six cities that are working with us, such as Bogotá, Santa Marta, Ibagué, Villavicencio, Manizales, Cartagena, where I have been a few times. It is a very nice thing. It is an expansion that hopefully will be extended, and will involve the entities that promote them, and a whole network of agents.
This is leading to more and more knowledge about palliative care, which I think is the most important thing. If I have a good knowledge of palliative care, society will be very strong in saying: hey, sir, why don't you refer me to a palliative care program.
May it be the person himself who says: oh, oh, the treatments are not working, could it be that I am going to die? That we ourselves can say: please, can you provide me with a team to relieve my pain, to alleviate my emotional suffering, and to help my family through this transition? And if we say that in a simple and clear way, talking about death without any taboo, I believe that society will come to push more and more the way to approach this. Then there is another society that turns its back on death, that tries to almost hide it.
To hide it, or to provoke it...
- I would like to emphasize the value of palliative care, which I am passionate about. We were recently invited by the World Health Organization (WHO) to talk about the 'Sevilla Contigo' project, as an example of an innovation project, with Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the WHO. One of the political leaders of the World Association for Palliative Care came to the Foundation. I told her: my politics, my religion and my love are palliative care. She laughed. I believe in palliative care, it is like a creed, and it includes everything.
We conclude the conversation with Silvia Librada. I would like to add that there are 'compassionate cities' not only in Colombia, but also in Argentina and Chile. And that the trustees include a prestigious palliativist, Dr. Álvaro Gándara del Castillo, coordinator of the Palliative Care Unit at the Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital (Madrid), and former president of Secpal.
Pope sends telegram for Galician trawler sinking in Newfoundland
The Holy Father has sent his condolences to the Archbishop of Santiago on the occasion of the death of the fishermen aboard the Galician fishing boat Villa de Pitanxo, wrecked off the island of Newfoundland.
Pope Francis has sent a telegram of condolences for the victims of the shipwreck of the Spanish fishing boat Villa de Pitanxo, which occurred last Tuesday off the Canadian island of Newfoundland, sent - on behalf of the Holy Father - by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin to the Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, H.E. Msgr. Julián Barrio Barrio.
The telegram reads as follows:
"Upon hearing the sad news of the shipwreck of the fishing boat Villa de Pitanxo, which occurred on February 15, off the coast of Canada, and in which several people lost their lives, the Holy Father expresses his heartfelt condolences, as well as his solidarity, in these moments of sorrow.
His Holiness Francis raises to God his prayers for the eternal repose of the victims and also expresses his closeness to the families who mourn their loved ones. He also commends to the mercy of the Lord and to the maternal care of the Mother of God those affected by this mishap, while imparting the Apostolic Blessing, as a pledge of the constant help of the Most High and a sign of sure hope in the Resurrection".
María Hilda, witness of St. Oscar Romero and Rutilio Grande: "We cannot keep silent about what we have seen".
Interview with María Hilda, a Salvadoran living in Los Angeles, who has first-hand knowledge of the work of Saint Oscar Romero and the recent Blessed Rutilio Grande.
Pope Francis in his teachings frequently reminds us that the primary vocation of all the baptized is holiness. The pontiff goes further when he affirms that even without realizing it, we live with "the saints next door": parents, men and women who work to bring home the bread, the sick, the religious; ordinary people who with their work, in the ordinary things of life, in their own states of life strive to give glory to God with their lives.
It is about "the holiness of the Church militant. That is the holiness of the next door, of those who live close to us and are a reflection of God's presence" (Gaudete et Exultate, 7). Indeed, we live with many of these saints next door. However, there are few who can say with certainty that they lived and lived with canonized saints and blessed. One such person is Maria Hilda Flamenco de Gonzalez, born in El Salvador and living with her family in Los Angeles, California, for the past 19 years.
Maria Hilda, "Mama Hilda" as she is affectionately called, was born and lived in Aguilares, where she met Rutilio Grande in 1972 and later St. Oscar Arnulfo Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador in 1977. Years later Divine Providence allowed Maria Hilda to be present at the canonization of her Archbishop Oscar Romero in 2018 and then at the beatification of her parish priest Rutilio Grande in January 2022.
After visiting El Salvador to attend the beatification of Father Rutilio Grande in January 2022, Maria Hilda grants Omnes an exclusive interview from Los Angeles, California.
Maria Hilda, what was the area where the parish of Blessed Rutilio Grande was located like?
-My homeland is Aguilares, Department of San Salvador, a region dedicated to commerce because it is surrounded by four sugar mills. At that time there were a few landowners and most of the population was dedicated to planting sugar cane, growing corn, cotton, sugar processing and transportation. Despite the long and arduous workdays, the vast majority of the population lived in extreme poverty.
How and why did you meet Father Rutilio?
-We were parishioners of the parish of Aguilares, where Father Rutilio Grande was. That is why we had the joy of knowing him closely. From the beginning we could see in his work, his dedication to the mission and to the formation of base communities. Usually every month, we brought to the parish "the first fruits" which means to provide the parish house with the necessary provisions. That is how we got to know Father Rutilio better. From the beginning we were struck by his simplicity, his humility, his social sensitivity and his poverty. He and his companions preferred to help people rather than keep even the most necessary things for themselves.
Rutilio's pastoral mission took place in a difficult situation, both because of the poverty of the area and the austere conditions of the parish house and the social and political conflict of El Salvador in the 1970s.
-The poverty of the region awakened in Father Rutilio the desire to help the people and protect them, announcing to them the good news of the Gospel and making them feel that we are all equal in the eyes of God. Living in an area of extreme poverty, he himself lived with only the bare necessities. Once when we went to the parish house, we noticed that instead of armchairs they had pieces of wood to sit on and instead of bookcases, tin cans with boards for their books. Their kitchen lacked a lot of utensils. My mother, a detail-oriented and very observant person, told my father that the wood stove was not enough and that she was going to bring him a gas stove.
Some time later we were able to install it and leave it in service for the parish. However, another time we went there, my mother was surprised to find that the stove was gone. It had disappeared. My mother asked Father Rutilio, "What happened to the stove?" He replied, "Don't worry Paulita because that stove is in the hands of other families who need it more than we do. But I have something for you." And he gave her this letter (See image). That letter for us means a valuable relic that not only contains a manuscript of "Father Tilo", but also details that express the friendship between him and our family.
What was Father Tilo's trademark?
-His love for the Eucharist. At Mass he often told us: "Let us all go to the Banquet of the Lord, to which we are all invited, each one with his own Mission". Another of his characteristics was his joy. He joked a lot and knew how to use that as an instrument of evangelization. He knew that many members of the community did not know how to read or write and so he had to evangelize them by means of songs with the word of God. And with joy.
Saint Oscar Arnulfo Romero
As I said at the beginning, Providence chose you to live and live among saints, Blessed Rutilio Grande, but also St. Oscar Romero. How did you meet St. Oscar Romero?
