The French Via Podiensis, the roads to Santiago from Germany, or the pilgrimage of Scandinavia, are some of the Jacobean routes that over the years have been formed in various parts of Europe and that are directed towards the same place: the Tomb of St. James the Apostle.
The Via Podiensis, also called the "Route du Puy", is one of the 4 main roads that cross France and converge towards Spain and then towards Santiago de Compostela.
It starts in Le Puy en Velay and crosses the Pyrenees via the Roncesvalles pass. If it is by far the most "popular" of the great pilgrimage routes to Santiago in France, it is undoubtedly due to this first section: from Le Puy to Conques, which has become almost a "pilgrimage" in itself. A part of the road with which many are satisfied. With a length of approximately 300 kilometers, which represents about fifteen days of walking for the "classic" hiker, this route can indeed be a very beautiful journey in itself. Indeed, for its exceptional sites, beauty and diversity of landscapes, it can fulfill many expectations. And then, between wild spaces, riversides and bucolic places, it plunges us perhaps more than any other in a "sweet France" dreamed but very real.
The Via Podiensis has its origin in the name of the town of Le Puy-en-Velay, from where Bishop Godescalc set out for Compostela in 950 AD, accompanied by a large group of people such as troubadours, minstrels, pages, barons, seneschals and, of course, archers and spearmen to protect them. The bishop was then the first non-Spanish pilgrim to make the pilgrimage to Compostela.
The route from Le Puy en Velay to Conques crosses 4 regions rich in flora, fauna and geological diversity: the volcanic Velay, the Margeride plateau, the heights of Aubrac and the Lot valley. Landscapes of breathtaking beauty, such as the view of the gorges of the Allier or the wild plateau of Aubrac.
Arrived in Conques, for many it will be the end of the journey. It will be time to get back on a bus and return to their professional life, to their daily life. It is true that this almost perfect route, certainly frequented, but without reaching the multitude of people who walk the Camino in Spain, can really be a journey in itself. But continuing, or returning later to continue walking, is also worthwhile. First of all, because a few stages later, you can walk through the beautiful valley of the Célé, and also because the road to Compostela continues, simply, through very beautiful regions and less convenient corners, but that is also part of the journey! Le Puy-Conques is certainly very beautiful, pleasant and full of surprises. But it is almost too perfect to fully appreciate the very contrasting character of the pilgrimage to Santiago, which sometimes immerses the pilgrim, in a monotonous environment, to perhaps make it easier for him to confront himself. The nomad does not set out if he does not have a promised land to dream of; which often ends up being a large or small conversion of the heart of the pilgrim who proclaims himself the herald of his own transformation.
The pilgrim, like the hero of Greek mythology, ventures out of the world of ordinary life and enters a place of supernatural wonders; there he confronts fabulous forces and wins a decisive victory; the hero returns from this mysterious adventure endowed with the power to bestow benefits on man, his fellow man.
Camino de Santiago, on the way to a sacred place, pilgrims feel every church they pass through as their own home and atheists light candles and receive blessings.
Germany: The Germanic Roads
-text José M. García Pelegrín, Berlin, Germany
The first known pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela from a German territory comes from the second half of the 11th century: according to a documentary source, Count Eberhard VI of Nellenburg - north of Lake Constance - made a pilgrimage to Santiago with his wife Ita in 1070, after his second pilgrimage to Rome. On his return from Santiago, Eberhard VI "the Blessed" entered the monastery of All Saints, which he himself had founded, as a lay brother, while Ita retired with a group of pious women to Schaffhausen.
During the Middle Ages, Central European pilgrims used commercial and military roads to reach the Spanish-French border, particularly the "Via Regia" (Royal Road), whose origins date back to the 8th and 9th centuries and which crossed the entire Holy Roman-Germanic Empire. With the Protestant Reformation, pilgrimages declined, especially in northern Germany.
After the revitalization of the Way of St. James from the 1980s onwards, in Germany, too, various paths began to be marked - currently there are about 30 in total - with the particularity that it was precisely a Protestant pastor, Paul Geissendörfer, who in 1992 marked a St. James' Way that went from Nuremberg to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, and which would be the nucleus of the "Franconian Way of St. James" (1995). The last to be added in 2005 were the "Pilgrims' Roads of St. James in Northern Germany", with two branches, the Via Baltica and the Via Jutlandica, which is the result of a German-Danish cooperation.
The autobiographical story by the well-known comedian Hape (Hans-Peter) Kerkeling, published in 2006, called Ich bin dann mal weg - Meine Reise auf dem Jakobsweg (I'm leaving: my journey on the Camino de Santiago), contributed greatly to the dissemination of the Camino de Santiago in Germany; with a circulation of more than seven million copies, it topped the most prestigious German bestseller list, that of the weekly Der Spiegel, for 103 weeks (from 2006 to 2008); in addition, a film version was made in 2015. Kerkeling sets out to delve into the search for the meaning of life, but to do so he avoids the "classic" Christian pilgrims ("They will end the journey the same as they began") and seeks out the "rare and exotic". The success of this book shows that most Germans do not walk the Camino motivated by a traditional pilgrimage. Yet it contributed to a 74 percent increase in the number of Germans walking the Camino in 2007.
On the other hand, the immense popularity enjoyed by the Camino, regardless of religious denomination, is reflected in its spread precisely in traditionally Protestant regions; thus, for example, in 2011 the St. James Society of Brandenburg-Oder Region was founded, which deals - according to its own website - with "the interests of the pilgrims and pilgrims to Santiago in Berlin, Brandenburg and neighboring regions". And it adds: "the diverse composition of its members reflects what was the occasion for its foundation and the aims of the association: the interest and joy of walking the roads to Santiago de Compostela". Like other regional associations, they specifically seek to signpost the routes, place information panels and connect them with the European network of the Camino "to contribute to European cooperation and international understanding".
Sweden: The Scandinavian Way
-text Andres Bernar, Stockholm
Christianity was established in Sweden well into the second millennium. The holy King Erik died in 1160 leaving a Christian country. Evidently the traditions of pilgrimage to holy places also arrived here: Holy Land, Rome and also Santiago.
In the Nordic countries there was also a tradition of pilgrimages to Nidaros (today's Trondheim in northwestern Norway). The medieval tradition of pilgrimages was well received in the Nordic countries, also because of its adventurous character.
St. Bridget, the Swedish national saint and patron saint of Europe, gave them a boost when she herself and her husband made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in 1343. They made the whole way on foot over several months. Today the distance is 3200 km by the shortest route. We do not know exactly how far the saint walked, but it may have been even longer. On the return journey - in Arras, France - her husband Ulf fell ill. St. Dionysius appeared to the saint and told her that her husband would not die on that occasion. He did so shortly after his return to Sweden and this marked the beginning of St. Bridget's activity as foundress of the new order.
The saint's pilgrimage aroused popular fervor and gradually pilgrimages to both Rome and Santiago became more frequent. In Stockholm the church of St. James (St Jakobs Kyrka) was built in the early 14th century in the present-day Kugsträdgården park, then north of the old city. This simple wooden church was replaced by a larger, three-nave brick church in 1430. From it pilgrims set out on their long journey with the saint's blessing and protection.
Protestantism literally erased Catholicism and its customs, including pilgrimages, during the 16th and 17th centuries. From the eighteenth century onwards, a new openness was glimpsed, which would not be complete until the end of the last century.
The Way of St. James was officially resumed in 1999 when the Association of St. James was established in Stockholm under the auspices of the diocesan bishop; its president was permanent deacon Manuel Pizarro. The initial idea was to help rediscover the spirituality of pilgrimages among the Catholics of Scandinavia, and pilgrimages to the classic places of Christianity were encouraged: the Holy Land, Rome, Santiago and also Lourdes and Fatima. In 1999, a pilgrimage to Santiago was organized as the "First Scandinavian pilgrimage" since the Protestant Reformation. This was recognized by the Archbishop of Santiago when the pilgrims arrived at their destination and were received by the prelate, as Manuel tells us. A few years later the same bishop of Stockholm accompanied them on another pilgrimage. From the beginning, many Protestant Swedes joined these pilgrimages, seeing in them a wonderful opportunity to discover something different from what their church was telling them. They were searching for their personal path and their own vocation. In the twenty years of this initiative, more and more Lutherans have become interested. The fact that they are an Association also makes it possible to subsidize the pilgrimage for people who have difficulty paying for a long trip.
Special 'On the Road to Santiago' of Omnes Magazine
Omnes magazine has launched, together with the July-August summer issue, a 48-page special issue entitledOn the way to SantiagoThe book, on the occasion of the Compostela Holy Year, with illustrious signatures, numerous photographs and practical information for pilgrims.
The themes of the Omnes Special on the Holy Year of Compostela The program covers everything from its own meaning, to the tomb of the Apostle as the heart of the cathedral, including the Way of St. James, the restoration of the Portico de la Gloria or the European Roads to Santiago, as well as an extensive interview with the Archbishop of Santiago, Julián Barrio.
The pages are illustrated with numerous photographs and engravings, explained in their respective captions, and contain practical information for pilgrims, so that they can experience the Compostela Holy Year, and the Pilgrim's Prayer. It also incorporates QR to have all the information about the Jubilee and the Way of St. James in the cell phone, and to stamp the pilgrim's credential digitally.
The pages are illustrated with numerous photographs and engravings, explained in their respective captions, and contain practical information for the pilgrim.
In the presentation of the special issue dedicated to the Compostela Holy Year, it is recalled that this year 2021, in which July 25, the feast of St. James the Apostle, coincides with Sunday, is a special Holy Year, for several reasons.
First, because the circumstances in which it is celebrated are marked by the era of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has motivated Pope Francis' gift to extend the Holy Year also to 2022. Secondly, moreover, because the arrival in Santiago this year has for the pilgrim an extraordinary "prize": to see the restoration of the Portico de la Gloria and the beautiful cathedral.
Pope's visit: "Hopefully we can have that grace".
In a interesting interviewThe Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, Julián Barrio, reviews the current Jubilee with Alfonso Riobó, director of Omnes. He highlights the spiritual graces that await the pilgrim in Compostela, the new splendor of the cathedral after the restoration and takes stock of his time as pastor of the Galician archdiocese..
"The impression conveyed by Don Julián Barrio is one of affection, even if of a reserved nature," writes the editor of Omnes in introducing the conversation. "On this occasion he openly expresses his contentment at the prospects of the Holy Year 2021-2022, in the last phase of his responsibility as archbishop [...]".'I am in God's hands', says the Archbishop of Compostela], and naturally before the possibility of a visit of the Holy Father to Santiago during this Jubilee".
Regarding this possible trip of the Pope to Santiago de Compostela, Monsignor Barrio affirms: "Nothing would please me more than for the Holy Father to come to Compostela as a pilgrim. I hope we can have the grace of Pope Francis' visit. He is invited. And not only on behalf of the Church... It would be a wonderful gift to have his presence and for me, after having had the satisfaction of receiving Benedict XVI, it would be another of those moments to thank the Lord in my life as a bishop".
"Nothing would please me more than for the Holy Father to come to Compostela as a pilgrim. I hope we can have the grace of Pope Francis' visit. He is invited.
Bishop Barrio Barrio. Archbishop Santiago de Compostela
Illustrious signatures
Other illustrious signatures writing in the Special are Elisardo Temperán Villaverde, Chancellor of the Archbishopric of Santiago de Compostela; Ángel María Leyra Faraldo, specialist in the History of the Apostle Santiago; Ramón Yzquierdo Peiró, of the Cathedral Museum of Santiago de Compostela; Diego Rodríguez, from the Barrié Foundation; the Dean of the Cathedral of Santiago, José Fernández Lago; the president of the Pilgrimages Commission of the Cathedral, Segundo Pérez López; the Rector Guardian of the convent of San Francisco and director of the Museum of the Holy Land, Francisco J. Castro Miramontes; the correspondents of Omnes in France, José Luis Domingo; Germany, José M. García Pelegrín, and Sweden, Andrés Bernar; and the priest, journalist and pilgrim to Santiago, Javier Peño Iglesias.
There are many studies that, in the shadow of Jesus and Mary, have dealt with the figure of St. Joseph and dramatic works that have given him great prominence. Poetry, however, except for devotional or Christmas poetry, has hardly been generated. This article makes an incursion in the most recent lyric and in some authors who have incorporated him to their poetic creation with inspired theological and literary dignity.
On the occasion of the declaration of St. Joseph as patron saint of the universal Church, the 150th anniversary promoted by Pope Francis invites a reflection on the Josephine lyric closest in time; to mark some dates, that of the last decades.
First literary references
Going back in history, except on very rare occasions, leads us to discover that he has not yet had his poetic moment, except if we consider him in terms of the role he played in the shadow of Mary and Jesus. The most remote and scarce literary references we know about him are found in Gonzalo de Berceo (xiii century), who puts in Mary's mouth her link to Joseph: "Io so donna Maria de Josep esposa" (Mourning that the Virgin Mary did on the day of the passion of her fixed Jesus Christ).
After the poet from La Rioja, there are allusions of the same kind, although with very different nuances, in Alfonso X the Wise, in the theater of Gómez Manrique, in that of Juan del Enzina and in that of Lucas Fernández and, no doubt, in a few other authors, preferably in 17th century playwrights (Mira de Amescua or Cristóbal de Monroy, to cite two renowned literary figures).
It would be the clergyman José de Valdivieso (1560-1638), a close friend of Lope de Vega, who would give him a particular prominence in the admirable and colossal poem Life, excellence and death of the most glorious Patriarch St. Joseph, spouse of Our Lady.A text composed in royal octaves, theologically very illuminating that, with the support of the little that the Gospels of Matthew and Luke draw about him, what the Apocrypha announce and what a group of authors that precede him (to mention a few) contribute: Bernardino de Laredo or Jerónimo Gracián, the latter so closely linked to the biography of Saint Teresa of Jesus), manages to create the portrait of the Patriarch that, from the Golden Age onwards, has been generated in abundant painting and sculpture, conceiving him as a just man, chaste, protector of his family, advanced in years, a carpenter by profession, so that Jesus would finally end his days on the tree of the cross, and of early death.
At the same time, along with these particular physical features and his work activity, Valdivieso sets his character in a series of events around which his life trajectory unfolds: (1) his betrothal to Mary; (2) the visit she pays to her cousin Elizabeth, accompanied by him on the outward journey; (3) his inner sufferings after realizing that his wife is pregnant; (4) the revelation of the mystery of the Incarnation by the angel of the Lord; (5) the expectation of childbirth; (6) the birth of Jesus in a Bethlehem portal; (7) the various migrations, with the consequent episodes widely spread in popular literature: the adoration of the magi, the slaughter of the innocents, the flight into Egypt, etc.His death and glorification, and, (9) finally, his excellencies and appellations.
Popular tradition
From all this vital journey, the popular tradition has kept alive those eventualities related practically to the celebratory and folkloric events of Christmas without, as in Valdivieso's text, the facts are presented from the point of view of St. Joseph nor do they reach other moments of his existence.
Anthologies as celebrated as the Spanish Christmas Songbook (1412-1942)from 1942, or other more current ones, to cite a sample, such as In the Sun of the Night. Eight poets of today sing of ChristmasThe poem "José", published in 2000, does not highlight the figure of such an illustrious man. It is necessary to search profusely in contemporary cultured poetry to find texts and there are very few in which José turns out to be the main character of the poem. Neither in the rich religious lyric of the Spanish poets of the 40's of the last century, nor later, with some exceptions, is he a motive of particular attention.
Episodes
When it appears, as a precious and surprising jewel in poetry, we see it most of the time linked to his lacerating doubts, always with a happy ending, in the face of the unexpected pregnancy of the Virgin. This is the case of the poem Soliloquies of St. Josephby José María Valverde, presented in hendecasyllabic arrangement, and which bursts forth: "Why did it have to be me? Like a torrent / of broken sky, God was falling / on me: hard, enormous glory making me / my world alien and cruel: my betrothed / white and silent, suddenly dark, / turns towards its secret, until the Angel, / in snowy nightmare of lightning, / came to announce it to me: the great destiny / that so beautiful it would be to have looked / to come on the other side of the village; / the summit of the times, lit / with sun from the other side, and by my doors".. A relatively extensive text, which advances with three predominant ideas. The first: Joseph's joy at having been undeservedly chosen by God as the custodian of Jesus and Mary; the second: his complete willingness to take charge of such crucial characters in the history of salvation as those who have been given to him; and third, his full conviction that his life would end, as it did, developing in an ordinary way, without any great upheavals, attentive to his family and his daily work.
Other times he is set in the enclave of his work, among whose most successful compositions of these last decades we can highlight the one titled Poem for a craftsman named José, by José María Fernández Nieto from Palencia, who, in a set of contemplative quatrains, exalts the virtues of Mary and Joseph in the home of Nazareth, while extolling the value of the manual work of the head of the family: "...".Oh, trembling carpenter's hand / that in drops of sweat and joy, under the love of his carpentry / versified in prayers the wood", stanza thematically rooted in a theology of work that Fernández Nieto extends, in the form of a prayer, with three more stanzas: "You, who held God between your hands / and offered them to him with calloused hands, / offer him the sweat of our lives / to earn the bread of being Christians. / Joseph, laborer of goodness, worker / of God, populate the workshops with joy / and order the world as you wish it, / as an offering to the first Love. / [...] Because since you, Joseph, master / of love, made psalms of your muscles, / work is an offering of twilight, / Hail Mary, Hail Hail and Our Father".
In other contemporary literary texts, on the other hand, he is placed in the scene told by the evangelist Luke of the loss and finding of Jesus in the temple of Jerusalem, of which the poet Manuel Ballesteros expresses, in an untitled poem written in white hendecasyllables, the deep concern of Joseph, guardian of his Son, after his inexplicable neglect: "José is silent. He has taken upon himself / all the blame. He, the father and custodian of the child, [...] / has suffered three days for the / inexplicable loss of Jesus. Perhaps / I have let my guard down and forgotten / that here in Jerusalem the threats / still lurk."
Incentive
Surprisingly, there are no other episodes in his life itinerary that have awakened the interest of today's poets. If only the one referring to one of his titles, in which he is acclaimed as "patron saint of the good death", in reference to these times of pandemic, and which serves the poet Daniel Cotta to ask him to intercede for the souls of so many who die: "Cradling your Good / so that it does not wake up, / you have left behind the death / that is ravaging Bethlehem. / Today that death also / devours the present time, / pray you to the Omnipotent / that, in the midst of the rapine, / carries to heaven the child soul / of so many Holy Innocents".
And having arrived at this point, it is worth asking, what could have happened so that St. Joseph, of such solvency among the people, and who is considered the patron saint of workers or custodian of the Redeemer, has not burst into lyric poetry with the same enthusiasm as in other artistic manifestations? In modern churches he is seen occupying niches with Jesus in his arms or guarding him by the hand; in paintings, he is found young in open contrast with the image traditionally brought, next to Jesus or in the warmth of his family.
In poetry, however, the same does not happen, as if poetic creation were detached from its historical context. As Joseph was a married saint, with an autonomous, popular work, it is possible that his figure has not yet reached that level of enthusiasm and inspiration that drives poets and especially "lay" poets to create praiseworthy works in his honor.
Apostolic letters like this one, Patris corde, from Pope Francis, may well serve as an incentive to give vividness to this man whose greatness of soul deserves verses like the one that prompted the poet Miguel d'Ors to write the text entitled Sonsoneto confidencial (Confidential Sonsonnet): "[...] because I am the heir / of that confidence with which my father / treated him, or because I have for clear and true / that in the History of the World I will not give / with anyone who can be assured that / had with the family so much luck, or because / no one has died better accompanied, but, / as I do not seek vows but sincere singing, / with this sonsonnet I reiterate: my favorite saint, St. Joseph".
Since the historical origin of Burgos (year 884), the most frequented Jacobean Routes that headed towards Santiago de Compostela began to pass through Burgos. The most famous pilgrim saints are from Burgos, and the Cathedral has an undeniable Jacobean air.
Jesús M. Aguirre Hueto-July 23, 2021-Reading time: 10minutes
We offer the article written in the special issue which was published last year on the occasion of the VIII Centenary of the Cathedral of Burgos and that joins, in a singular way to the Compostelan Holy Year that we are celebrating these days: the relationship between the Way of Saint James and the capital of Burgos.
Walker, the path is made by walking..., and in our daily walk we see how, in these days, life has been very different, as if it were a dream, a bad dream. We are going through difficult times in which we see the course of our existence capsizing, and it is now when the parallelism between the Camino de Santiago and our life becomes more evident to me. The pilgrim begins, excited, his pilgrimage path, in which he faces many difficulties, but with tenacity and strength he overcomes them, with the certainty that, in the end, he will reach the Portico de la Gloria.
In the path of our life, along which we were going so confidently and safely, we are now going through a deep and unexpected bump, from which, even with heartbreaking wounds, I am sure, we will get out of it. My deepest sorrow for all those who have died in this pandemic and my recognition to all those who in one way or another collaborate for the benefit of all, for the good of the community: healthcare workers, pharmacists, law enforcement agencies, the self-employed, social service workers, and a very long etcetera.
I would like to think that when this happens, and when we look back, we will see a path that must never be trodden again: the path of selfishness, competitiveness, dehumanization and injustice.
A backbone of Europe
The history of the Camino de Santiago dates back to the dawn of the ninth century with the discovery of the tomb of St. James the Greater. -evangelizer of Spain, one of the apostles who had the closest and most intimate relationship with Jesus of Nazareth.-the Finisterre of the world known until then.
In the 11th century, Spain built one of the backbones of Europe: the Way of St. James, which as a pilgrimage route is one of the great Spanish contributions to the world and to the whole of Christianity. For Goethe, "Europe is born of pilgrimage", and Dante points out that "Only those who traveled to Compostela deserved the name of pilgrims, those who traveled to Rome would be pilgrims, and those who traveled to Jerusalem would be pilgrims. From the 11th century onwards, the Way of St. James was the great itinerary of medieval pilgrimages, from the three most important places of Christian pilgrimage: the Holy Land, where the pilgrims went to the "palmeros", Rome, where the "romeros", and Compostela, where the "pilgrims", the latter was the most chosen route. The Christian kings of the northern peninsular promoted the Jacobean fervor, making the Camino de Santiago not only a path of faith, but also a route of vital economic, commercial, political and military importance to settle the population and control the territory. To this end, they provided it with a series of infrastructures: roads, bridges, hospitals,...
The Camino will make currents of thought and literary and artistic movements flow. The flowering of the Camino coincided with the maximum development of Romanesque art. -the first common artistic style of European Christianity in the Middle Ages. At the same time, the unification of the Roman liturgy was sought, which was achieved in Western Europe thanks to the Benedictine order of Cluny, which in ancient Hispania managed to impose itself on the Hispanic-Mozarabic liturgy. For this new liturgy the simple temples are adapted, with a Latin cross plan, with purism in their lines and forms, provided with apses. It is the new Romanesque style with which the great pilgrimage basilicas were built: Saint Martial of Limoges, Saint Martin of Tours, Saint Sernin of Toulouse, Santiago de Compostela. Episcopal seats were established in towns along the French Way of St. James: Jaca, Pamplona, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, Burgos, León, Astorga and Santiago de Compostela, which adopted this new style of construction. At the same time, Hispanic Romanesque art will also receive, and by proximity, the Mudejar influence, with Muslim elements from Al Andalus.
Meeting place and harmony
In the 13th century a new art will emerge in the island of France, which will have the Way of St. James as a diffusing vehicular channel: the Gothic. A new plastic and harmonic language was born, majestic and of spectacular beauty that spread throughout Europe.
The Way of St. James, described by many authors as a "the biggest street in Europe", has been recognized with the titles of First European Cultural Itinerary in 1987 and as World Heritage in 1993. The Camino has always been, and still is, a place of encounter and harmony for cultures and peoples.
The historical origin of Burgos dates back to the year 884 when Count Diego Rodríguez "Porcelos, to strengthen the defensive line of the Arlanzón against the people of Al Andalus, built a fortress under whose protection the future city would develop. In time, around the year 1035, it became the itinerant capital of the newly created kingdom of Castile. A strategic and privileged geographical location made the city of Burgos, from its birth, a true crossroads through which the main medieval routes and roads of the north of the Iberian Peninsula passed and converged. The most frequented Jacobean Routes that headed towards Santiago de Compostela began to pass through Burgos. This fact definitively marked the history and the future urban and commercial development of the city.Caput Castellae".
Burgos, a hospitable city
As early as the 11th century, the primitive urban center of Burgos, developed on both sides of a long street -the current Fernán González Street-located on the southern slope of the hill on which sat the mighty fortress, was insufficient to cope with the increase in population that the city was experiencing. Being the capital of a great kingdom, which already had its southern border on the Tagus River, becoming an important episcopal see, and above all, being an obligatory stop on the Camino de Santiago, an open door to the cultural and artistic air coming from northern Europe, made the city experience an unusual and spectacular demographic, social, artistic and economic growth. The urban center was extended in search of, and at the same time protecting, the elongated route of the Jacobean Route.
As some historians claim, all the religious institutions of the city revolved around the pilgrimages to Santiago. Only in this way, due to the incessant flow of pilgrims, can the eleven parishes that the Castilian capital had in the 12th century be explained. Burgos was the hospital city par excellence of the Camino de Santiago, as evidenced by the approximately 32 pilgrims' hospitals documented by modern historiography. Of most of these hospital institutions, only their names and a few documents have survived to the present day. The most important were: the Hospital de San Juan, the Hospital del Emperador and the Hospital del Rey.
The Camino in the city of Burgos
The Camino enters the city by two branches, through the neighborhoods of El Capiscol, where there are still a few vestiges of the old Hospital for pilgrims, first called Don Gonzalo Nicolás or, later, El Capiscol (Caput Scholae) The route continues through the Cathedral, which gives its name to the neighborhood; and Gamonal, where we are welcomed by the Gothic church of Santa María la Real y Antigua. It continues its urban course until it becomes one at the entrance to the road of Las Calzadas, in search of the historic center within the walls, which is accessed through the Plaza de San Juan.
The church of San Lesmes is a temple rebuilt at the end of the 14th century, after successive demolitions and enlargements of the primitive chapel of San Juan Evangelista, where the remains of the venerated patron saint of Burgos rest. The church houses an interesting collection of altarpieces, paintings and tombs in Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles.
Of the Monastery of San Juan, only the ruins of its 15th century church, the cloister and the 16th century chapter house remain. In the nearby old Hospital of San Juan, renovated in the 15th century, in the time of Pope Sixtus VI, only its 15th century Gothic façade, which is the current door of the Public Library, and a number of elements of its famous apothecary's shop have survived the passage of time.
At the end of the 11th century, the fame of the Benedictine monk Adelelmo, called Lesmes in Castile, began to grow. Coming from the French Cluniac abbey of Chaise Dieu (Auvergne), he had arrived in the Peninsula at the request of Alfonso VI and, above all, of his wife of Burgundian origin, Doña Constanza. After accompanying the Christian armies that took part in the conquest of Toledo, the saintly Frenchman arrived in Burgos to dedicate himself to the service of God and the poor pilgrims. On November 3, 1091, Alfonso VI donated the chapel to the saint. -under the patronage of St. John the Evangelist-The hospital and the new monastery were handed over to the Benedictines of Casa Dei; St. Lesmes became its first prior. At his death, which occurred on January 30, 1097, the fame of his sanctity spread rapidly along all roads and highways. In 1551 he was proclaimed patron saint of the city.
Road saints
The most famous pilgrim saints of the Pilgrim's Way are from Burgos, such as Saint Domingo de la Calzada, born in Viloria de Rioja, and Saint Juan de Ortega, born in Quintanaortuño, or Saint Lesmes and Saint Amaro, linked for life and forever to this land. The first two are more related to the development of the Camino and the care of pilgrims on the stretch that runs between La Rioja and Burgos. In Burgos we find two pilgrim saints, both of French origin, who stayed permanently in the city to care for pilgrims in need: St. Lesmes, who was the driving force behind the Monastery and Hospital of San Juan, and St. Amaro who stayed in Burgos to care for pilgrims and bury those who died in the cemetery annexed to the Hospital del Rey.
Since the last third of the 13th century, the pilgrims crossed the wall and the Vena river through a small bridge and the so-called San Juan gate. It is still possible to follow exactly the historical route of the French Way as it passes through the center of Burgos. Through the street of San Juan the pilgrims reached the disappeared bridge of La Moneda, over which they crossed a small cave. After a few meters along the so-called Entrambospuentes street, the Canto bridge allowed them to cross the Trascorrales gorge. Once in the neighborhood of San Gil, the pilgrims continue along Avellanos street. Nearby is the church of San Gil, which preserves magnificent Hispanic-Flemish altarpieces from the 15th and 16th centuries. -favored by the patronage of the ".rich ommes"The city's merchants, in the wool trade with Flanders-.
The Camino follows the old street of San Llorente, which today corresponds to the first section of Fernán González street, the true nerve center of the city's life during most of the Middle Ages and the Modern Age. Much of the commercial activity of the city revolved in these centuries around the Camino and the pilgrims. The Romanesque church of San Llorente -its remains were found under the present-day Plaza de los Castaños-The new medieval street, the Coronería, gave way to a new medieval street.
The Jacobean air of the cathedral
Following the street you reach the Cathedral of Santa Maria. The pilgrims at the end of the 11th century saw how a Romanesque cathedral was built on the site of the old Royal Palace. Not even 150 years had passed when the primitive basilica was demolished and the construction of a new Gothic temple began. With the strong support of King Ferdinand III and Bishop Mauricio, in 1221 construction began on a temple that would eventually become one of the most beautiful and interesting cathedrals in the Christian world. The cathedral of Burgos, declared a World Heritage Site and in which Gothic and Renaissance styles blend harmoniously, is endowed with an undeniable Jacobean air that can be traced in the more than thirty representations of the Apostle Santiago, distributed both inside and outside the cathedral. In its surroundings, where now stands the Chapel of Santa Tecla, was located the church of Santiago de la Fuente.