-We knew Monsignor Romero from a Cursillo de Cristiandad made in Santiago de Maria when he was already Archbishop. We stayed close to him, from the funeral of Father Rutilio Grande and then in the Ultreyas of the Cursillos, which he attended.
In the 1970s, El Salvador was experiencing a social and political crisis and an armed conflict between 1979 and 1992. The number of victims is estimated at more than 70,000 dead and 15,000 disappeared. How did Saint Oscar Romero react to this dramatic situation?
-St. Oscar Romero was secretary of the Episcopal Conference of El Salvador, then bishop of San Miguel -the eastern region of our country- and finally Archbishop of San Salvador in 1977.
St. Oscar Romero saw first hand the armed conflict and the persecution of the church, which had begun with the expulsion of foreign priests and then with the assassination of catechists and priests, among them his great friend Father Rutilio Grande.
How did Father Rutilio influence Oscar Romero's life?
-Oscar Romero and Rutilio Grande were an inseparable pair. It is impossible to speak of one without being able to speak of the other; this because of their friendship, because of the closeness and trust they had since they met at the San José de la Montaña Seminary, where Father Rutilio was the teacher of the seminarians. It was the martyrdom of his great friend Father Rutilio -of which we were witnesses and participants in the funeral- what made Monsignor Romero reorient the line of pastoral work. From that homily on the night of March 12, 1977, the day they martyred his great friend, the prophetic influence that the Holy Spirit poured on Romero was noticeable. From that moment on he declared himself to be the defender of the poor, the voice of the voiceless.
Were you at the funeral of Father Rutilio and also at the funeral of Monsignor Romero?
-It was no coincidence that we were also able to participate in the funeral mass of Monsignor Romero in the Cathedral, where we ran the risk of suffocating to death. Due to the number of people the mass was offered outside the cathedral, with the altar located at the entrance. Everything was going well until halfway through the ceremony, when a group of snipers began to open fire on the crowd.
People began to run to take refuge inside the cathedral, which very quickly filled up to the point that it was almost impossible to breathe inside. More than 30 people died in that funeral. In that context and among the chaos and stampede was where we picked up the microphone that Romero used in his homilies and that day was in the funeral mass.
Do you still have that microphone?
-Yes. That microphone (See image) we keep and take care of it since that day to evangelize and make known the testimony of the life of a defender of the poor, prophet, pastor and martyr. We presented that microphone at the Mass of thanksgiving for his canonization in Rome in October 2018. And I also brought it to show Pope Francis. The microphone reminds us of what Romero told us so much: "If one day they kill me and turn off my voice, remember that you are God's microphones". This has been our motto and work guide for four decades.
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Maria Hilda has since dedicated herself to Evangelization in the media in the United States. She has hosted Catholic television and radio programs for several years. Now, using new technologies, she continues her mission through podcasts and YouTube where she organizes prayer groups and interviews with preachers, religious, priests and of course, with the saints of ordinary life. One of her most recent projects is the evangelization of the little ones, an apostolate she discovered while living closely, as a grandmother, with her six grandchildren. Her husband Guillermo and her three children work with her in the creation of these children's books to initiate the little ones to discover the faith.
Leopoldo Panero (1909-1962). The everyday and the transcendent
Leopoldo Panero, a poet inspired by depth and cordiality, emerges in recent times with the same fervor as in the forties and fifties of the last century, when his lyrical work revealed the human quality of a poet who wrote poetry attentive to daily life and the most universal realities.
His collection of poems has always been mentioned in connection with the figure of Leopoldo Panero. Written at every momentThe most extensive of all and the one that has deserved more attention and recognition, thanks to which his other books of verses have gained some interest from readers and scholars of his lyrical work. But within Written...a collection of poems -among others, the title poem of the book The empty temple-have been definitive to unravel the poetic thought of the author from Astorga.
He died prematurely at the age of 53, his first poetic production opened the way with a poetry of avant-garde style in which the breath of his personal universe could already be guessed with poems wrapped in the fog, in beautifully vivid skies and in the beauty of the landscape. It was the publication, in 1944, of the long poem The empty roomin the magazine EscorialThis gave him a prestigious name in the poetry of his time, to the point that literary personalities such as Jorge Guillén ended up considering him as the best poet after the civil war. However, this appreciation was not only due to his first poetic delivery but, as we have pointed out before, to Written at every momentwhich, at the time of its publication in 1949, came to close the liveliness of a few splendid collections of poems by other authors of his generation also printed in that decade: Dark News (1944) e Sons of wrath (1944) by Dámaso Alonso and, in parallel, The lighted house (1949), of Luis Rosales, all within the same atmosphere full of unknowns and enchantment, and focused on the mystery of the most elemental realities of human existence, marked in turn by the imprint of Machado, Unamuno, and even by the stoicism of some poets of the XVII century.
Word in time
Written at every momenta unique book, of great expressive rigor, with many poems elaborated prior to The empty roomwas the one that gave him the stature of the great poet that Leopoldo Panero is. In it are intertwined the keys of a temporalist poetry, full of affectivities: his wife, his children, his grandparents, his parents, sisters, friends, neighbors, enemies, Macaria the chestnut seller of the Plaza Mayor in Madrid, the streets of his childhood, various landscapes contemplated and, of course, God, on which Panero projects an intense loving gaze that gives reason that his verses are based on lived experiences, which makes them always taste true. Thus, in the delicate three sonnets that he dedicates to his wife, it is worthwhile to extract the final tercets of Of your deep lightThe beloved is a guarantee of the rejuvenation of both of them towards the future, as Luis Felipe Vivanco points out, because only one of them gets old soon: "...the beloved is the guarantee of the rejuvenation of both of them towards the future, because only one of them gets old soon: "...".With a new destiny and a purer will, / and a clearer truth than the one dreamed of, / you refresh my past in your oblivion / towards a virgin future youth / that sleeps darkly in your gaze.". Along with them, it is worth mentioning other sonnets such as the one he wrote to his sisters, or to his brother Juan -also a poet, who died in a traffic accident in 1937-, or to Dolores, the seamstress of his house, literary pieces of enormous charm that reveal an authentic emotional autobiography of the poet, capable of touching anyone thanks to their humanity and verbal exquisiteness.
Poetry anchored in pain
However, apart from this vital lyric, endearingly kind and domestic, Leopoldo Panero is an existential poet of pain, of the clamorous mystery of pain, where the deaths of his loved ones and the ineluctable evidence of the passing of time converge; he is also a poet of solitude, which he continually turns into prayer, in search of God. In both cases, his poetry is still explicitly religious, or prayerful poetry.