Next to it is the church of San Nicolás, which contains an incomparable stone altarpiece sculpted at the end of the 15th century by Simón and Francisco de Colonia. The Camino continues along the old street or cal Tenebregosa. It was one of the oldest streets in the city and over time became one of the most important pilgrimage routes along the Camino. In its surroundings there were churches dedicated to San Román, Nuestra Señora de Viejarrúa, San Martín. In it there were numerous stores, workshops, where the most varied craftsmen worked, inns, wineries, hostels and hospitals, in a motley human landscape in which the old Christians, the Jews of the nearby aljama, the Moors and a large number of foreigners were mixed.
The Camino leaves the walls of Burgos through the Arco de San Martín, or Royal Arch, built in the 14th century over an earlier gate, with brick and horseshoe arch in the Mudejar style. The Way begins the descent towards the Arlanzón River crossing the neighborhood of San Pedro de la Fuente or Barrio Eras, passing right next to the old Hospital of the Emperor founded by Alfonso VI, which was the first hospital institution in Burgos.
The bridge of Malatos, which was already built in 1165, allowed and allows pilgrims to cross the Arlanzón river and continue their march to Santiago. Next to the bridge was the famous Leprosarium of San Lázaro de los Malatos. Following the itinerary, one of the most important Jacobean landmarks of the Camino de Santiago appears: the Hospital del Rey (King's Hospital). Founded by Alfonso VIII at the end of the 12th century, and with numerous Jacobean references, it was placed under the jurisdiction of the Abbess of Las Huelgas Reales. Very close to the hospital is its old pilgrims' cemetery; inside a simple 17th century chapel commemorates Saint Amaro.
First European cultural itinerary
Finally, I would like to make a reflection. The Council of Europe, in the Compostela Declaration of October 23, 1987, states that the Way of St. James is the First European Cultural Itinerary for "...".to be one of the great spaces of the intercontinental collective memory", "in view of its highly symbolic character in the European construction process". The text begins by noting that "the ideas of freedom and justice and confidence in progress are principles that have historically forged the different cultures that created the European identity".. He adds that it "is, today as yesterday, the fruit of the existence of a European space charged with collective memory and crossed by paths capable of overcoming distances, borders and misunderstandings".
This fact gave rise to a strong renewal of the Jacobean vocation in Europe, a dynamic that took on a universal dimension with the meeting held by His Holiness Pope John Paul II with young people in Santiago de Compostela in 1989. The Declaration clearly evoked the three fundamental dimensions that inspire this European Cultural Itinerary: the religious dimension, which gave rise to this pilgrimage route; the cultural dimension, determined by the historical fact that this pilgrimage route also became, over the centuries, a route of civilization and, finally, the European dimension that has always characterized the Jacobean pilgrimages and which acquired a new meaning in the process of union and continental construction.
The 1987 text is still in full force today: "....May the faith that animated the pilgrims in the course of history and that brought them together in a common yearning, beyond differences and national interests, also encourage us in these times, and particularly the younger ones, to walk these paths to build a society founded on tolerance, respect for others, freedom and solidarity".
The authorJesús M. Aguirre Hueto
President of the Association of Friends of the Camino de Santiago de Burgos. Degree in Geography and History
"Stewardship has transformed the lives of many people."
We interviewed Leisa Anslinger, Associate Director of the Vitality Pastoral Office in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati (USA), with whom we talked about stewardship in parishes and the importance of generosity and formation of the faithful.
Leisa Anslinger is currently the Associate Director of the Office of Parish Vitality in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati (USA). She is also an author, presenter and consultant to organizations, parishes and dioceses around the world. One of her best known and best selling books is "Forming generous hearts: Stewardship planning for long faith formation.". Leisa loves to discover the talents hidden in the hearts of the people she treats. She is certainly a great expert in helping the faithful to share their strengths and put them at the service of evangelization.
What a great question! It seems to me that our hearts respond to everything we are created to do when we find the grace and strength to live as God desires us to live. Of course, this grace and strength come from God himself! Therefore, generosity is the response to God's incredible love.
Is the heart born or made generous?
Perhaps without realizing it, I have already begun to answer this question in the previous one. It seems to me that the heart is born generous, but we lose sight of this as we mature. We become selfish and self-referential. Growing as disciples, as followers of Jesus, and paying attention to the multitude of blessings that come our way can be a great help in becoming our best version.
Why does it make us so happy to be generous?
I think that in the depths of our being we catch a glimpse of the impact of our gifts, the way in which those who receive them are touched by our generosity, and this makes us happy. One of my favorite quotes is from Father Michael Himes, who used to say that Jesus shows us that God's way is the way of self-giving love. He affirms that this is the image in which we have been created, the project according to which we have been designed. If God is pure self-giving, then self-giving is what we most desire.
Does generosity grow in the head or in the heart?
In both. At least I think so.Generosity grows in the heart because it is a grateful response to the many blessings entrusted to us by God. It is also a response in the head because we need to be attentive to those gifts, and committed to the pursuit of God's love.
Does stewardship have the power to transform lives?
No doubt about it. It has transformed mine, and I know many people who could say the same. Understanding ourselves as stewardship disciples is a powerful way to put our faith into action. I usually write a monthly reflection on the Sunday readings that I call Impact, and the main theme of this newsletter is "Bring faith into your life. Find life in faith" It seems to me that this is exactly what happens when we grow in stewardship.
Why do people tend to focus on their weaknesses rather than their strengths?
It is very interesting.Global talent studies confirm that when we have the choice of knowing our talents to build on them, or knowing our weaknesses to fix them, more than half of people agree that they prefer to know their weaknesses. However, we do our best when we work on what we do best. It seems to me that the idea of working on weaknesses is a perspective we acquire, like any bad habit. Something that comes from Western culture is that we must work hard to become who we want to be. Wouldn't it be much better to discern what we have been called to (even if it is a challenge) and accept that we have the talents to make it happen?
How do people's lives change when they build on their strengths to grow?
It is particularly liberating to accept that each of us has talents and combinations of talents - and that we also each have things we don't do well. Perhaps we can stop focusing on the things we don't do and instead build on the talents we have received. In addition, we can partner with those who possess the talents we lack. It seems to me that this is just what God is looking for. Think about how Jesus sent his disciples out two by two - each one longed for the company of the other, but perhaps also needed their talents.
How can stewardship transform a parish?
When a parish grows in stewardship, the faithful perceive without difficulty that God is at work in their lives; at the same time, the desire to donate their time, talents and money to the parish to support the mission of the Church grows. Often stewardship disciples are also happy people; namely because they have been filled with the joy that is deeper than happiness. Joy is an inner place of peace and contentment, and when the community has more joy-filled people, the parish becomes more joyful. The faithful are more prepared to grow as disciples of Jesus, who followed his way of sacrifice, mercy, forgiveness and love.
Have you been able to check it?
Yes, especially in the parish where I directed the employees for twelve years. I have discovered families that have been transformed, ministers who grow, faithful who care for others and are very active in charitable service in their own locality or to the farthest corner of the globe. The parish grows and there is in it a greater and more powerful sense of the presence of Christ when they are gathered for Mass. It is not so difficult to find people who give their time to the parish, and in fact, people come to us asking us to let them serve rather than feeling obliged to do so.
But does Stewardship affect the normal life of the faithful after or outside the parish?
Yes, when we see that stewardship is a way of life, then we know that it is not just about the parish. In fact, I think the most powerful thing about growing as a stewardship disciple is that it helps me to be attentive to God's presence continuously, not just on Sundays. Think, for example, of a young father getting up at night to care for his crying child. Or a middle-aged adult caring for their elderly parent. That time they give, that caring and sharing their affection is co-responsibility. Giving with that awareness enriches the lives of those who give; we become more aware that we are acting in the name of the Lord and achieve a greater sense of fulfillment as a result. There are also practical issues about this. For example, many people who are intentionally growing in stewardship talk about separating our wants from our needs - we don't need all those new things we simply crave - and so they often adopt a more sober lifestyle and find the strength to resist the extreme consumerism that continually tempts us.
How do you get people involved in the mission of the Church?
Start by inviting people to reflect on how they have been blessed and grow in gratitude. Then ask people if they would like to respond by donating, perhaps initially in simple ways, through a collection for food or clothing, for example. Over time the invitation becomes deeper and deeper - perhaps through involvement in a ministry, and also even helping to organize it. Those who are already involved personally invite others and accompany them, so that ministries grow. Parishes that are forming the faithful as stewardship disciples often invite their members to share their experiences through a brief talk before or at the end of Mass - a "lay witness" who shares the impact on their day-to-day living and growing in stewardship.
How long does it take for a parish to be co-responsible?
The first thing is that the pastor is open to co-responsibility. This may be a novelty for him, and that's fine. Actually, you could say it's a good thing. In that way, he can share with the faithful why he thinks it is important. Moreover, that novelty gives him the chance to speak to them from the heart about how stewardship is changing the way he lives.
A small group of parishioners can then begin to bring the message of stewardship to others, through short talks, articles in the parish bulletin or newsletter, on the parish website, etc. Such a group can talk to those who are already involved in some service or ministry, and help them get to know the stewardship disciples. They can then ask them to invite others and offer stewardship as a way forward. I think it would be very accurate to say that it takes as much time as the parish is willing to invest - in attention, time and commitment. To the extent that we see the parish coming back to life through stewardship, it is easier for it to continue on that path.
What is the real strength of the training?
I often remind people that being a disciple implies a life of change, of continual conversion to Christ. However, change is not always easy and being a disciple can be a real challenge. Formation leads us to fall more deeply in love with God, to understand our faith radically and to be prepared to share it, as well as to offer our gifts and our money as expressions of Christ's love for the world.
What is the relationship between gratitude and generosity?
Stewardship begins with gratitude. To the extent that we become attentive to the many blessings offered to us, beginning with life itself, we realize that all good gifts are showered upon us by God with love. And as God gives generously, we are invited to give unselfishly, freely, generously, showing and sharing with others the love of Christ.
How do you go about discovering the strengths that each one has received from God?
Pay attention to the things you do naturally well. Think of times when you have done something well and then reflect on what happened - what did you do, what skills or talents did you bring into play? Once you recognize the things you do well, use those gifts at other times.
In addition, a friend of mine and I wrote a workbook for those who use CliftonStrengths from a faith perspective. You can find it at: https://csec.info/bridges-series-workbooks –
For those who need to lead the change, the page https://www.gratefuldisciples.net offers complementary materials. It includes a six-part reflection on co-responsibility.
Music returns to Torreciudad with its International Organ Series
This International Organ Cycle of Torreciudad, which this year celebrates its twenty-sixth edition, is a major reference among the musical events that are scheduled in Aragon during the summer period along with the festival Classics on the Border.
The series will take place from August 6 to 27 and "will maintain and even reinforce one of its most characteristic features: the conjunction of melodic instruments with the organ," according to its director and titular organist of the sanctuary, Maite Aranzabal. For years it has had the support of the Caja Rural de Aragón Foundation and of the Secastilla Town Halland, on this occasion, also collaborates with Alumbra Energy. The concert series will be held in accordance with safety measures regarding social distance and seating capacity.
The repertoire chosen for this edition ranges from the sixteenth century to the present day, although the music of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is the protagonist of most of the pieces. The main role always corresponds to the organ, combined on this occasion with flute, clarinet, percussion and various historical instruments such as the sackbut, the cornetto or the natural trumpet.
Program of actions
- The concerts will take place at 7:00 p.m. on Fridays in August: August 6, 13, 20 and 27.
- Admission to the performances is free as long as the capacity established for the temple by health regulations (595 people) allows it.
- August 6: the series is inaugurated by the Navarrese organist Raúl del Toro, with a varied program that includes composers such as Fischer, Ledesma, P. Donostia, Mozart, Stanford and Bridge, the latter from the English Romantic school.
- August 13: the quintet "Cum Altam", composed of Juan Ramón Ullibarri (baroque clarinet and cornetto), Basilio Gomarín (natural trumpet), David Alejandre (sackbut), Marc Vall (timpani and percussion) and Norbert Itrich (organ), will offer a very striking concert with the performance of the musicians visually close to the public, since they will be located in the main nave of the church.
- August 20: the third performance will be given by organist Miriam Cepeda and clarinetist Luis Alberto Requejo, who will offer some of the most emblematic works composed for this instrument duo.
- August 27: the titular organist of the sanctuary and native of San Sebastian, Maite Aranzabal, will form a duo with the flutist Sofía Martínez Villar from Valladolid to develop a varied repertoire with a predominance of works from the 19th and 20th centuries. Among the composers chosen, the figure of the Catalan Eduard Toldrá stands out, one of whose pieces will close the concert.
Dr. Gómez Sancho: "In half of Spain there is no palliative care".
"We should have started by developing palliative care, so that there are not 75,000 patients who die each year with intense suffering," said Dr. Gómez Sancho when he presented the Palliative Sedation Guide 2021.
"In half of Spain there is no palliative care. What kind of decision is the patient going to make when the law says that palliative care must be explained to him or her?
What is he going to choose between?" asked Dr. Marcos Gómez Sancho, who began working in Palliative Medicine as early as 1989, with the creation of a specialized Unit at the Hospital de Gran Canaria Dr. Negrín, and who currently coordinates the Observatory of Medical Care at the End of Life of the Council of Medical Associations.
The palliative expert pointed out that there are basically two groups of patients who are possible candidates for requesting euthanasia. "Oncology patients and similar patients in advanced or terminal stages, and the chronically ill, elderly people with disabling diseases, who require a model of residential socio-health care. Both situations are scandalously deficient in Spain. Today we know that approximately 75,000 Spanish patients die each year with intense suffering because they do not have access to palliative care. And that is something that should not be allowed," he said.
"The other group of patients who may be candidates to request euthanasia are the elderly patients with chronic, degenerative and evolutive, disabling diseases, who need social-health centers to be cared for.
Well, they should know that Spain lacks 71,000 beds of this type, which is an understatement".
At this point, the doctor made an aside to specify that "there are economic problems. According to the spokesman for the Luzon Foundation, which studies and helps patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), 94 percent of the patients do not have the resources to be able to privately finance the care they need.
So, if there is no access to a public residential place, because there are 71,000 beds missing, and only 6 percent can afford a private one, it is clear what the situation is."
Because "every day 160 sick people die waiting, in a sinister waiting list, for the dependency assistance to which they are entitled, because they have already been evaluated and have been granted".
His conclusion, placing the context in the recent entry into force of the euthanasia law, is "that we should have started there; that is, by developing palliative care, so that there are not 75,000 patients who die every year with intense suffering because they do not have access to palliative care. And that there should be sufficient social and health centers so that these chronic patients, with degenerative diseases, can be adequately cared for".
"What was urgent was not to legalize the way to end a sick person's life," he stressed, "but that no one should have to wait ten years for the resources they need to be put in their hands, and that they should not have to be forced to end their life or to ask their husband or wife to end it. This is the first thing that should have been done, before developing a law on euthanasia".