As for the theme of pain, the poem quoted at the beginning of this article is famous The empty temple written in alexandrines and integrated in the Liturgy of the Hours (the first sixteen verses are recited on the vespers of Sunday IV). It contains the poet's own compunction after having been "he who is cold of himself"that is, the proud, the haughty. Again and again he expresses it in different ways, as if in a loop, in a continuous return to personal conversion -in the collection of poems there are more compositions in which he expresses this incessant return to the presence of God, such as the one titled "Thou who walkest in the snow"when he writes: "Now that I lift up my heart, and lift it up / turned to You my love."-At the same time, he discovers the value of grace at work in his soul: "You gave me the grace to live with you.". In this context, the word pain - "The best thing in my life is the pain."he repeats on several occasions as a refrain - seems to refer more to the affliction of love, that is, to repentance, than to any other kind of sorrow. In fact, the author announces: "My pain kneels, like the trunk of a willow, over the water of time, where I come and go."The poem is a constant that prevails throughout the poem and in many others of the poem. Written at every momentThus, Panero feels the need of God to settle his restless and dissatisfied life: "I am the guest of time; I am, Lord, wayfarer / who blurs in the forest and in the shadow stumbles."You can't say it any clearer poetically.
Experience of God
At the same time, pain is the result of the frequent losses that mark his existence and lead him to that disconcerting loneliness or emptiness from which his most personal lyrical creation bursts forth. Loneliness or emptiness, moreover, linked to the experience of God as a being whom he certainly does not know, but which he intuits as essential for the poet to know himself: "Now that the stupor lifts me from the soles of my feet, / and I lift up to Thee my eyes, / Lord, tell me who Thou art, / illuminate who Thou art, / tell me who I am too, / and why the sadness of being a man?".
Already in The empty room wrote in the homonymous poem: "I am alone and I hide in my innocence / God has passed through my life (...) / I am alone, Lord, on the shore / reverberating with pain (...) / I am alone, Lord. I breathe blindly / the virginal scent of Your word. / And I begin to understand my own death; my original anguish, my brackish god."The poet's inner itinerary is to some extent summarized in this thought, which, from his solitude, and from the absence of the most loved ones who occupied his childhood life, he discovers God. As Manuel José Rodríguez stated in his study God in postwar Spanish poetry: "The loneliness that Leopoldo Panero sings is revealed as an essential condition to realize that God is man's destiny, even if he does not understand it and even makes it increasingly incomprehensible"..
Fervent thanksgiving
A loneliness or emptiness that neither springs from sin, but from the bewilderment of having lost original innocence, nor remains infertile because, when the poet assumes his condition of man in complete meekness, he surrenders to God in a fervent thanksgiving: "Lord, I owed you / this song bathed / in gratitude... You could / You always can, always- / take me in a gust / as one uproots a tree / to burn it still green (...), / You did not want to uproot me.". It is the culmination of Panero's poetic, metaphysical and human thought after realizing that, in his passage through life, he has the generous, though incomprehensible, hand of God extended to him; hence his acceptance of his limitations; hence his understanding that all love is the shadow of a living God.
Pope Francis explains the figure of the priest at an important congress in Rome
The Pontiff opened the International Symposium "For a Fundamental Theology of the Priesthood" at the Vatican with a conference in which he referred to his fifty years of priesthood and pointed out the essential elements of the priest.
Nicolás Álvarez de las Asturias-February 17, 2022-Reading time: 2minutes
Pope Francis inaugurated this morning in Rome an important congress on the ministerial priesthood, organized by the Congregation of Bishops, which is being held these days in Rome. The symposium brings together more than 700 experts in the Paul VI Hall, including cardinals, bishops, priests, theologians, lay people and religious from around the world, to reflect on the priestly vocation, the formation of seminarians, priestly celibacy and their spirituality.
In his opening address, the Holy Father, in fact, wanted to start from his more than fifty years of priestly life, finding in them God's passage through his life and the light to illuminate the ultimate meaning of the ordained ministry. In this way, his words move away from any hint of academicism and point out those essential elements that allow the priest to aspire joyfully to holiness, even in the midst of his own weaknesses and the misunderstandings of others. It seems to me that these essential elements pointed out by the Pope can be summarized in three:
At the forefront of the mission
First, "Offshore"(cf. Lk 5:4), as the proper horizon of the priestly mission. In the Pope's mind, priests are not in the rearguard but, together with the rest of the baptized, in the vanguard of the Church's mission. The fear of difficulties is warded off by anchoring themselves in the "wise, living and living Tradition of the Church".
Responding to God's love
Secondly, knowing oneself to be a baptized person called to holiness implies seeking to respond every day to God's love, which always precedes us: "even in the midst of crisis, the Lord does not cease to love and, therefore, to call".
Four "commuter trains
And the third element is enveloped in four "closenesses" that give joy and fruitfulness to his life: God's closeness, which "allows us to confront our life with his"; the closeness of the Bishop, presenting obedience as "the fundamental choice to welcome the one who has been placed before us as a concrete sign of that universal sacrament of salvation which is the Church"; closeness with priests, because "fraternity is deliberately choosing to be saints with others and not in solitude"; and closeness to people, grace before duty and which invites to a lifestyle in the image of Jesus, Good Samaritan.
In short, words that are born from a heart grateful for the gift of the priesthood and from a mind convinced of the importance of both the mission of priests and their need to seriously seek holiness within the Church they serve. A masterly portico for a Congress in which, certainly, we will have the opportunity to hear many things and very good things.
Faced with some voices that defend that the suppression of celibacy would be a solution to cases of abuse, the professor of Spiritual Theology Laurent Touze considers it an erroneous reasoning and defends celibacy that is freely chosen by priests.
AhNow you can enjoy a 20% discount on your subscription to Rome Reports Premiumthe international news agency specializing in the activities of the Pope and the Vatican.
Cardinal Marc OuelletThe real cause of abuse is not celibacy, but lack of self-control and affective imbalance".
In this interview for Omnes, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, affirms that celibacy is not the cause of abuse, but rather the lack of self-control and affective imbalance of some priests. He argues that celibacy is justified in a vision of faith: it is a confession of faith in the divine identity of Christ who calls, and a response to his call of love.
Maria José Atienza / Giovanni Tridente-February 17, 2022-Reading time: 4minutes
On Thursday, February 17, a Symposium on the baptismal vocation will begin at the Vatican, entitled For a fundamental theology of the priesthood. The inaugural lecture was entrusted to Pope Francis, who reflected on the Faith and priesthood in our times. During the course of the meeting, which will continue until Saturday, sacramentality, mission, celibacy, charisms and spirituality will also be discussed.
The initiative was personally owed to Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, who founded in 2020 the Centro di Ricerca e di Antropologia e VocazioniThe Center for Research and Anthropology and Vocations, independent of the Holy See, is based in France.
In this interview with Omnes, Cardinal Ouellet reflects on various aspects of the priesthood and the baptismal vocation, and on other topics that will be addressed during the course of the Symposium in these days.
At the Symposium, you will present the priesthood in a Trinitarian perspective. In contrast, we perceive a more "human" or even "functionalist" conception of the priest. Is this the root of some proposals, as in the German Synodal Way?
-The priesthood refers to man's relationship with God. In Christianity, Christ is the sole mediator of this relationship, which is a covenant of love. The priest sacramentally represents Christ as mediator and can only be understood in this light. We cannot be satisfied with a sociological point of view that considers the distribution of power, nor can we limit ourselves to the perspectives of the media.
A recurring idea is that of female ordination. The opening of lay ministries to women has also been seen as a step towards the diaconate, or perhaps also towards the priesthood. Are the diaconate and/or the female priesthood an open possibility?
-Asking the question in this way reflects a functional male mentality that homologizes women to the male role and neglects their own charismatic dimension. Changes in the Church must go much deeper than an assignment of roles, which keeps women in a subordinate position to men. It is time for theology to reflect on the feminine mystery in itself and in reciprocity with the masculine.
The "fundamental theology of the priesthood," on which the Symposium is based, is part of a theology of the Church. However, is the Church understood today?
-A fundamental theology of the priesthood thinks first of baptism as the first participation in the priesthood of Christ, since baptism communicates to us the grace of his divine filiation, which is the foundation of his priesthood and of our participation in it as members of his Body. The ordained ministry presupposes baptism and consists in a subsequent charism of representation of Christ the Head, placed at the service of the growth of the filial priesthood of the baptized. Therefore, the Church must not be reduced to its hierarchy, since it is above all the community of the baptized around the Mother of God.
The life of the Church is rooted in the Eucharist. The priesthood is born of the Eucharist and lives for the Eucharist, but how can we also foster the Eucharistic identity of all the baptized?
- The Church makes the Eucharist and the Eucharist makes the Church," said Father de Lubac. The Church performs the rite, but it is Christ in the Eucharist who gives life to the Church, which is his Body constituted by baptism. The Eucharistic celebration is a nuptial mystery where the risen Christ gives his Body to the Church, his Bride, and awaits the personal response of love of each baptized person and member of the assembly. We need to re-evangelize the meaning of Sunday.
In what sense do we speak of "vocational culture"?
-The Synod on Youth spoke of a vocational culture in the sense, first of all, of a response to God in all the services that we, the baptized, render to society. Each person receives a particular gift from the Holy Spirit, which is concretized in the choice of a state of life and, therefore, of a specific service to the Church and to society. An ecclesial community should be concerned with awakening and accompanying the particular vocations that normally flourish where there is a vocational awareness of the baptized.
Celibacy and abuse
The child abuse scandal has put priests in the spotlight. With a view to prevention, how can we take care of their formation, especially in the affective area?
-Priests need understanding and solidarity. They are very tested by the current situation of abuses, and they need the community to better live their commitment. This need also concerns the formation of priests, which should not be completely isolated, but should be done in relationship and synergy with families, local communities, consecrated persons and the laity. Priestly friendship has always been a precious resource for maintaining the impetus towards holiness.
Some think that abolishing priestly celibacy would help to stop abuse.
-Some people think that celibacy is the cause of abuse, whereas abuse exists in all situations of education, family life, sporting life, etc. The real cause is not the state of consecrated celibacy but the lack of self-control and affective imbalance. It is certainly necessary to improve the discernment of vocations to the priesthood and to watch over the psycho-affective and moral balance of the candidates.
How can celibacy be explained today?
-Celibacy must be presented from the perspective of faith. Christ called his disciples to leave everything to follow him. He was able to do so by virtue of his divine identity as the eternal Son of the Father who came in the flesh to bring salvation to humanity. To follow him in celibacy is above all a confession of faith in this identity and an act of love in response to his loving call.
Priests have a special task in the mission of the Church. How does the mission, the "sending", define the priesthood?
-The fundamental priesthood is the baptismal consecration that makes us sons and daughters of God. The ordained ministry is at the service of the growth of the baptized through the proclamation of the Word and the gift of the sacraments. The priest thus exercises a spiritual fatherhood that can fill his heart with apostolic joy when lived in a spirit of holiness.
Are there any other aspects of the Symposium that you would like to highlight?
-Yes, indeed. Perhaps the surprise of the Symposium is to see the importance and role of the consecrated life for the communion of the two participations in the one priesthood of Christ, the baptismal priesthood and the ordained ministry.
The "Madonna della Colonna", "Mater Ecclesiae", in the Vatican
When the faithful come to St. Peter's Square to pray the Eucharistic Angelusthe image of the Virgin Mary that presides over this prayer is the Mater Ecclesiaevisible in a mosaic on the façade of the Apostolic Palace.
Kardinal Marc OuelletThe real cause of the abuse is not the zolibat, but rather the Mangel an Selbstbeherrschung and the emotional instability".
In this interview for everyone, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, head of the Bischofskongregation, emphasizes that the Bible is not the cause of the abuse, but rather the source of self-destruction and the emotional instability of a priest. He argues that the Zölibat is part of a vision of the faith: it is an acknowledgement of the faith in the divine identity of Christ, which is the source, and an answer to the call of love.
On Saturday, February 17, a Symposium on the Taufberufung began in the Vatikan under the title "For a Fundamentaltheology of the Priesthood". The opening address was given by Pope Franziskus, who spoke about the faith and the priesthood in our time. In the course of the conference, which lasts until Saturday, there will also be discussions on Sacramentality, Mission, the Bible, Charism and Spirituality.
The initiative is based on Kardinal Marc Ouellet, head of the Bischofskongregation, who has established the Center for Research and Anthropology of Businesses with headquarters in Frankreich by 2020 from the Heiligen Stuhl.
In this interview with everyone, Kardinal Ouellet speaks about various aspects of the Priestertums and the Taufberufung as well as about other topics that will be discussed at the Symposium in these days.
At the Symposium, you will learn about the Priesthood from a Trinitarian perspective. In contrast to this, we see a rather "human" or even "functionalistic" understanding of the Priests. Is this the cause of one of the proposals, as, for example, in the German Synodal Weg?
- The priesthood is based on people's relationship with God. In Christendom, Christus is the only one who is a part of this relationship, who is a gift of God. In the sacrament of Christus, the Priest is the one and only one who can understand Christ in this sense. We cannot be immersed in a social-ecological consciousness, which is the expression of power, and we cannot restrict ourselves to the perspective of the media.
One of the most frequently occurring problems is the female coordination. The opening of the Laienämter für Frauen wurde auch als ein Schritt in Richtung Diakonat oder vielleicht auch in Richtung Priesteramt gesehen. Ist das Diakonat und/oder das Priesteramt für Frauen eine offene Möglichkeit?