Palliative Sedation Guide 2021
In any case, the Consejo General de Colegios Oficiales de Médicos and the Sociedad Española de Cuidados Paliativos have today provided a medical solution to intense suffering, that is, aPalliative Sedation Guide 2021This document is intended to serve as a guide for good practice and for the correct application of palliative sedation.
"This text is born at a crucial moment, and it plays an essential role, which is the one that must be played by the General Council of Medical Associations of Spain (CGCOM), and is to provide and generate tools that are truly useful in daily healthcare practice," said Dr. Tomás Cobo Castro, president of the CGCOM.
"This Palliative Sedation Guide is precisely that, a tremendously practical, direct tool that sets out protocols and the use of certain drugs [medications] in palliative sedation," added Dr. Cobo Castro, who was accompanied by the Secretary General, Dr. José María Rodríguez Vicent, and Dr. Marcos Gómez Sancho. The guide has been drawn up by the Observatory of Medical Care at the End of Life of the CGCOM, and SECPALThe new publication, which highlights palliative sedation as a good medical practice, can be downloaded through the CGCOM website and the QR code to carry it with you at all times.
"Sedation, very different from euthanasia."
"There are people who confuse palliative sedation with euthanasia, and it is not at all the same thing, not even similar," Dr. Gómez Sancho began by explaining. "They are differentiated by several things. First, the intention. The intention of palliative sedation is to alleviate the suffering of the patient, while the intention of euthanasia is to end the patient's life."
"The drugs used are also different. In palliative sedation, benzodiazepines are used first and almost always, specifically midazolam,
Sometimes, in cases of hyperactive delirium, other drugs, including barbiturates, must be used. However, in the case of euthanasia, barbiturates are used directly.
"The procedure is also different. In palliative sedation, the minimum doses are used to achieve our objective, which is to reduce the patient's consciousness, so that he or she does not suffer. However, in the case of euthanasia, directly lethal doses are used."
"And then the result. The result of palliative sedation is a sedated patient, asleep, not suffering. The result of euthanasia is a dead man. There is also survival. In the case of palliative sedation, it can be hours, and even some small number of days. In the case of euthanasia it is a few minutes, three, four, five minutes."
"Therefore," concludes the prestigious palliativist, "one thing is quite different from the other. Although it is true that what separates them is a very fine line, it is a perfectly clear line, and it differentiates very clearly between what is a medical act and what is a euthanasic act. Palliative sedation is a tool that should be known by all Spanish doctors, because there is practically no doctor who does not have to attend at some point in his professional career to a patient at the end of his life. And he or she must know that this treatment exists, and must know how to apply it perfectly".
"That is why I congratulate the OMC [Organización Médica Colegial], for having published this pocket guide, because with it no doctor can say that he does not know how to do it, because it is perfectly clear and detailed when and how a doctor has to perform palliative sedation on his patient".
Half of the patients need it
"The guide explains in detail the steps to follow for palliative sedation," Dr. Gómez Sancho added. "Palliative sedation in children, in pediatrics, has also been added, as well as palliative sedation in cases of refractory existential suffering. It is an extraordinarily important document, so that it can reach all Spanish physicians, residents, medical students, etc.
In his opinion, "it is an essential resource today to face the end of life of our patients, because we believe that between 50 and 60 percent of patients at the end of life will need palliative sedation, to have a peaceful, dignified end, and at the right time.
"It is very important," he added, "because with this treatment, with palliative sedation, there should be no need for any other type of action with any patient at the end of life. Because with perfect palliative sedation, strictly and rigorously applied, no person has to die in pain or with any other stressful symptom."
"Therefore, I think that's where things should have started, because in this way, as I say, we would avoid that no person is going to die with intense suffering, caused by one or more particularly stressful symptoms."
In addition, the doctor assured, "palliative sedation must be applied when the patient needs it. Obviously, we have to evaluate each patient individually, and if a patient is in need of palliative sedation, we do not have to pay too much attention to how much time this patient has left to live, but rather apply the treatment at the moment he or she needs it.
Demand for palliative care law
During question time, "the president of the WTO, Dr. Cobo Castro, acknowledged that "we have been bored of asking for a law on Palliative Care, and we have also been bored of asking, when the law on euthanasia was drafted, that they should have counted more on healthcare professionals".
Dr. Gómez Sancho confirmed this fact, and assured that "the demand for a palliative care law has been made persistently by this house. And we have also done so from the Spanish Society of Palliative Care, and from the Observatory itself".
The palliative physician added that "the request has not been heeded so far by any political party. We have been trying for more than 30 years to have a Palliative Care Law. This is a warning to all political parties, because in these thirty-odd years, all political parties have passed through the Ministry of Health and have ignored our proposal. Because the priority is not a law on euthanasia. The priority should have been to make a law to care for the sick so that they do not have to request euthanasia. Because we have started the house from the roof".
The contributions of Native American Indian Catholicism to North American Catholicism
A wide variety of cultures have been shaping Catholicism in North America, and cannot be understood without them: Anglo-Saxons, African Americans, Asians, Hispanics and Native Americans.
Catholicism in North America cannot be understood without taking into account all the cultures that have enriched it throughout history. Anglo-Saxons, African Americans, Asians, Hispanics and Native Americans have enriched the faith of this country with their own traditions and charisms. However, until a few decades ago, the history of Catholicism in North America was presented as fragmented visions: the Anglo-Saxon vision, the Hispanic vision, the African-American vision, etc.
It was a disjointed historiography, as if it were the history of different countries. Recently there have been initiatives not only to bring together the historical narrative of the faith in the U.S., but to present the contributions that each culture has to Catholicism. Among these recent efforts is the documentary, "An Enduring Faith: The Story of Native American Catholicism," produced by the Knights of Columbus, which since May 16 has been airing Sundays on some public television stations.
There are about 4.5 million Native Americans, belonging to 574 tribes recognized by the U.S. federal government, including the Apache, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Chickasaw, Comanche, Pueblo, Sioux and others. Most of them live in "reservations" (Indian reservations): territories that have their own jurisdiction and, although they are within a state of the American Union, they are autonomous. In the USA there are 326 territories with these characteristics, the largest being the Navajo Nation Reservation, located within the states of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Many natives profess the Catholic faith. As of 2015, the Native Catholic population was estimated to be 708,000.
There are just over 100 parishes dedicated exclusively to serving these communities, most of them in California, New Mexico and Texas. In fact, within the American Conference of Catholic Bishops there is a Subcommittee on American Indian Affairs that has among its objectives to address the needs of such population and contribute to the healing of past wounds and historical conflicts: "We, as a diverse community in the Church, embrace this mission with all the saints who have gone before us, especially with St. Kateri Tekakwitha, through Catholic education, parish leadership and the Church's ministry of evangelization we develop mutual trust and cultural respect".
The documentary "An Enduring Faith" begins in the 16th century with the apparitions of St. Mary of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego at Tepeyac. It then explores the life of St. Kateri Tekakwitha and Nicholas the Black Elk, whose life for the Evangelization of the Lakota peoples inspired other missionaries to bring the message of salvation to those communities; his cause for canonization is currently under review.
The film also speaks to the spiritual and cultural gifts of Native Americans and addresses the dramas in their history caused by the unjust policies of the British and U.S. governments. "We know there is a lot of negative history between Native peoples and those who came from Europe. But one of the positive things is that the Gospel also came and since its arrival it has been present among the people of the native peoples," says one of the interviewees. "When they ask me if I am an Indian Christian or an Indian Christian, I tell them that I don't care. The important thing is that I know that God is in my heart and that I am His child," says a Native American. The short film highlights the fundamental values of these cultures, including the sacredness of human life, respect for creation and restorative justice. The Native Americans were the first settlers of this territory, but their history since colonization has been full of tragedies, deceit and injustice.
This documentary will undoubtedly contribute to a more complete and unified historiography of Catholicism in North America. A non-fragmented vision, which will contribute to highlight that the Catholic faith in the United States has been enriched before and now with the contributions of Anglo-Saxon, African-American, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American cultures.
It is the richness of our faith. As the American Conference of Catholic Bishops points out, "for those whom Christ has called, there is joy and wonder in encountering Christ in the individuals and families who form such a vast tapestry of culture, spirituality and grace. The preview of the documentary is available in English:
VIII Centenary of the Cathedral of Burgos, message of witnesses
Juan Álvarez Quevedo, Delegate of Heritage of the Diocese of Burgos, splendidly introduces us to the marvelous catechesis of 800 years of stone history.
Juan Álvarez Quevedo-July 21, 2021-Reading time: 9minutes
A year ago, on the occasion of the VIII Centenary of the Cathedral of Burgos, the then magazine Palabra dedicated a special issue in which it covers, in detail, all the aspects of this celebration that will take place on July 20, 2021 and that will be celebrated on July 20, 2021. you can read the full article in this link if you are a subscriber of our magazine.
On this occasion, we offer the text of Juan Álvarez Quevedo, Heritage Delegate of the Diocese of Burgos who splendidly introduces us to the marvelous catechesis of 800 years of history through its most significant elements.
When a person approaches the Cathedral of Burgos, he/she does it for a very specific reason; but this can be so diverse that the conjunction of all of them can serve to formulate a sociology treatise. Throughout the celebrations and events taking place on the occasion of the VIII Centenary of the laying of the first stone, many people have approached the Cathedral, who have been impressed by the act celebrated, by what was contemplated in relation to the Heritage or by the memory of an event that continues to be living history in the life of the Church, both diocesan and of the society of Burgos.
Tourists, faithful of the diocesan Church, pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela, heritage lovers, architecture scholars, devotees of the Christ of Burgos, music and theater lovers, zealous collaborators of the dialogues, representatives of public and private organizations..., all this variety of people have approached the cathedral of Burgos in recent months.
Many others have participated in this temple for different activities for other reasons. It is very difficult to find a uniform motivation that has moved them all to come to this emblematic place. Soon there will be one more motivation that will fill the chapels and naves of this Cathedral; it is the celebration of the Jubilee, which throughout a whole year will allow us to contemplate it with the eyes of faith, with a different motivation. Surely, when some of the aforementioned protagonists have come to this temple, they have not forgotten this motivation: it is a building that serves to contemplate God on earth.
An anecdote about the stonemasons
When a group of children or young people approach the cathedral, at the door of the Sarmental, when they have before their eyes some open doors to access the interior, I usually ask them: where are we?
The answers are very diverse, so I take this opportunity to tell you: it is a very important, sacred place, and I do so by telling you an anecdote, real or fictitious. It is the following: When they were building this cathedral, back in the thirteenth century, a very restless neighbor saw the stonemasons climbing on the scaffolding; the first day he passed by he asked a worker "What are you doing there, my good man?" The latter replies, "Enduring the heat of the day and the hard hours of work." The occasional visitor went home, thinking about the hard work of the stonemasons. The second day passed and he asked another worker: "Is the work going well?" He replied: "Here I am earning bread for my children, who need it so much". Finally he returned on the third day and with the scaffolding a little higher, he asked a third one: "What is the work you are doing?" And he answered: "I am building a cathedral". With this I say to the young people: the doors are open to us; we are invited to enter a cathedral, to be the protagonists of it, as were those artists of the 13th century.
To discover the real reason for our entrance to the Cathedral we have to understand what a Catholic temple is, what we are taught in it, what it was made for. In this way we will find not one more or different motivation to go to the Cathedral, but that will be the basis or the reason for our visit or our entrance to this place.
To do this I will briefly look at some small details of the art of our cathedral and how we are all witnesses of the message it contains and thus we will become protagonists of this temple. These small and extraordinary details make us discover this protagonism and the religious message of the temple. The rest of the studies on the history, the art or the restorations of the Cathedral are already analyzed by other people who know these technical details to perfection.
Santa Maria and the Forgiveness doorway
The Cathedral of Burgos seen from the outside has three very significant facades that introduce us to some mysteries that are celebrated inside.
Juan Álvarez Quevedo
For example, if an apse is decorated with an altarpiece of the highest quality or with stained glass windows that allow us to discover the mysteries through the light and, in addition, it has a kind of exterior altarpiece on the façade, we find ourselves before an ensemble of double value, which shows the mysteries of Salvation from the inside, but prepares from the outside that impact to invite the visitor to enter into contemplation.
The Cathedral of Burgos seen from the outside has three very significant covers that introduce us to some mysteries that are celebrated inside, it is a summary of a History of Salvation written in stone in three chapters, and that invite those who contemplate them to enter into the message.
The façade of Santa Maria that opens onto the square of the same name is the doorway of Forgiveness, a place where pilgrims and jubilarians who wish to obtain this grace enter. It is the one that serves as a reference for the whole Cathedral: Mary is the titular of the temple, it houses in its interior a series of chapels dedicated to her mysteries and takes us into the History of Salvation, because they are the beginnings of this great project of God, who wants to count on Mary, his Mother, to give the fullness to this plan.
As the center of this story is rooted in the People of Israel, which is a harbinger of the Church, we have in the center of the façade the Star of David, which serves to frame the rose window. Mary and her People are the initial frame of this story, they are the protagonists of this first façade that is completed with eight statues of different sizes; according to some authors they represent characters of the people of Israel and are related to the Virgin.
But at the top of the center we find the image and the explanatory text of the cover: the image of the Virgin with the Child and the moon under her feet; at her sides appears the text referring to her: "Pulchra es et decora"(You are beautiful and beautiful). The addition of the spires, made in the 14th century with the mottoes of the bishops Alonso de Cartagena and Luis de Acuña, "Pax vobis" y "Ecce agnus Dei"It helps to link the façade to another moment in the History of Salvation, which is the Church, but which is concretized in the work and labor of the bishops in the local Church.
The Sarmental, Christ
The next façade reveals another moment of this history and is accessed from the Plaza de San Fernando. It is the Portada del Sarmental, where Christ is the central protagonist; in it and in a very reduced space, but with an incomparable richness, four moments are described, the last one prolonged in History. They are the following. In the center, Christ, the protagonist of this cover, appears seated, blessing with his right hand and with the book of the Gospels open; he is the Incarnate Word, who brings and preaches Salvation through his Word. Next to Him are the evangelists, in their period desks and with their attributes, are collecting that message in writing; it is his Word transmitted.
Below this group are the twelve apostles with their book of the Gospels, who decide to preach it; and finally the fourth moment, the figure of the bishop, as successor of the apostles, who brings the message of Salvation to this earth; this message is represented so that the Word spreads in history throughout the centuries. The liturgy of the Church is shown in the archivolts of this façade, with angels, musicians and elders, and in the upper finish also with angels carrying candles and candelabra.
The Coronería, the apostles
The third important exterior doorway is that of the Coronería, located at the north end of the transept and called of the Apostles, to imply that they accompany us in this process of Salvation. It is located on Fernán González Street. It is the third chapter of this process in which all believers become protagonists. It is about the final examination, since, if in the bench are the twelve apostles, in the tympanum is represented the Final Judgment, that is to say, the analysis of the life of the believers previous to the participation of the life of God. Christ appears as Judge, accompanied by the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist and in the lower section, under the canopy, the narrow door through which it is necessary to pass, with some on the right and others on the left, following the text of Mt. 25:41. It is a whole story that involves the protagonists and makes us all participants in it.