- This question shows a functional mentality of the human being as a whole, which enables women to play an important role and thus to recognize their own charismatic dimension. Changes in the Church must be much more like a work experience that puts women in an interdisciplinary position. It is at the time that theology is about the infinite reality in itself and in the interaction with mankind.
The "Fundamentaltheologie des Priestertums", on which the Symposium is based, is part of a theology of the Church. But what is the Church today?
- A fundamental theology of the priesthood is based on the faith as the first part of the first part of the Priesthood of Christ, because the faith transmits to us its own Gnade, which is once again the foundation of its priesthood and our part of the faith as the Glory of its own life. The Holy Spirit sets the stage for the death of Jesus Christ, which will be represented in the service of the Holy Priests of the Holy Spirit in the days of the Holy Mass of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Church should not be reduced to its hierarchy, since it is above all the community of the Holy Apostles for the Mother of God.
The life of the Church is in the Eucharist. The priesthood is born out of the Eucharist and lives for the Eucharist, but how can the eucharistic identity of all those who receive the Eucharist be expressed in the Eucharist?ördert werden?
- The Church makes the Eucharist and the Eucharist makes the Church", says Pater de Lubac. The Church fills the rite, but it is Christus in the Eucharist, the life of the Church, which, through the faith, is the source of life. The Eucharistic celebration is a symbolic event, in which the risen Christus, who is the Lord of the Church, his own heart, is the source and the personal response to the love of all the people and all the members of the community. We must evangelize the significance of the Sonntags.
In what sense do we speak of a "culture of jobs"?
- The youth movement is based on a culture of recreation in the sense of an answer to God in all the services we offer to our society. Every human being receives from the Holy Spirit a special gift, which is connected to the Church and society in the choice of his or her life and thus to a particular service. A community of faith needs to be able to make use of the special benefits to be gained and to benefit from those who normally live there, where there is a benefit under the responsibility.
Zölibat und Missbrauch
The scandal of the child abuse has caused the priests to be repulsed by the scandal. In terms of prevention: How should they be educated, especially in an emotional way?
- Priests need understanding and solidarity. The current abuse situation puts them to the test, and they need the community to be able to better meet their obligations. This need also applies to the priesthood education, which should not be completely isolated, but should be pursued in partnership and collaboration with families, the local communities, the elderly and lay people. The principle of freedom of expression was always a valuable tool to help us to move towards a sense of security.
Manche meinen, dass die Abschaffung des priesterlichen Zölibats dazu beitragen würde, Missbrauch zu verhindern.
- Many people think that the solution is the reason for the abuse, although abuse in all situations of life, in family life, in sporting activities, etc. takes place. The real cause is not the free life, but rather the desire for self-restraint and emotional instability. It is certainly necessary to optimize the pursuit of a real commitment to the priesthood and to ensure the psycho-affective and moral balance of the candidates.
Wie lässt sich der Zölibat heute erklären?
- The Bible must be drawn from the perspective of the faith. Christus rief seine Jünger auf, alles zu verlassen und ihm nachzufolgen. Er konnte dies aufgrund seiner göttlichen Identität als ewiger Sohn des Vaters tun, der im Fleisch kam, um den Menschen das Heil zu bringen. Ihm im Zölibat zu folgen, ist in erster Linie ein Bekenntnis zu dieser Identität und ein Akt der Liebe als Antwort auf seinen liebevollen Ruf.
The priests have a special role in the mission of the Church. How do you define this mission, the "path", the priesthood?
- The main priority is the Taufweihe, which makes us to be the solemn and holy ones. The order is in the service of the growth of the priesthood through the examination of the words and the spending of the sakramente. The Priest thus draws from a spiritual community that can fill his heart with apostolic joy when it becomes part of the Spirit of the Holy Spirit.
There is another aspect of the Symposium, which you should consider.öchten?
- Yes, of course. The overarching goal of the Symposium may well be to recognize the importance and role of the life gained for the community of the two groups in the presence of Christ, the priestly priesthood and the Order.
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Papa Francesco spiega la figura del sacerdote in un importante Congresso a Roma
The pontiff opened the International Symposium "For a fundamental theology of the priesthood" in the Vatican with a conference in which he referred to his fifty years of priesthood and highlighted the essential elements of the priest.
Nicolás Álvarez de las Asturias-February 17, 2022-Reading time: 2minutes
Pope Francis opened this morning in Rome an important congress on ministerial priesthood, organized by the Congregation of the Bishops, which is taking place these days in Rome. The symposium brings together more than 700 experts in the Paul VI Hall, among cardinals, priests, theologians, laymen and religious from all over the world, to discuss the priestly vocation, the formation of seminarians, priestly celibacy and their spirituality.
The Holy Father, in fact, wanted to begin, in his opening speech, with those who have been in his priestly life for over fifty years, searching in them the passage of God through his life and the light to illuminate the ultimate meaning of priestly ordination. In this way, his words are far removed from any apparent touch of formality, indicating the essential elements that allow the priest to aspire with joy to sanctity, even in the midst of his own weaknesses and the incomprehension of others. It seems to me that these essential elements pointed out by the Pope can be summarized in three points:
In prima linea nella missione
In the first place, the "Take the high road" (cf. Lk 5:4), as the very orizzonte of the priestly mission. In the Pope's thinking, priests are not in the background but, together with the rest of the faithful, are at the forefront of the Church's mission. The peace of the difficulties is fought with the anchoring to the "wisdom of the living and present Tradition of the Church".
Corrispondere all'amore di Dio
Secondly, to know that a martyr is called to holiness implies trying to respond every day to God's love, which always precedes us: "even in the midst of difficulty, the Lord does not smile to love and, therefore, to call".
Quattro "vicinanze".
And the third element, which includes four "vicinanze" that give your life joy and fertility: the vicinanza of God, which "allows us to confront our life with his"; the vicinanza of the Lord, which presents obedience as "a fundamental option to welcome those who have been placed close to us as a concrete sign of that universal sacrament of salvation which is the Church"; closeness to priests, because "fraternity is deliberately choosing to be holy together with others and not in solitude"; and closeness to people, which before being a duty is a grace, and which invites to a way of life in the image of Jesus, Good Samaritan.
Insomma, a few words that come from a heart grateful for the gift of priesthood and from a mind convinced of the importance of both the mission of priests and their need to seriously seek sanctity in the Church they serve. It is the prelude to the masterly entrance in a Congress where, certainly, you will have the opportunity to feel many things, and very good.
Antonio Moreno, one of today's best-known journalists and digital evangelists, has been a regular contributor to Omnes since its inception.
February 16, 2022-Reading time: 3minutes
In a recent publication, psychologist Paloma Carrasco reflected on the importance of leaving a margin of error in everything we do, of not pretending to have everything under control.
The Omicron tsunami has forced us to live without knowing what will happen tomorrow. If I test positive, who will take my daughters to school? And if one of them is infected, how will I go to work, who will I leave her with, will I infect my classmates?
The obsession with security has made us run out of antigen tests at prices far above their cost to the delight of those who have made a killing on fear; but the reality is that their effectiveness is relative and not even PCR tests assure us one hundred percent that we are not infected and that we are not infecting our loved ones.
In order not to become obsessed with the control of our lives, Carrasco proposes introducing in our language phrases such as "in theory", "in principle", or "God willing". In this way, our mind gets used to understanding that what we have in our hands is not absolutely certain and opens up to the surprise factor.
I have to admit that the best things in my life came by surprise, unplanned, without me intervening at all. No one ever asked me if I wanted to be born. I suddenly found myself surrounded by a family that took me in, took care of me... and to this day.
By surprise I met my wife, who is now my partner in marriage vocation, and by surprise she said yes when I asked her out. I wanted to study journalism when in my city there was no such career and my family could not pay me to study abroad; but just the year I was preparing for selectivity, I read in the newspaper that the following year would open the Faculty of Information Sciences. Surprise!
By surprise I started working in that great school of journalism that is Diario Sur and, by surprise, I contacted the teacher José Luis Arranz who introduced me to the then Media Delegate of the Diocese of Malaga who, by surprise, asked me to work in diocesan communication. I had never seen me writing about ecclesiastical matters and it has been 25 years already!
Each one of my seven children came by surprise, when they wanted to, and each one of them comes to surprise me every day with their particular personality. Where did they come from?
There have been many other surprises that the Lord has been giving me personally, spiritually and professionally throughout my life, and one of the most satisfying ones lately is my collaboration with Omnes.
A space that came to me suddenly, without expecting it, when I had other plans, and that has shown me that the God of surprises, as Pope Francis often calls him, always surprises us for the better, because his will is always the best for us. Here I have felt at home, I have been able to express myself freely, tell my stories and receive the affection of many readers.
In this first year of life of Omnes, I have seen a media with a clear vocation of universality, as its name indicates, where everything that happens in the Church and in the world has a place; a convergent media in which traditional journalism in paper and digital join to reach everyone, to leave no one behind; a Catholic media that does not allow itself to be pigeonholed and that, from its identity, has open doors and windows to the ecclesial plurality; a medium in which, as in so many other evangelical projects, resources are used to the maximum, yielding a hundredfold; a medium made with great faith and, I know, with great effort on the part of a dedicated editorial staff; a medium, in short, destined to be a point of reference in the ecclesial communications panorama of the coming years.
In the face of the uncertainty about the future that the psychologist was talking about, the Spanish language has a precious word. It is the term "ojalá", with which we express the wish for something to happen that is not in our hands, and which many people do not know has a believing origin.
The Royal Academy Dictionary explains that its etymology is Hispanic Arabic "law šá lláh" (If God wills-God wills it); which means that, when we say it, we are entrusting its fulfillment to God.
So, as I said, hopefully this first year of Omnes and this, my first year with Omnes, is just one among many, many more.
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.
David acted in agreement with God and did not kill Saul, because he was the Lord's anointed. Every human being is like Saul, consecrated to the Lord. In the "sermon on the plain", the heart of Luke's Gospel, we enter into the heart of God, with the sublime words of Jesus, which reveal his plan for us: that we may be like God, not by the wrong way of the first Adam, but by following the way of Jesus. Words that define who the Christian is: a child of God according to the Father's way of thinking. After having pronounced his "ay"Jesus' message, addressed to the rich and to those of whom people speak well, is addressed to the disciples who, on the other hand, will have enemies, will be hated, cursed and mistreated. Jesus proposes to them to react with good.
He explains in a crescendoTo love one's enemies is a profound attitude, but it is not enough. It is about showing that love by doing good to those who hate us. But it is still not enough: if they use the word and curse, then the disciples will respond by saying good: blessing. If they also come to mistreat them physically, socially or morally, Jesus asks the disciples to respond with a prayer for them.
This is what Jesus will do on the cross and the martyrs with him. But even here, Jesus continues, prayer is not enough, but also gestures that cure evil with good: turn the other cheek, do not refuse to remain without clothes, like Jesus on the cross, because they take everything. Giving without asking for anything in return. It is not a social program, but a path of detachment out of love. The well-known golden rule: "do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you."Jesus turns it into a positive: do with them what you would like them to do with you.
Even sinners love those who love them. If you lend to him who can repay you: what grace do you receive? Thus in Greek: grace. Doing good for free gives us grace, beauty and joy. But there is also a reward that Jesus promises: to be children of the Most High. This is the name of Jesus according to the angel Gabriel. So the reward is to be like Him. The center of it all is: "Be merciful like your Father"with her maternal bowels of mercy. In the original, Jesus says "becomes"merciful: it is a way. Jesus teaches it to us. In the family, in the Church, in society: do not judge, do not condemn, forgive, give.
In this way, we will not be judged, we will not be condemned, we will be forgiven and we will receive as our reward a full and overflowing measure. The measureless measure of God's love. Therefore, shall we think that it is a grace to have enemies next door, or even in the same house, to love, to forgive, to do good, with the help of God that we will not lack?
The homily on the readings of Sunday, Sunday VII
The priest Luis Herrera Campo offers its nanomiliaa small one-minute reflection for these readings.
Pope Francis reforms the structure of the Doctrine of the Faith
This reform gives greater strength and autonomy to each section - Doctrinal and Disciplinary - in favor of evangelization and the promotion of the faith, without diminishing disciplinary activity.
"Keeping the faith"is the main task and the ultimate criterion to be followed in the life of the Church. And for this purpose the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was created, which assumes this important task, thus assuming the doctrinal and disciplinary competencies attributed to it by the pontiffs before Francis.
Pope Francis has modified the structure of the Congregation through this motu proprio in order to make its work more effective. Specifically, he wanted to distinguish the Congregation into two sections: the Doctrinal Section and the Disciplinary Section.
The Doctrinal Section
On the one hand, the Doctrinal Section, through the Doctrinal Office, will deal with matters related to the promotion and protection of the doctrine of the faith and morals. It also fosters studies aimed at increasing the understanding and transmission of the faith in the service of evangelization, so that it may help in the understanding of the meaning of life, especially in the face of the questions raised by the progress of science and the development of society.
With regard to faith and morals, the Section will be responsible for examining documents to be published by other Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, as well as writings and opinions that appear to be problematic for the right faith, encouraging dialogue with their authors and proposing appropriate corrections to be made, so that these documents may be easily accessible to the public.
In addition, this Section is entrusted with the task of studying questions relating to the Personal Ordinariates established by the Apostolic Constitution Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus. The Doctrinal Section is also responsible for the Matrimonial Bureau, which has been created to examine, both in law and in fact, all matters relating to the ".privileium fidei"and shall examine the dissolution of marriages between unbaptized persons or between a baptized person and an unbaptized person.