The first choir of the Cathedral of Burgos was located at the head of the central nave, but by the end of the 15th century the idea arose to enlarge it and replace it with another of the artistic quality of the time. For this reason, the primitive one was removed, and from 1506 work began on the new one, a work that lasted until 1610, with several outstanding authors working on it.
What interests us at this point is the description of a part of it, in accordance with the purpose of this study. The number of seats amounts to 103 and, since it is in the center of the cathedral to raise praises to God, it is developed in three levels: the lower one presents reliefs with biblical and hagiographic themes of daily life; in the upper one, based on the stories of Genesis, there are reliefs of scenes from Genesis interspersed with images of saints and biblical characters. But what stands out the most is the set of reliefs of the upper gallery, where the life of Christ is narrated, from the Annunciation to the Resurrection.
It is the Gospel in scenes, which is offered to all visitors to the Cathedral, especially to young people, so that they can discover the most important characters at the center of the History of Salvation.
JuanÁlvarez Quevedo
It is the Gospel in scenes, which is offered to all visitors to the Cathedral, especially to young people, so that they can discover the most important characters at the center of the History of Salvation and who are associated with it by sitting on these seats. These visitors, as well as the people who attend the celebrations or other cultural or religious events, associate themselves with the most brilliant and outstanding moments of the evangelical life. They can take a retrospective photograph of the places they have occupied throughout their lives in this choir.
The dome
"In medio templi tui laudabo te et gloriam tribuam nomini tuo qui facis mirabilia."In the midst of your temple I will praise you and give glory to you because you do wonders. This is the inscription that appears on the base of the last work that, among many others, can be analyzed to understand the meaning of the representations of the witnesses. This phrase is the one that the artists could leave written in block letters to imply that, when they carry out this activity, they are continuing God's work in creation.
Commissioned by Bishop Acuña, Juan de Colonia erected a dome in the transept in the form of a third tower around 1460-1470. Striking, elegant and sumptuous, and with a bold structure, it was adorned with many columns and crowned by eight spires. As it was built over the original structure, which only maintained a simple roof, on the night of March 3 to 4, 1539, after its pillars on the north side gave way, it collapsed completely, dragging down the nearby vaults as well.
The chapter decided to rebuild the dome that same day, commissioning it to Juan de Vallejo, who was inspired by a design by Juan de Langres, a disciple of Philippe Bigarny. In 1555 it was almost finished, but it was not completed until 1568. This current design presents a tall octagonal prism structure divided into two bodies, with four attached towers topped by slender spires that reinforce the visual impact of the central drum.
In the heart of the Cathedral
The artist wants to give back to God what he has received, he wants to continue with the work of the creator and therefore rises up and praises him and gives glory from the temple.
Juan Álvarez Quvedo
We are in the heart of the cathedral. The imagination goes to the top and sees the light that radiates throughout the dome, from sunrise to sunset. Philip II already said that this seemed more the work of angels than of men. The hand of God hovers over these reliefs, over the windows and, as a human work, descends to the pavement of the temple, a place destined for human repose.
The artist wants to give back to God what he has received, he wants to continue the work of the creator and therefore he rises up and praises him and gives him glory from the temple; thus he has continued with this work of the Creator. If in the beginning he said let there be light, and the whole universe shone, now man glorifies him with his artist's hand, fulfilling the mandate of work. The talents that God has placed in the mind of man make him the artist of the universe, who completes creation and befriends God. The fretwork vault, typically Burgos, opens the openings for prayer and the incense opens the feelings of divinity. Man and God work in this artistic marvel.
Conclusion
If we can dream, we can see cathedrals full of light, white as the first day, because they have been fully restored; we can imagine temples that are well consolidated and full of tourists; we can contemplate a marvelous goldsmithery behind the showcases, and we dream of routes full of dreams and full of jewels that fill the geography and the landscape. If it is only this, we have not yet discovered the fullness of light, we have not yet seen the wonders of God that these jewels contain.
The true glory of God is also that cathedrals serve as meeting points for the Christian people, that churches be centers of parish and community gatherings, that monstrances, processional crosses and chalices with their luminous glow lead us to God.
It does not matter whether our museums are visited by many or few tourists, it is more urgent that they be an itinerary of faith and questions, that art serve the world of culture and serve tourists pastorally; that each of the temples be a hotbed of peace and solidarity for a world that continues to need and seek God.
All the protagonists of the Cathedral, reflected in images and reliefs, become today men and women of the 21st century, who continue to write their history, in order to be protagonists of their stellar moment in this Way of Salvation.
The authorJuan Álvarez Quevedo
Delegate of Patrimony of the Diocese of Burgos, Vice-president of the Cabildo of the Cathedral.
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Continuing with Mark's Gospel, we would have read the multiplication of the loaves for the benefit of the multitude, whom Jesus saw "like sheep without a shepherd" and who had nothing to eat. The choice of the liturgy is, instead, to expand the theological reflection on this episode; and so for five Sundays we read the sixth chapter of John, where, after the multiplication of the loaves, the discourse on the bread of life opens, a revelation that Jesus makes to us about the mystery of his presence in the bread that will give us, and with it, eternal life. The fact that the multiplication of the loaves and fishes is the only miracle recounted by the four Gospels, and that Matthew and Mark relate it twice, reveals a profound meaning: it is a decisive sign for understanding Jesus in his compassion for human suffering, and also in his plan to enter into communion with all humanity, throughout the centuries, through the Eucharist.
In John's account we notice that the crowd follows Jesus because he heals the sick. He goes up the mountain and sits there. The mountain was the place where God gave Moses the law, written on tablets of stone. When Jesus goes up a mountain he is preparing to give us something of the new law that he writes on hearts. The Passover is near: what Jesus is about to do is intimately related to the Passover of his future redemption. Jesus raises his eyes, as when he prays: looking at the poverty of men with his heart, it is like praying, and the Father hears him. He wants to involve Philip, and asks him how to feed these people, although he already knows what the solution will be. Jesus is also a teacher of the ability to collaborate. Philip and Andrew see things from the point of view of human strength: two hundred denarii, or five barley loaves and two fish, are not enough for anyone.
The resource comes from a child who spontaneously renounces his food: he gives all that is his. The Church needs the enthusiasm and folly of youth. We need the novelty of barley bread, which in spring is the first of the cereals to bear fruit. The place that Jesus has chosen is beautiful in the landscape, it is comfortable on the grass where all those people can sit. According to John, it is Jesus himself who distributes the bread after giving thanks, the prayer that gives the Eucharist its name. Perhaps the disciples help him: there are five thousand men, not counting women and children. But it is good to see that it is Jesus himself who gives us the bread. Surely the twelve gather the leftovers: a basket each. Thus they feel how much it weighs: thus it is engraved forever in their memory that God's generosity is superabundant, that the Eucharist is inexhaustible.
The moment has arrived. Sunday, July 25 will be the first time that the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly -announced by Pope Francis at the last Angelus in January-just before the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the "grandparents" of Jesus.
This year will be part of the initiatives of the Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia" coordinated by the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life and will be celebrated in all the dioceses of the world, which will dedicate one of their Sunday Masses to the celebration of the Day.
The young people - the "grandchildren" - will also be mobilized with visits to hospitals or nursing homes, not forgetting a remembrance of those who did not make it through Covid-19, perhaps with a moment of prayer by reading their names and lighting a candle.
In the Message written for this first World Day, Pope Francis stressed the importance of the vocation of the "Third Age", called to "guard the roots, transmit the faith to the young and care for the little ones". He himself proposed "the visit of an angel" on this day for every grandparent and every elderly person, "especially those who are most alone".
The Pope also recalled that the whole Church is close to people who are getting older: "she cares for you, she loves you and does not want to leave you alone!", and stressed that "there is no age at which you can withdraw from the task of proclaiming the Gospel, from the task of passing on traditions to your grandchildren".
What matters to the Pontiff is to build the world of tomorrow "in fraternity and social friendship" and, for this reason, the elderly are fundamental, the only ones who can help to lay the three fundamental pillars of this construction: "dreams, memory and prayer".
What matters to the Pontiff is to build the world of tomorrow "in fraternity and social friendship" and, for this reason, the elderly are fundamental.
Giovanni Tridente
In short, we must first "dream" of a world of justice, peace and solidarity, and we must transmit these dreams to the young. This would not be possible without "memory", which can only be shared by those who have lived it - like the "grandparents" who have suffered the tragedies of war and destruction. Finally, "prayer," and that of the elderly, "is a lung of which the Church and the world cannot be deprived," as Francis wrote in Evangelii Gaudium.
Plenary indulgence
At the request of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, the Apostolic Penitentiary has issued a Decree by which it a plenary indulgence is granted to those who participate in any way in the Day. In addition to the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer according to the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff), the indulgence is also granted to those who "dedicate an adequate amount of time to visit in person or virtually their older brothers and sisters in need or difficulty: the sick, the abandoned, the disabled...".
The highlight of the day will be the Mass in the Vatican Basilica presided over by Pope Francis, with the participation of a representation of grandparents and elderly people from the Diocese of Rome. In the meantime, you can be present on social networks through the # I'malwayswithyou campaign, inspired by the theme of the event, with which to tell about the various initiatives.
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The professor of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross emphasizes in this second part of the interview how "the Church has an identity that it cannot change. It is itself believerThe mission: he bases his faith on God. At the same time, he has a mission to accomplish, so he has to be credible. But even so, it is not enough: it also has to be "dear".
We offer the second part of the interview which Juan Narbona, professor of Digital Communication at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, gave to Omnes. In the first part, published a few days ago, he explained that distrust in institutions weakens society, and now he focuses on the Church.
Is it safe to say that the lack of trust is more than just a communication problem?
- Communication serves to reach out when one considers oneself worthy of trust, and to set in motion the mechanisms that make us worthy of it. In an organization, the communication department's mission is to recall the inspirational role of values, to create a corporate culture at the service of people (e.g. by listening) and to show, in words and images that are understandable, the company's own proposal. But anyone who uses communication to disguise their own incoherent, selfish or incapable behavior will fail sooner or later.
For example, if a reality of the Church, in order to get closer to those far away, were to defend truths contrary to the faith, perhaps it would appear to be more capable - "they are close to the people"- or benevolent - "they have a modern and open mentality"-, but they would cease to be upright and, therefore, sooner or later they would lose the trust of those who want a testimony of faith. As Groucho Marx used to say: "These are my principles, and if you don't like them I have others...". Someone like that does not inspire much confidence, does he?
There is concern in some quarters about the loss of credibility of the Church that may result from reports of sexual abuse. Is there a direct link between the two issues?
- These scandals have undoubtedly eroded the credibility of the Church. Where such cases have occurred, they have given the image of an institution that has defended itself and not the people it was meant to protect. And in many cases this has been the case.
Inspiring trust again is a long process that requires patience, because before regaining trust it is necessary to change the dynamics that allowed those crimes and lies.
It is sometimes claimed that regaining credibility would require changing the content proposed to the faithful to believe....
- A healthy desire to reform is very positive if it generates changes in line with one's own identity and mission. It is not a matter of ceasing to be who you are in order to regain the public's applause. That would be a false change.
Crises are an opportunity to return to one's roots, to dust off the reasons why an organization or initiative was launched. They are also an opportunity to free oneself from the useless weight acquired over time, from bad practices or ways of doing things that served for a time, but which we must be able to get rid of if they do not help the mission, which in the case of the Church is the salvation of souls.
Discerning what can be changed and what cannot is an exercise that requires large doses of prudence and courage. As I said at the beginning, the limits within which we can move are marked by who I am and what my role is. These guidelines are useful for the Church, for any organization and for each one of us.
You said that deserving trust requires demonstrating integrity, benevolence (desiring the good of the other) and capability. How to communicate "inconsistency", in a sense is unavoidable as the "incoherence" of the other person's behavior is not only a matter of trust, but also a matter of trust.he Church is made up of sinners as well as saints?
- Communicating one's vulnerability is a delicate but necessary subject. For example, apologizing may cost, but it is an action that helps bring the values one has betrayed back to the forefront. If an organization where money has been mismanaged apologizes, it is admitting that it wishes to be guided by financial honesty going forward.
I keep repeating that forgiveness must follow the rule of the three Rs: "recognize" the damage caused, "repair" to the extent possible the damage caused to the other party, and "rectify" the circumstances that may have led to that wrongdoing. It is not always easy, but to apologize - to admit that one's own behavior has distanced oneself from the values that should guide us - is the cry of the sinner who still trusts that he or she can be a saint. Recognizing one's own fragility is, paradoxically, the basis on which one can work solidly to regain the trust of others.
Ask for forgiveness, - is the Gospel question - how many times? In addition, some in the Church are also expected to apologize and take the consequences of the mistakes of others.
- The Church feels the responsibility to ask forgiveness for the offenses committed by some of its ministers, and it will have to do so as long as there are people who have been hurt. But I refer to the three "r's" above: they show that asking for forgiveness is an important, serious and profound act. It is important not to trivialize it, nor to use it as a marketing tool.
It is equally serious to ask for forgiveness: one must explain the reasons, and not demand it simply to humiliate the other party or to take revenge for the harm suffered. If justice is sought, yes, it is perfectly legitimate. Moreover, the Church is called to go beyond justice and to be a teacher of charity.
As for "benevolence," could the question be raised as to whether the Church wants the good of the faithful?
- As the Pope said, "power is service", something that at times has not been understood either by those who exercise authority or by those who follow it. For this reason, we view with suspicion the leaders of many institutions, not only in the Church. The current crisis of confidence in those organizations that are governed by a structured system should make us think. It is not a question of eliminating hierarchies - which are necessary - but of finding new ways of participation. More dialogue can help each person to feel a sense of responsibility for the future and the good health of his or her own organization - the Church, too; it would help to find creative proposals to meet the challenges of a society in continuous change, to understand the difficulties of those who run the organization, to know the needs and expectations of those who are part of it, to have a more complete and realistic vision of the context in which one works....
In my opinion, the synodality proposed by Pope Francis - which is a good with theological roots and not a simple technique of democratic participation - is an example, but each reality has to find its own methods to increase listening and participation. The critical sense that we all have can become something positive if we achieve a system that orients it towards constructive solutions.
Let us now turn to competence. In what sense can the Church be "competent"? Catholics always have the possibility of doing good, but we do not always do it.
- In the Church we will always have the impression of not being able to offer the world the full wonder of the Christian message. This does not mean that in every age we should not strive to renew our language, clothing our proclamation with new words that awaken people's interest. To achieve this, it is important to learn to listen. As the poet Benedetti said: "When we had the answers, they changed the questions". That is the impression we can have in the Church.
What questions do people ask themselves today, and why does the Christian proposal not always answer their questions? Nor can we forget that, in a polarized world with little room for dialogue, and in which emotions sometimes carry too much weight, the serene and constant witness of Christians - in works of charity, for example - will continue to be an enormous source of trust.
The works demonstrate that we are capable to do good. I like to quote what St. Francis said to his disciples to remind them of the value of witness: "Let us go out and preach, if necessary even with words". Sometimes it is enough to rely on the enormous power of a coherent life. Actions communicate by themselves when they are well done.