The Disciplinary Section
On the other hand, the Disciplinary Section, through its corresponding office, deals with infractions reserved to the Congregation and those which the latter deals with through the jurisdiction of the Supreme Apostolic Tribunal established there. Its task is to prepare and elaborate the procedures foreseen by the canonical norms so that the Congregation, in its various instances (Prefect, Secretary, Promoter of Justice, Congress, Ordinary Session, College for the examination of appeals in matters of delicta graviora), can promote the proper administration of justice.
The current configuration
The configuration of the Congregation was established by St. Paul VI, who in his motu proprio Integrae Servandae had changed the name of the Dicastery to the present Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. St. John Paul II also collaborated with its configuration, which, in the apostolic constitution Pastor Bonus specified its competencies.
I am sometimes envious when I see executives in suits prowling the street with an iPhone in front of them. That device can serve as an accessory that ennobles the presence, like a ring; or it can dissipate the embarrassment of the idler exposed to the public, like a cloak of invisibility. I, on the other hand, have a modest Huawei with 3 or 4 years of use, choked with an operating system that has been updated several times and that won't let me download WhatsApp videos because of the little memory it has left.
It was a sunny Valentine's Day morning. I was rushing off to the University while checking a message (a measly "haha"), when my cell phone fell to the ground. It landed on the side required by Murphy's law and shattered its screen. Fixing that, as you know, is almost as expensive as buying a new device; and the budget of a student like me can be severely resented with an unforeseen event of that caliber, so I was left hesitating whether to change it or wait. In the end I settled the matter with a vague but reassuring "I'll decide tomorrow".
That night I had a strange dream. I woke up in the darkness of the room with the urge to check the damage to my cell phone: I stretched out my arm to pick it up from the bedside table and hold it before my eyes. I would press the button on the side to turn it on, and then I would discover something unheard of: it had recovered, the glass was smooth again, shiny, like new!
Then the dream got worse: the cell phone unlocked and the notes app opened by itself. I panicked: I tried to turn it off, it didn't respond; I thought about throwing it out the window, but curiosity held me back. I sat on the edge of the bed, resting my elbows on my knees, and squinted to follow the stream of words that were running across the screen:
- Hi, Juan Ignacio, it's Wuawi... Happy Valentine's Day! I've been wanting to ask you something for years: Do you love me?
I choked and coughed - what an impertinence! But I soon recovered and went back to reading.
- Because love manifests itself in deeds, you know? For example, when will you buy me a new case? Don't tell me you can't find one, there are now more stores for cell phones than pharmacies for humans. Besides, street vendors in the big cities have long since stopped offering souvenirs I have been able to get rid of tourists in order to dedicate myself to the much more lucrative business, of course, of gifts for my family... except when it rains, then umbrellas sprout like mushrooms. Yeah, yeah, don't play dumb.
I kept reading with wide eyes, like a rabbit dazzled by the headlights of a car.
- As for your strategy to unlock my screen, you are not very creative: after 3 years of swiping and swiping drawing the Z of Zorro with your finger, don't you think it would be smarter to vary the route? Anyone who steals from me will be able to see... no longer a small trace on the glass, but a whole groove you have dug for me! It's just that you're... yes, yes, keep reading, I'm not finished!
I stopped reading. So many strokes in a short time had made me dizzy. Why put up with this? I tapped the screen, the keyboard popped up and interjected a few words, "Don't worry, I'll change you and you can rest."
- What are you saying, hey, have a little patience with me; Juanito (can I call you that?), don't be alarmed... it's not all criticism, I also want to thank you. For example, I feel safe in your pocket, do you remember the day we were on the bus and a lady shouted saying she had been robbed? Your first reaction was to check if I was still with you and only then did you check your back pocket to feel Wallet. Thanks for making me feel special.
That comforted me.
- I also like your gifts. While many friends are being tied to the end of a stick to be mercilessly exposed to the cold (with an instrument of torture they call "selfie stick"You gave me a beautiful metal plate to decorate my back, which also turned out to be perfect to anchor me on the heating grill of the car with a magnet. I love that wind massage, and even more that we can chat face to face on the road, like friends.
Then I laughed... but she said a few concluding words and then shut down:
- I know you well, Juani, and you need me. Despite my programmed obsolescence, I also want to continue with you. Just remember these two or three things I ask of you. I woke up, this time for real. I turned on the bedside lamp, jumped out of bed to check the integrity of my cell phone and saw with paradoxical relief that the crack in the screen was still there. However, it was true that I had been negligent with Wuawi: the Z on the glass and the rusty casing gave me away. And she's been good to me, I told myself. I smiled with glimpses of melancholy and, suddenly - I trust you won't take this as cheesy–I had the intriguing feeling that the cut in the glass was the drawing of a heart. That helped me decide.
Living the phases of a courtship properly: knowing and valuing the other and adapting to my life in all senses, is key to not having "avoidable surprises" in marriage.
Preparing for an Olympics is a tough task for athletes. Undoubtedly, without preparation, there is no personal success.
This, which seems so obvious, is not lived in other more personal facets such as, for example, in courtship, which is, or should be, the preparation for marriage.
Marriage failures, which we often see in our society, are in many cases a consequence of not living the courtship. Something else is being lived, but courtship, which should be a time in which we get to know the other person, to know if I can share my life with him/her, courtship, as I said, is not lived as such.
Therefore, many marriages pass their courtship once married, and others fail because they did not have a courtship.
From an affective point of view, it could be said that a courtship has four parts: desire, attraction, falling in love and love; at the beginning, there is a desire to be with the other, it is a good time, time goes very fast, their presence is exciting.
Then, or together with the desire to be together, there is a phase of physical attraction, which makes everything very beautiful and attractive. There is an emotional overflow.
These two phases that have no solution of continuity conclude in a habitual way, in an infatuation, where everything of the other seems well. What he does and what he says. One is like in a cloud. The continuous presence that one has of the other person, even if one is not with him/her, is tremendously attractive. It is confused with love.
We think we are loving with intensity. It seems impossible that this is not love.
It has to be. The emotional attachment is very great, it seems unbelievable that I could have lived until now without this person. Life appears meaningless if she is not with me in the future. A attention deficitJulián Marías called falling in love.
We think we love each other very much, but the reality is that love has not yet appeared. It is a good start to begin to love, but loving - besides affections, emotions - implies wanting the good of the other, quoting Aristotle's definition of friendship. What is best for the other as a person.
Love implies that I will often have to make an effort to love, it no longer comes only in the form of a feeling, as it did before. When you become aware of it, you start to love. You begin to see that the other person has defects, does things that bother me. It is coming down from the cloud, to be with her, sometimes, I may not feel like it. She demands things from me that I don't want to give, she doesn't want to give me things that I would like her to give me.