Where to anchor fidelity, if there is a perceived lack of consistency in actions?
- Remember frequently that we do not have to be faithful to an institution, but to a Person. Christ and his Church are inseparable, that is why we are sure that in the Church we find Christ. But each person, in different cultural, social or intellectual contexts, searches for the treasure of faith. at the Church. Therefore, at times, in order to remain faithful, it is necessary to change the accessories. Fidelity is not immobility, but love in movement.
By losing the "trust" of a part of the people, does the Church lose "credibility"?
- As we said at the beginning, trust is related to the expectations of others. At times, some people may have expectations of the Church that it cannot meet. Being consistent with the faith, even if it costs us to lose the trust of some, can strengthen the trust of others.
The Church has an identity that it cannot change. It is itself believerThe mission: he bases his faith on God. At the same time, he has a mission to accomplish, so he has to be credible. But even so, it is not enough: it also has to be "dear". You cannot love that which causes you fear or suspicion, but you can love those who desire your good, are coherent and know how to help you, even if they are wrong. Therefore, I would say that Christians and the Church must acquire these three consecutive characteristics: we are called to be believers, credible and "lovable".
Public opinion moves so fast that it hardly has time to think. In this context, how can matters such as faith or the Church, which require slow consideration, be communicated?
-The Internet has accelerated communications, increasing the volume of information and decreasing, at the same speed, our capacity for analysis. Whatsapps, mails, series, posts, stories... invade each of our attention spans. If we do not protect ourselves, we simply lose the ability to reflect -which is a malleable habit, like any other-.
Sherry Turkle, a pioneer in the analysis of the social impact of the Internet, maintains that in order for the network not to alienate us from others, it is necessary to promote physical dialogue: at home, with friends, at work... But also with oneself! This interior space is essential for cultivating our faith - which is also a personal relationship - in reflection, prayer and ongoing study. In an apparent paradox, in an accelerated society, the Church can gain attractiveness as a serious space for reflection and balance, also for non-believers. For them to trust us, we first need to trust that faith is powerfully attractive.
I was recently told a curious anecdote: a girl, a good Catholic, wanted at all costs to bring her boyfriend closer to the faith, since he is not a believer but very respectful.
One day, at the end of Mass, talking with some friends and a priest from the youth group in which she participates, she commented that she had the idea of "putting" her boyfriend in an Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, but without telling him anything. She would tell him that they were going to pick up something that she could not carry by herself and so she would accompany him... her intention was not good, it was great. "Surely he will convert" she would say; to which the priest replied: "or not".
This girl then understood that it was ridiculous to impose the moment of her boyfriend's conversion, even more, with a lie in the middle.... If you ask me whether or not he went to worship, yes, he went... but there was no miraculous conversion... for the moment.
With the best of our intentions, I have no doubt, we can often act in this way: trying to set God's times and ways, without taking into account the most important asset in this "business": the freedom of each one of us. Most of us, the Lord does not call us to be coaches of Catholicism, successful men and women of the faith, whose love of God is measured in the price of those who are converted thanks to our wonderful ways, words and ideas. No.
It is true that, especially in our "handsome, rich and famous" society, it does not seem particularly pleasant to work hard without having something to boast about in the Instagram of our life of faith. We fall into inner discouragement, as we watch the rest taking selfies of themselves in environments "flowing with milk and honey." But it is what it is. We only have to peruse Holy Scripture to see that the men of God, those prophets, apostles had more reason to be members of the failure club than to be TEDx speakers talking about their exploits. And Salvation was made this way, with discarded cornerstones, with half-baked failures, with those who put all the means to bring God to men, but who perhaps died without seeing even half a wall of the promised land.
God asks us pull out all the stopsWe are asked to invite our boyfriend or girlfriend to Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, but, above all, to pray for him or her in each of our encounters with the Lord, even if we have been sent to that smelly place where we all know so many people. Put the means in place keeping in mind that the end is not for you and me to taste success.
There is nothing less evangelical than the "Theology of merit" - if I do well, God will reward me with fruits, if I do not see fruits, it means that we are doing badly.
Evidently, when we do our work for the love of God, well, with dedication, the fruits will come, sooner or later. As we were always told at the University: "a good script can make a bad movie, but with a bad script, you can never make a good movie". Our script will be good if it is not signed by us but by God Himself, perhaps for that reason, it does not make much sense to impose the forms or the times to Him who is the Owner of time. What we have come to is to use human means as if there were no supernatural ones, and at the same time to call on God with all our heart, as if there were no human means.
Director of Omnes. Degree in Communication, with more than 15 years of experience in Church communication. She has collaborated in media such as COPE or RNE.
Dr. Carlos Tornero: "we must explain that there are solutions for pain".
A chair established by Francisco de Vitoria University and Vithas Foundation iIt will promote the development of research, teaching and dissemination activities to improve the approach and treatment of patients with chronic pain.
"The main reason why a patient comes to a healthcare center is pain. Adequate training in pain is necessary to be able to detect it correctly, diagnose it and, of course, treat it," stresses Dr. Carlos Tornero, director of the chair focused on pain set up by the Vithas Foundation and the Francisco de Vitoria University.
Physical pain, but also mental pain, is one of the realities that every person has to live with in one way or another. As Dr. Tornero points out to Omnes: "the chair was born from the desire to deepen the knowledge of pain both from the point of view of basic and applied research and also in relation to the dissemination and training of healthcare professionals who will have to attend to patients with pain in their professional careers". The director of this new chair considers that "adequate training in pain is necessary in order to be able to detect it correctly, diagnose it and, of course, treat it".
To make a decision you need to be informed
Research into pain is key in a society in which the average age is over 40 and in which nearly 17.5 million people (four out of every 10) live with pain in our country. "Pain can be understood as a response to an external aggression, but it is also a disease in itself". For this reason, in the face of laws such as the recently approved Euthanasia Law in Spain, which includes among its assumptions that a person considers it impossible to live without a specific pathology, Dr. Tornero stresses the imperative need to "explain that there are solutions for pain. Of course, individual freedom prevails, but information is needed on the options we can offer patients who suffer so much every day".
Pandemic and pain
Since March 2020, in Europe, according to WHO data, anxiety and stress levels have increased exponentially. Around a third of adult adults report levels of distress derived from months of confinement. For Dr. Tornero "it is really hard to see how this pandemic has affected many patients. We are experiencing situations in our pain units that are really hard because a fundamental issue for the improvement of musculoskeletal pain, which is the main cause of pain, is movement, activity... And confinement has greatly limited them. Now patients come to us with a worsening quality of life. However, with the support of multidisciplinary pain units that include interventional pain physicians, psychologists, physiotherapists, nutritionists and pharmacists, great improvements in the quality of life of patients are achieved".
The chair of pain
The Chair, promoted by the Vithas Foundation and the Francisco de Vitoria University, will encourage studies in both acute and chronic pain, favoring clinical trials focused on the comprehensive treatment of pain. Likewise, the dissemination and knowledge of the research carried out will be promoted through publications and other communication actions. A dissemination effort that Dr. Tornero describes as important because it is necessary "for everyone to know that there are solutions to pain, which not only involve pharmacology but also take into account interventional pain techniques, the psychological component and the social aspect".
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"For decades, we Catholics have not prepared for what is coming our way."
Interview with Manuel Bustos Rodríguez, director of the CEU Institute of Humanities Angel Ayala on the occasion of the presentation of the degree of Expert in Social Doctrine of the Church that will be available from next year.
The CEU Angel Ayala Institute of Humanities offers, starting next year, the Expert Degree in Social Doctrine of the Church, which can be taken in classroom or blended learning and will last nine months. This project aims to train teachers and researchers in the Social Doctrine of the Church in order to transform social reality.
Manuel Bustos RodríguezThe director of the CEU Institute of Humanities, Ángel Ayala, spoke with Omnes about this academic initiative and the need for in-depth knowledge of this area of Catholic doctrine in order to respond to the questions posed by today's society.
There is currently an open debate about the presence of Christians in the intellectual world and, therefore, in cultural, social and political life... in this sense, there are those who point out that there is a silencing imposed on Catholics in the public arena. Is it only a silencing or has there been a laxity, to a greater or lesser extent, on the part of Catholics in their formation and, therefore, in their ability to respond to today's society?
-Actually, it's a bit of both: Spanish politics and European politics in general is increasingly hindering the public expression of Catholics. There is a certain fear of expressing their points of view in public. But it is also true that, sheltered by a socially and culturally influential Church, at least in our country for decades, or imbued with the worldly spirit, we have not prepared ourselves well for what is coming.
Do you think that truly convinced and convincing Catholics come out of Catholic educational institutions, colleges or universities?
-Unfortunately, I believe that this is not the case. Neither the students nor their families in general live in accordance with the faith they say they profess or should profess.
Many Catholics are unaware of the basic principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church, and there are even those who, approaching it from a purely political perspective, may be scandalized. How can we avoid this gap between the life of faith and social life?
-Well, by getting to know it better and in greater depth. There are not many institutions where this is done. We intend, modestly, to break this limitation.
Along these lines, are these types of initiatives for specific people who work or are dedicated to very specific areas such as education or politics? Can and should all Catholics be clear about the principles of the DSI in today's life?
Although our degree has a university and postgraduate character, given the nature of our institution, the DSI is for everyone, including believers of other religions and non-believers: it is a corpus of thought on the most varied topics, the thought of the Catholic Church, over a century and a half approximately.
Nowadays we see laws, initiatives and attitudes completely contrary to the dignity of life, of the person... etc. It is a reality that is there, but how can we make up for lost ground in a multicultural society?
-Personal and institutional commitment to the task is necessary. Initiatives contrary to the Christian proposal do not cease to appear, shaping a mentality that is harmful to the human being himself. Along with this, we Christians must be more coordinated and united. And, of course, much prayer. Times are not easy.
Manuel Bustos Alfonso Bullón de Mendoza and Msgr. Luis Argüello during the presentation of the title.
The title of DSI expert
The Diploma of Expert in the Social Doctrine of the Church will consist of two monthly meetings that will take place on Friday afternoons and alternate Saturday mornings and students will be able to attend in person or blended learning from October to June.
A combination of lectures and seminars will enable participants to acquire skills for analysis, argumentation, social dialogue and responsible participation in public life.
The program consists of different modules on topics such as theology, anthropology and history, sources and methodologies of the DSI, as well as other specific topics such as bioethics and integral ecology; family; law, political and international community; economy and culture.
The three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) record a brief episode in which some children are brought to Jesus.
Josep Boira-July 19, 2021-Reading time: 4minutes
The three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) record a brief episode in which some children are brought to Jesus. This is how Mark relates it: "They were bringing little children to him that he might take them in his arms; but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw it, he was angry and said to them, 'Let the children come with me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a child will not enter it.' And embracing them, he blessed them and laid his hands on them." (Mk 10:13-16). Another very similar scene shows Jesus taking a child and setting him as an example for his disciples, for they were disputing about who was the greatest among them: "For whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Mt 18:4).
Jesus and the children
Children often appear as protagonists in the Gospel. They are an example for "this unbelieving generation," which resembles those who do not respond to the children's invitation to sing (cf. Mt 11:16-17; Lk 7:32). The praise of the children when Jesus enters the Temple outrages the chief priests and the scribes, and Jesus comes to the defense of this sincere and simple praise of the little ones (cf. Mt 11:25), reminding them of the Scriptures: "Have ye never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast prepared praise'?" (Mt 21:16; cf. Ps 8:2).
Jesus also fed the children in the multiplication of the loaves and fishes (cf. Mt 14:21; 15:38). The Master is their most courageous defender against those who mistreat them, even by their bad example: "Whoever scandalizes one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck, the kind that moves a donkey, and to be sunk to the bottom of the sea." (Mt 18:6). Finally, Jesus exults in thanksgiving, because the little ones are the recipients of the revelation of God the Father (cf. Mt 11:25).
Jesus and the parents
The episode we are commenting on, in Matthew and Mark, follows Jesus' teaching on the indissolubility of marriage. This sequence is significant: once the man and the woman are united forever in marriage, the children, the fruit of this union, appear on the scene.
Although the evangelist does not indicate who brings these children close to Jesus, the previous episode seems to indicate it: the parents.
There are several miracle stories in which we see parents pleading with Jesus to heal their children. Jesus cured the son of the royal official (cf. Jn 4:46-54); he cast out the demon from the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman (cf. Mk 7:24-30); and the mute demon from the boy whose father came to Jesus almost in despair begging him to cure him (cf. Mk 9:14-29); he raised Jairus' daughter from the dead (cf. Mk 5:21-42). In all these episodes, at some point in the narrative, the terms indicating "boy" or "girl" are used (in Greek, paidíon, thygátrion): they are not intended to indicate the precise age (only in the case of Jairus' daughter it is said that she was twelve years old), but how their parents see them: they are "their children" who are dying.
And so the fame of Jesus who healed the weakest, including children, grew. It is easy to imagine, therefore, parents bringing their young children, still weak, to Jesus so that he would bless them, so that, with the imposition of his hands, or just by touching them, he would protect them from illnesses and from the power of the evil one.
Jesus and the disciples
Jesus' teaching to his disciples in this context is of great significance. Jesus comes to "get angry" (v. 14) because the disciples rejected the children who came to him. We may be surprised by this attitude of the Master. What sense can it make?
Jesus is the true King and Messiah of Israel. He inaugurates the Kingdom of heaven and asks his disciples to proclaim its coming (cf. Mt 10:7). A sign that this Kingdom has arrived are the children, seen in their essential condition: they are small, weak, dependent in everything on the care of their parents. In this sense, Jesus identifies with them: "Whoever receives one of these children in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me, but him who sent me." (Mk 9:37). Jesus addresses the Father by calling him Abba (Mk 14:36), with the babbling of a child calling out to his father. We could say that he is the least in the kingdom of heaven (cf. Mt 11:11). The essential condition of the child is that of Jesus in his intimate relationship with his Father. One can better understand the gravity of preventing children from approaching Jesus. It is like preventing them from approaching God. Even more: it is like separating Jesus himself from his Father God. Deep down, without realizing it, the disciples were rejecting Jesus by preventing the children from approaching him.
It is moving to look at Jesus surrounded by children, playing with them, smiling at them, asking them their names, their age...; instructing them to be good children of their parents, good brothers and sisters...; and speaking to them about their Father in Heaven. An earthly and heavenly scene at the same time: that moment was a clear manifestation of what the Kingdom of Heaven will be like on earth, and a reflection of what that kingdom will be like in the hereafter for those who on earth have behaved like children before God.
The authorJosep Boira
Professor of Sacred Scripture
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Having a package waiting to be received is something quite common nowadays. Since the last few years it is customary to buy many things online, and they arrive at our home with a shipping agency. Today it's time to talk about fake shipping SMS.
Most shipping agencies use SMS to notify of an upcoming pickup or delivery, something that many hackers are using to fraudulently scam you. Indeed, many of us have received an SMS notification of a package and a link to track it, but this is a scam, whereby criminals want to get your details and install malware (virus) on your device. What looks like a package arrival notice actually destroys or takes over data on your phone. Here's what you need to know and what you can do...
–What is going on? Fake shipment warnings: "Your shipment is on its way. Click on the following link to track it...". This message, or different versions with similar text, is what you get in the fake SMS, which are sent in bulk. The links they contain are different in each case, as are the sender's numbers.
The trick behind it is always the same, at least in all the messages I've seen: either the login details for various internet services are requested, or you land on a page that wants to install malware on your device. So, if you receive such a message, delete it directly and, above all, under no circumstances click on the link, as there is usually no real package waiting for you. You can recognize this type of spam or garbage by the address to which the link attached to the message refers. Because it is not usually from Correos, DHL or similar, but points to unknown pages.
–Already bitten?If you have already fallen into the trap and clicked on the link, you should remain calm. In the worst case scenario, you have been convinced to install apps (applications) from unknown sources, which continue to spread the fake messages. This is not only very annoying, but can also cause you expenses.
The best thing to do is to install an antivirus app on your mobile, and activate the airplane mode. Then scan the device for malware. If you find anything suspicious, inform your operator. You may be able to get your SMS charges reversed. You should also file a report with the police, in case you need to involve an insurer.
–Is your mobile number in danger?The current wave of spam uses a set of data that was misplaced from Facebook, including the phone numbers of more than 500 million Facebook users. The website https://haveibeenpwned.com/ you can quickly find out if your number is part of those stolen from Facebook. Type there your number in international format, for example +34 123 456 789, and it will tell you if you are in danger.
–Prevents the installation of any app.To minimize the danger that may come, you can modify the settings of your Android phone to prevent the installation of apps from unknown sources. On iPhones, this step is not necessary. And, in general, it would be wise to block third-party messages from your carrier, if you haven't already done so.
–Blocks the reception of false SMSIn the settings of many messaging apps you can set that you only want to receive SMS from contacts in your address book. If you use services such as reminders or bank information, you should store these numbers. Many mobile or security apps offer spam filters. These can help you reduce the frequency of unwanted SMS. If you don't get rid of the SMS wave by any means, you may even have to change your number.
–Who will cover the damages?If you have incurred exorbitant costs for sending bulk SMS, you may want to check with your liability insurance to see if it covers this type of event. Many modern contracts may have clauses that cover damage due to phishing. If you have made purchases on the Internet, talk to your bank, since many cards maintain insurance against these eventualities. And there are also specific cyber insurance policies that cover all the problems that can arise in this type of situation when you use the Internet.
-Many other scams.There are numerous variations of this scam, and another of the most common is that you are asked for a payment to deliver the package, because it is "blocked" in the courier. These are usually very small amounts, 3 or 5 euros at the most, so you easily pay and proceed with the payment process. But, in reality, at the time of payment you can be charged up to 1,200 euros if you do not realize it, or if you do not have the bank's double authentication activated. Thanks to the latter system, the bank sends you a confirmation message to your cell phone where you can see the actual amount you are going to pay if you finally accept.
At the end of the great epic narrated by J.R.R. Tolkein in The Lord of the RingsIn this touching farewell dialogue between the two "middle" heroes, or hobbits, Frodo and his faithful companion:
"But," said Sam, as tears welled up in his eyes, "I thought you were going to enjoy yourself in the Shire, too, years and years, after all you've done.
-I thought so, too, at one time. But I have suffered wounds too deep, Sam. I tried to save the Shire, and I have saved it; but not for myself. That's the way it is, Sam, when things are in danger: someone has to give them up, to lose them, so that others may keep them. But you are my heir: everything I have and could have had I leave to you. And besides you have Rosa, and Elanor; and little Frodo and little Rosa will come, and Merry, and Goldilocks, and Pippin; and perhaps others I cannot see. Your hands and your head will be needed everywhere. You will be the Mayor, naturally, for as long as you want to be, and the most famous gardener in history; and you will read the pages of the Red bookand you will perpetuate the memory of an age now gone, so that people will always remember the great dangerand love the well-loved country even more dearly. And that will keep you as busy and happy as it is possible to be, as long as your part of the story continues."
The giving of life always begets life. Generosity produces fruit in the end. Fidelity and perseverance in the fulfillment of one's vocation and mission finds a noble reward, for it spreads good and beautifies the world.
The gift of husband and wife: fruitfulness of the flesh
Conjugal love is the archetype of human love, since it contains the concreteness of service in common life and the special fruitfulness of the union of the spouses in sexual intimacy. The mutual gift of husband and wife - who "give to the spouse exclusively the seed of themselves" - leads to the divine gift of the person of the child, whom God loves and infuses with a spiritual and immortal soul.
As John Paul II taught, "in its deepest reality, love is essentially gift, and conjugal love, while leading the spouses to the reciprocal 'knowledge' which makes them 'one flesh' (cf. Gen 2:24), is not exhausted within the couple, for it makes them capable of the greatest possible self-giving, by which they become God's cooperators in the gift of life to a new human person. In this way the spouses, while giving themselves to each other, give beyond themselves the reality of the child, a living reflection of their love, a permanent sign of conjugal unity and a living and inseparable synthesis of father and mother" (exhortation Familiaris consortio, n. 14).
Authentic conjugal love opens to the divine sources of life. It is a special participation in the marvelous work of the Creator. Parents are procreators, sharers in the infinite divine power to give human life, transmitters of the original blessing of fecundity. They discover with grateful wonder the generative value of their communion of love. They are called to live their nuptial covenant in the truth of a full reciprocal self-giving, open to life, consciously, freely and responsibly; with effort and joy.
The spousal "we" - the "we" of the Trinitarian Communion - is enlarged in the family "we" with the arrival of the child: of "our child," as they say. The irreducible dignity of each child - who bears the stamp of the divine image and likeness, and is oriented to an eternal destiny - confers relief and transcendence of heavenly glory to the earthly love of the spouses.
No act of love is lost
Fatherhood and motherhood are prolonged in the burdensome tasks of upbringing and education. Spouses normally sacrifice themselves with willing love for their offspring. For its part, the vocation of evangelical celibacy illuminates the spiritual sense of engendering to which parents are called, as teachers and guides of their children: it is a prolongation of paternity and maternity, which takes place through example and human formation; and also in the whole life of grace and prayer, in which they communicate merits through the mysterious action of the Holy Spirit, and contribute to the birth of the life of the Spirit in their children.
Often, this communicative effort has to be sustained over time, overcoming difficulties: with perseverance, without seeing the fruits immediately. The divine promises-which nestle in the desires of the heart when they are ordered to the truth of self-giving-are the foundation of unshakable supernatural hope.
In this sense, Pope Francis recalled that those who strive in the evangelizing mission "have the certainty that none of their work done with love is lost, none of their sincere concern for others is lost, no act of love for God is lost, no generous fatigue is lost, no painful patience is lost" (exhortation Evangelii gaudium, n. 279). And he concluded with words of encouragement: "Let us learn to rest in the tenderness of the Father's arms in the midst of creative and generous self-giving. Let us go forward, let us give our all, but let him be the one to make our efforts fruitful as he sees fit" (ibid.).
In short, the gift of love is irrepressibly expansive: it can always overcome any difficulty. For God does not fail: "he who made the promise is faithful" (Heb 10:23). So "hope does not disappoint" (Rom 5:5).
"Roy, do you identify with the Christian faith or is it a whim?"
At the age of 16, Roy Oliveira began researching religions out of pure curiosity. What he did not expect to find was God and, even less, the Catholic faith, to which he held what he calls "typical agnostic clichés".
Roy Oliveira's story of faith is nothing less than surprising and also, why not, hopeful. This 17-year-old boy from Vigo, who, in the future, wants to serve his country through politics, grew up in an environment far removed from the faith. Although, as he tells us, he attended a Catholic school for a few years, the education in the faith he received was somewhat lacking.
Until the age of 16, his life is similar to that of many young people in our society, who grow up in "post-Christian" families, whose contact with the Church is more superficial than anything else, and whose idea of Catholicism is the image given of them in series and movies.
God who comes to meet
Roy was introduced to God through a sincere desire for knowledge, through reasoning and study. This is how he tells his conversion story:
"I have always done research on many subjects: history, languages, philosophy... and then came the turn of religions. It is true that I knew beforehand what Christianity had meant for our Western civilization and, when the time came, I focused on the three Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
While I was doing my research, the confinement came and I took the opportunity to continue my research on the subject. At that time, I focused on Christianity: I acquired a Bible, books on the subject... and I began to realize that, contrary to the typical "skeptical clichés", the Bible was not the accumulation of contradictions or fantasies that I thought it was.
I was surprised because I was prepared to find a vague book, full of errors and, on the contrary, reading the Bible I found that it was very coherent, that everything written was in agreement with historical events that occurred parallel to what was narrated in the Scriptures; events that, in addition, are justified in the light of faith and reason, while only with reason they were opaque. This was the beginning of my approach to faith.
Previously, I had a rather vague conception of God... It is true that I never denied the existence of "something" - call it God, call it energy - but, through this study, I gave God a face. I began to realize that perhaps God could have manifested himself to humanity and that Christianity was the religion that agreed with that manifestation. Everything was very coherent.
In early May 2020 I wondered, really, if the study was shaping the way I saw the world or if it was just a passing impression. I decided to give myself some time and think. That time passed and the only thing I got was to be more in communion with God and the Faith... so I asked myself: "Roy, at this point, do you really feel identified with the Christian faith or is it a whim? I realized that it was not a phase, but that what seemed like a pantomime three months ago was now presented to me as a truth that I could perfectly support. It was then that I considered conversion. In the Gospel, Christ sends his apostles to make "disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"; so I decided to follow Christ's words and get baptized.
I must confess that, initially, I did not think of the Catholic faith, in fact, I studied the Orthodox Church, the various Protestant branches... and, ultimately, the Catholic Church. Not in vain, I was close to Calvinism, however, reading Christ's confirmation of Peter as the first pope, confirmed me in the Catholic faith: in the Bible is found the justification of the papacy, of the apostolic succession and the tradition that the Protestant confessions deny. It was this consistency of the Catholic Church with the Bible that confirmed me in this truth.
What seemed like a pantomime three months ago was now presented to me as a truth that I could perfectly support.
Roy Oliveira
Frankly, I began to study all this religion without looking for anything special. It was through reasoning and connecting with God that I discovered that, deep down, I was looking for something almost without knowing it. I found 'what I wasn't looking for' and it is the most precious treasure I will ever have in my life."
"I imagined the Church as in 'The Godfather'."
Despite his maturity, Roy is obviously a "child of his time". He himself amusingly affirms that, at the moment of taking the step and going to the parish to put legs Before his conversion, he imagined the Catholic Church "as I saw it in movies or series. In fact, I thought I was going to find something similar to what I saw in the Godfather movie, with the rites in Latin..., etc."
Once he made contact with his parish, the priest "loaned me a Catechism of the Catholic Church which I devoured in a few weeks. At the beginning I was very lost, I had all the typical prejudices, but I have to say that, in spite of everything, I was confirming my faith in a very fluid way. Thanks to the Catechism I understood the Church and the doctrine much better and everything was coming together".
Evidently, his approach to faith did not go unnoticed in his environment. As Roy points out, "the people closest to me were not so surprised, because they were seeing how I was experiencing a rapprochement to religion. What I did receive were some warnings to take it calmly and prudently because it is a serious matter and, at my age, this kind of thing can be considered 'phases'".
Thanks to the Catechism I understood the Church and the doctrine much better and everything was coming together.
Roy Oliveira
My friends, accustomed to my agnosticism, were surprised. When they ask me about it, I always tell them that I had researched religion, it seemed much more coherent than I expected and thanks to it I managed to establish the connection with "that" that deep down I thought must exist".
"Deep down, I envy those who have grown up with faith."
It is common, in the conversion stories of adults, to find a certain surprise at the naturalness or even the undervaluing of the sacraments, tradition or the truths of faith on the part of those who have grown up in Catholic environments. A kind of bad 'habituation' that clashes with the enthusiasm of those who discover the richness of faith like Roy, who emphasizes that "perhaps it could be that, as I have discovered the faith only recently, I value it more; although deep down, I envy those who have grown up with faith all their lives, because for them it is something natural and I was not so lucky".
I envy those who have grown up all their lives with faith, because for them it is something natural and I was not so lucky.
Hate speech can be rejected: with the 'happy dispute'.
Enriching dialogue in social networks is only possible by making a personal effort to avoid direct confrontation and with an open spirit to take on board the opinions of others.
July 17, 2021-Reading time: 3minutes
Every day, and this is not new, we have experience of polemic conversations on the net in which everyone tries to impose their point of view on every topic that is debated in the public opinion, from vaccines to the match of one's national soccer team, from sensitive issues, which belong to the spiritual sphere, to political choices that are often counterproductive. Everything is attributed, as we read, to the container of hate speech.
This is because each of us has an innate capacity for persuasion (wanting to convince the other of the "goodness" of our ideas) but we prioritize the result rather than the way to get there. We forget that the spirit of debate is precisely that of never putting an "end point" to the discussion, but of continually feeding it with new opinions, points of view and stimuli, in a process of constant and fruitful counter-argumentation for each of the contenders.
Each of us has an innate capacity for persuasion but we prioritize the outcome rather than the path to get there.
Giovanni Tridente
How is it possible then to disagree in a conversation, to generate a debate that can be truly persuasive for the interlocutors and the audience, without falling into the "deviations" of argumentation? The proposal of the Italian philosopher Bruno Mastroianni, contained in his book The happy dispute How to disagree without fighting on social networks, in the media and in public (Rialp) has as its guiding principle "to maintain attention, energy and concentration on the issues and topics at stake, without breaking the relationship between the two contenders, precisely to nourish itself from the difference that arises," Mastroianni stresses.
The happy dispute implies acting on three levels to create a climate conducive to confrontation and good persuasion. The first level is to overcome the confrontational mentality to which the media has accustomed us. The second level is to consciously choose specific forms of expression in conversation with the other, avoiding, for example, dissociation ("this is not so", "this is wrong", "this is false"), indignation ("I will not tolerate this being said", "this is unheard of"), ad hominem judgments ("you are wrong", "you don't understand"), generalizations ("this is typical of you Catholics/atheists/foreigners/professors") or hate speech.... as these are all confrontational approaches that have a belligerent effect on the listener.
Finally, we must learn to put aside expressions that provoke a hostile reaction in the other, exercising, when necessary, a healthy "power to ignore", aware that, often, and especially on the net, the "non-response" is, in itself, a message, probably even more effective than an explicit reaction to the provocation received.
In a later book -Litigating if necessaryMastroianni goes further and summarizes the main virtues of the argument in the fingers of the hand, with an image that we consider successful, suggesting that the happy dispute is something "within reach" and that anyone can put it into practice.