One is beginning to realize that love is demanding. It goes to the movies when I don't feel like it and doesn't go to soccer when I would like to. The struggle to love begins. Feelings have descended to a state of normalcy. Desire, attraction and infatuation become more mature.
It is time to realize if this is the person you were looking for to share your life with.
If it is not, it will be necessary to leave it, even if the attachment has not disappeared and leaving it is costly.
If, in the midst of desire, attraction and falling in love, sexual intercourse has taken place, then it is much more difficult, especially for the woman. In a sexual relationship, the woman gives her heart before her body. Hence the difficulty. Nevertheless, if it is not what you were looking for, you have to leave that person.
That's what dating is for, to find the right person to share your life with.
The awareness that one should not have had sex appears on many occasions.
Also the impotence to stop. If the desire to not have sex is manifested, it is possible to break the relationship. This is a manifestation of being together only for sex. Since, if it disappears, it is possible that the relationship is over. It is a symptom that this relationship was united only by sex, if that were to happen. In other words, it is not a relationship of courtship, but of lovers who are united by sex.
It is one of the great difficulties of confusing feelings, only feelings, with love.
The consequence of all this is to see a series of people with affective and sexual problems that, if they had known what each thing meant at each moment, would not have appeared.
Logically, the courtship would have been freer. And if in the end there is marriage, less dangerous.
We have to take into account that the attachment will disappear and freedom will appear, and with it you can rewind all the previous and think that one has married because there have been relationships in the courtship. Or because he was not able to break the relationship.
It is a dangerous time. You have to ask for help.
On the other hand, seen from a more rational point of view, which logically will be intermingled with the emotional, the phases of courtship could be said to be: consistency, trust and commitment.
The first indicates that we must get to know the other person, see what he says he believes and how he lives it. That is to say, if he is a coherent person, if the values he defends, he lives them. A person can say many things, but the important thing is what he does. We are what we do.
We must not confuse opinions and beliefs. An opinion is something I hold; I believe that this actor is better than that actor. Beliefs are what I hold. This is what we have to check.
If the values that you see the other person living, are those that you are looking for in the person with whom you would like to share your life, a trust is generated that grows with time and, sooner or later, generates commitment.
These phases of courtship, in many cases, are not being lived. At the moment you think you are loving each other because there is a certain attraction and a desire to be with each other, you have sexual relations and the rhythm of time is not the one that would be convenient.
Before the coherence of the other has been checked, by having sex, a commitment is generated that makes it impossible for the relationship to develop with the required rhythm and freedom. There is a lack of freedom. There is commitment when there should not be.
I have seen broken couples, due to the mess that sex puts into a dating relationship that probably would have ended in a good marriage.
With the "Motu Proprio" entitled "Custody of the Faith", the Pope divides the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith into two sections: a doctrinal section that deals with promoting and protecting the Church's teaching; and a disciplinary section for abuses committed in the Church.
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Saint Isidore the Farmer. 400 years of canonization and 850 years of devotion.
Saint Isidro Labrador, together with his wife, María de la Cabeza, are today an example of a Christian family, of workers and of holiness in a simple life.
Alberto Fernández Sánchez-February 13, 2022-Reading time: 3minutes
On March 12, 1622, Pope Gregory XV solemnly canonized five saints who, with the passage of time, would be recognized as great figures in the history of the Church: St. Philip Neri, St. Teresa of Jesus, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Francis Xavier and St. Isidore Labrador.
The news spread among the Italians, perhaps moved by a certain envy, that on that day the Pope had canonized four Spaniards and one saint. What is certain is that, of the five new saints, four were relatively contemporary, while the cult of St. Isidore had been going on for centuries.
In the present year 2022 we celebrate the fourth centenary of this great event for the Church, and also the 850th anniversary of the popular devotion to St. Isidore Labrador since his death, which according to the sources took place in the year 1172.
To celebrate this event, the Holy See has granted the Archdiocese of Madrid a Jubilee Year of St. Isidore, which will last from May 15, 2022 to May 15, 2023.
Madrid thus joins the major celebrations that will take place around March 12, including a solemn celebration of the Eucharist presided over by Pope Francis at the Gesù in Rome, and a recently announced Jubilee Year of St. Teresa in the diocese of Avila.
Holiness in the life of the Church is felt in the sentiments of God's faithful people.
The processes of beatification and canonization are perhaps one of the ecclesiastical events where the most important role is played by the sensus fideliumIn them the Church listens to the voice of the faithful who, in a spontaneous way, moved internally by the Spirit, ask for solemn recognition of what the faithful already know with certainty: that this person has lived and died a holy life, fulfilling the will of God, and that he or she can be held up as a model and intercessor before the Father.
Only a century after the death of St. Isidore, the codex of John Deacon gathered all this fame of sanctity of the saintly farmer from Madrid, his abandonment to the will of God, his love for the poor and needy, his trusting prayer, his work lived under the provident gaze of the Father.
What the Christians of Madrid transmitted to each other was put in writing in this codex, and centuries later, as we have said, on March 12, 1622, it was solemnly recognized by the papal magisterium. His cult spread rapidly throughout the Church, and it is not uncommon to find chapels and hermitages dedicated to this saint, who was also named patron saint of Spanish farmers by Pope John XXIII in 1960.
In Madrid, in addition, the famous relic of the sacred incorrupt body of Saint Isidro Labrador is kept and venerated, which has been preserved uninterruptedly since his death, and which, beyond the miracles of which he has been the protagonist, is another example of the devotion that the people of Madrid, with the kings and authorities at the head, have paid to this great saint.
When Christians venerate the relics of the saints, they do so supported by the certainty of the resurrection of the flesh promised by the Lord: our bodies are called to glory. On occasions of special relevance for the life of the city of Madrid and the archdiocese, the urn containing the incorrupt body of the saint has been opened so that the faithful could venerate his relics closely.
One of the central events of this Jubilee Year will be a solemn public exposition of the incorrupt sacred body for a whole week, something that has not taken place for more than thirty years, since the last one took place in 1985, on the occasion of the centenary of the diocese of Madrid.
And what does a small worker who lived and died more than nine centuries ago have to tell us today?
In a society so in need of models of family life, St. Isidore, together with his wife, St. Maria de la Cabeza, and his son, Illán, are given to us as a concrete example of a family that lives in mutual love. In a society so in need of encouragement and example for workers, the saintly farmer is given to us as a model of work that trusts in the providence of God the Father.
In a society, in short, jaded by lies and empty of meaning, in St. Isidore those words of the Lord are fulfilled: "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to the simple. Yes, Father, it seemed better to you".
The authorAlberto Fernández Sánchez
Episcopal Delegate for the Causes of the Saints of the Archdiocese of Madrid
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The Mediterranean, a border of peace