The little finger recalls humility, the value of limits, to say that "we are able to sustain without quarrelling only the little that we are and what we know"; the ring finger, that of the wedding ring, recalls the bond, therefore the value of trust so as not to disperse while dissenting, aware that we must "take care first of all the relationship between people"; the middle finger recalls, instead, the need to reject aggression, defusing insults and provocations to stay on the subject of the dispute; the index finger is the one that chooses what to focus on and is therefore closely linked to the topic, as long as it is objective, concrete, relevant and coherent; finally, the thumb, the "like" finger on social networks, is really valued when in the dispute, the finger is oriented towards oneself, as a form of self-irony, that is, having the ability to live things with detachment without taking too seriously one's own and others' opinions, in short.
All this in the knowledge that the dispute, to be truly happy, must be continuous, because there are no subjects that cannot be discussed and there is no truth that cannot be found by rhetorical means, always susceptible to new agreements and new reformulations.
Juan José Silvestre: "Traditionis Custodes returns to the situation of 1970".
Pope Francis has annulled the concessions made by John Paul II and Benedict XVI for the celebration of Mass with the books prior to the reform of the Second Vatican Council. This is, in substance, the content of the Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes and the Explanatory letter to all bishopspublished on July 16, 2021. Juan José Silvestre, professor of Liturgy at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, explains to Omnes readers what this decision means.
Pope Francis' decision follows the same scheme that was used when the Motu Proprio was issued in 2007. Summorum Pontificum, of Benedict XVI. At that time, both the Motu Proprio proper and a Letter in which the Pope explained and motivated the decisions contained in that document were published. The same has been done now, as well as the Motu Proprio of Francis, entitled Traditionis custodes, is more concrete and normative, whereas the Letter to all bishops and published together with it explains in a little more detail, and from a practical and pastoral point of view, the indications of the Motu Proprio.
If we want to be very simple and schematic, we can say that, in liturgical matters, with this decision of Pope Francis we return to the situation of 1970, when the reformed Missal was approved. As for the liturgical books prior to the reform of 1970, their use is left to the decision of the bishop in each diocese, who must take into account the precise indications contained in the Motu Proprio of Francis. They are neither prohibited nor abrogated, but the concessions given by John Paul II and Benedict XVI in 1984, 1988 and 2007 to be able to celebrate the liturgy with them are eliminated. It can only be done if the bishop considers it opportune: precisely the situation that existed in 1970. The difference is that, in these fifty years, and especially since Summorum Pontificum In 2007, the number of people who followed the celebration according to the previous liturgical books has continued to grow, also among young people, as Pope Francis himself recalls, but this situation generates conflicts that both Benedict XVI and now Pope Francis have tried to resolve.
In liturgical matters, with this decision of Pope Francis we return to the situation of 1970, when the reformed Missal was approved.
Juan José Silvestre
The main lines of the decision made public on July 16, 2021 can be summarized in three points, to which a few comments should be added.
In the first placeFrom now on the only ordinary form of the liturgy of the Roman rite is the Missal of Paul VI, which is the only expression of the "lex orandi" of the Roman rite. There are no longer two forms, one ordinary and one extraordinary, but only one form, which is precisely the 1970 Missal. From the liturgical point of view, this is the fundamental affirmation.
Secondly, the possibility of celebrating with the liturgical books prior to the conciliar reform no longer remains in the hands of the priest when he celebrates individually, nor of a group that requests this manner of celebration, but reverts to the bishop, who is the supreme liturgist of the diocese. He is the one who has to determine when it is possible to do so and when it is not, following rather restrictive indications, similar to those that existed in 1970; therefore, this possibility is contemplated in a more restrictive way than the one established by John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Related to this point is the fact that the Congregation for Divine Worship, and for some aspects, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life, is once again competent in this field. Summorum Pontificum the extraordinary form and the use of the pre-reform liturgical books depended on an ad hoc commission, which was the Commission Ecclesia Deiand the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Thirdly, especially in the Letter to the Bishops, Pope Francis appreciates and considers the generosity of John Paul II and Benedict XVI in their goal of fostering unity within the Church, a goal that guided the granting and permitting of the celebration with the liturgical books prior to the reform.
Pope Francis points out that, after fourteen years of Summorum Pontificum and from a survey conducted among all the bishops of the world, has noted with displeasure that this unity has not been achieved. On the contrary, in some ways the separation has deepened and some arbitrariness may have occurred. For that reason, without in any way affirming that what John Paul II and Benedict XVI did was not good and generous, Francis considers that their measures have not produced the expected result and withdraws the concessions. that these two Popes had done to foster unity and safeguard the Vatican Council. II. Summorum Pontificum is also annulled. I insist that it is not said that the previous Missal was erroneous or has been prohibited; Traditionis Custodes is a Motu Proprio that seeks to foster liturgical unity with new dispositions that recall those of Paul VI when the Missal of 1970 was published.
Three key points: From now on, the only ordinary form of the liturgy of the Roman rite is the Missal of Paul VI. 2. The possibility of celebrating with books prior to the conciliar reform remains in the hands of the diocesan bishop. 3. When it is found that unity, the objective of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, has not been achieved, the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum is abrogated.
Juan José Silvestre
It should be noted that, although this has been stated in some media, this Motu Proprio of Pope Francis does not restrict the use of Latin at Mass or the celebration "versus absidem". or with their backs to the people. Here we are talking about something very precise, which is the use of the 1962 Missal. It may be recalled, for example, that the typical edition of the Missal of Paul VI, and of all the liturgical books, is in Latin; and the Mass with one's back to the people is not forbidden by the Missal of 1970.
Therefore, the decision on the possibility of using the 1962 books remains in the hands of the bishop, who may or may not permit their use, and all decisions granted at the time by John Paul II or Benedict XVI will have to be confirmed by the bishops in each place. As a general principle, the bishop should not accept new groups of people for whom it is celebrated according to the previous liturgical books nor create new personal parishes.
It is a matter of celebrating well with the liturgical books issued by the Second Vatican Council and published in the time of Paul VI and John Paul II.
Juan José Silvestre
The Charter also underscores an important point: what it is about is to celebrate well with the liturgical books issued by the Second Vatican Council and published in the time of Paul VI and John Paul II. Pope Francis also alludes in his Letter to the various expressions of "wild creativity" that hide and stain the face of the true liturgy, and points out that what the friends of the ancient tradition are looking for they can find in the Reformed rite contained in these books, and especially in the Roman Canon they can find the testimony of tradition.
Today's liturgical books, in short, when well celebrated, encourage what the Second Vatican Council wants, which is a conscious, pious and active participation.
HOAC Summer Courses: Social Reconstruction after the Pandemic
Under the title "Decent Work and Social Friendship in the Post-Covida Era", the Catholic Action Workers' Brotherhood (HOAC) held a new edition of its Summer Courses from July 12 to 17, a space for reflection, deepening and dialogue which, for the first time, were held entirely online and were attended by nearly 300 people, including activists and sympathizers.
This year, the course focused on the analysis of the consequences of the pandemic we are suffering and the challenges this situation poses for society and for the Church, as well as the way to follow paths of fraternity and the search for justice, especially in the world of workers and labor.
Each presentation, from their different perspectives, has tried to underline the fact that the onset of the COVID-19, which is still being harshly felt, has worsened the situation in the world of work, hitting much harder those workers with the worst jobs and situations of precariousness and vulnerability.
As highlighted by HOAC in the final note of these courses, the conferences have been developed as follows:
The day of reflection for the councillors and animators of the faithThe presentation was held on July 12, with the lecture Cultivating a spirituality of care by José García Caro, HOAC's Seville HOAC consiliary, from the theological key of care and in the proposal of Pope Francis for "the Holy Spirit to teach us to see the world with the eyes of God and to care for our brothers and sisters with the gentleness of his heart", urges us to an inner change and to heal "all the basic relationships of the human being" and our relationship with the planet.
The in-depth study and dialogue daysChallenges and hopes for the world of work in the post-covid era, The event will take place from July 13 to 15 with presentations by Sebastián Mora, professor of Ethics at the Pontifical University of Comillas. Jordi Mir-García, doctor of Humanities at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and María José "Coqui" Rodríguez, president of the HOAC of Granada. In addition, there was a round table of experiences of activists in accompaniment of workers in labor conflicts; with victims of occupational accidents; and migrants.
Sebastián Mora highlighted some of the elements that the pandemic has left us, such as the need to rethink flexibility as a synonym of precariousness; the revaluation of essential jobs, which as a society we have recognized during this crisis, and the experience that we need social coverage in the face of systemic risks. Mora asked HOAC to continue on the path of prophetic denunciation that integrates an economy of care and the need to resume the debate on working time together with the debate on universal basic income.
For his part, Jordi Mir-García wanted to focus on the lessons that the pandemic has brought us to contribute to build a world with greater social justice. An idea shared by Maria José "Coqui" Rodríguez, president of the HOAC of Granada, who urged the search for new lifestyles through the path of fraternal encounter and communion, practicing solidarity and social friendship.
From what has been heard and discussed during these days of deepening and dialogue, among so much shared wealth, emerges:
A call to HOAC and the entire Church to echo the vulnerability of the in which the most impoverished sectors of the working-class world.
The need for building bridges between labor organizations who yearn for a utopia of fraternity and justicefrom the particular to the most universal.
Cultivate political charity and bring to life the principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church. (DSI) to promote institutions to ensure the common good and care for Creation.
The courses will end on Saturday, July 17, with the days of prayer with an intervention on The mystique that sustains us in the Rovirosa proposal which will allow us to discern this approach in our life and in our commitments.
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Published at the end of the Second World War (1944), the lucid essay Il dramma dell'umanesimo ateo (The Drama of Atheist Humanism) represented a Christian analysis of the ferments that had driven modern culture away from Christianity and that were, in part, responsible for the catastrophe.
It was not difficult to see how both Nazism and communism had their origins in the anti-Christian component of modern times. In both, in different ways, philosophical presuppositions (of Feuerbach in one case, of Nietzsche in another, and in both, of Hegel) and false scientific claims about materialism (dialectics) or biology (racism) were mixed. And both tried to build a new city with a culture without God in favor of a new man. But during the construction of the tower of Babylon, which is also the apocalyptic Babylon, full of Christian blood.
The book is composed of several articles that De Lubac wrote during the Second World War and the occupation of France by the Germans. Originally they were different articles. This is how the author describes them with his characteristic modesty in the prologue. Ma avevano l'unità dell'analisi: "Sotto le innumererevoli correnti che affiorano sulla superficie esterna del nostro pensiero contemporaneo, ci sembra che ci sia [...] qualcosa come un'immensa deriva: per l'azione di una parte consideravole della nostra pensante minoranza, l'umanità occidentale rinnega le sue origini cristiane e si separa da Dio" (p. 9). And he continues: "We are not talking about an atheism that is typical, more or less, of all times and that does not offer anything significant [...]. Modern atheism becomes positive, organically constructive. It does not limit itself to criticize, but has the will to render useless the demands to directly provide the solution. "L'umanesimo positivista, l'umanesimo marxista, l'umanesimo nietzschiano sono, più che un atheismo propriamente detto, un antiteismo e più precisamente un anticristianesimo, per la negazione che ne è alla base" (El drama del humanismo ateo. Encuentro, Madrid 1990, pp. 9-10).
The article is divided into three parts. The first part deals with Feuerbach and Nietzsche on the death of God and the dissolution of human nature and links Nietzsche to Kierkegaard. The second part is dedicated to Comte's positivism and his substitutive atheism. The third part, with the expressive title of The Prophet Dostoevskij, shows how the Russian writer, sensitive to this, had intuited the problem: "It is not true that man cannot organize the earth without God. What is certain is that without God, in the end, he can only organize it against man. The exclusive umanesimo is a disuman umanesimo. (page 11). Like all the work of De Lubac, this book is full of quotations and references and one can sense a serious and intense reading effort. And a vast culture. It is also noted that he always treats the thoughts of others in a balanced way, with great discernment and irreprehensible intellectual honesty.
Feuerbach and Nietzsche
De Lubac describes the Christian idea of the human being and his relationship with God as a great form of liberation that comes in the ancient world: "Il Fatum è finito!" (p. 20), the tyranny of fatality: behind it there is a God who loves us. "Ora questa idea cristiana che era stata accolta come una liberazione comincia a essere percepita come un giogo". Non vuoi essere soggetto a niente, nemmeno a Dio. The utopian socialists, from Proudhon to Marx, see in God the excuse that sanctions the unjust order of society: "per grazia di Dio", as it is known on the real world.
Feuerbach and Nietzsche undermine this order. Feuerbach will do so by postulating that the idea of God is generated by sublimating the aspirations of human beings, who are deprived of the thought to which they aspire, and therefore can no longer be their own. For Feuerbach, the Christian religion is the most perfect and, therefore, the most alienating. This idea was like a revelation for Engels or Bakunin. And Marx will add, in his economic analysis, that the original alienation is what generates the two fundamental classes, who owns the means of production (owners) and who does not own them (workers) and this creates in history that social structure that ends up being accepted by religion. It will also give them a practical and political solution: it is no longer a matter of thinking, but of transforming. It is a more radical revolution than the French one.
According to de Lubac, Nietzsche did not sympathize with Feuerbach, but was influenced by Schopenhauer and Wagner. The world as volontà and representation of Schopenhauer is influenced by the theses of Feuerbach and incanta Wagner. Nietzsche's Volontà di potenza is based on the indignation for Christian alienation and on the desire to reconquer full freedom: "In Christianity, this process of the extraction and development of the human being reaches its peak", he says. And this indignation is present almost from the beginning of his work. It is necessary to wait for God's error. It is not about showing that it is false, because it would be a never-ending process, but we must wait for it from the thought as an evil, once it has been smashed because we know how it is formatted. Occorre to proclaim as in a crociata, the "death of God", colossal and tragic contest, perfect spectacular, as it appears in Thus spake Zarathustra. Di conseguenza, tutto va rifatto e soprattutto l'essere umano: ci troviamo di fronte a un umanesimo ateo. De Lubac comments: "He does not see, De Lubac comments, that the Columban against whom he is besmirching and exorcising is himself Columban who gives all his strength and greatness [...], he does not realize the servility that undermines him" (p.50). De Lubac does not fail to emphasize that Nietzsche can deride the Christian menace because in modern Christianity, so comfortable, there is almost no trace of the vibration of the Christians who have transformed the ancient world.
Kierkegaard has many things in common with Nietzsche: the solitary fight against the Borghese, the passion for Hegel and his astrology, the awareness of fighting alone with great sophistication. But Kierkegaard is a man of radical faith, an "archetype of transcendence", of that dimension without which the human being closed in himself can not but be subjected to his limits and baseness.
Comte and Christianity
Comte's long Corso di Filosofia Positiva was published the same year as Feuerbach's L'essenza del cristianesimo (1842). And as a commentator of the time noted: "L. Feuerbach a Berlino, like Auguste Comte a Parigi, proposes to Europe the cult of a new God: the 'human race'" (p. 95).
De Lubac analyzes with lucidity the famous "legge dei tre stadi", that Comte formulated at the age of 24 years. "Costituisce la cornice in cui riversa tutta la sua dottrina" (p. 100). It passes from a supernatural explanation of the universe with God and God ("theological state"), to a philosophical explanation for astrological causes ("metaphysical state") and, finally, to a completely scientific and "natural" explanation ("positive phase"). It does not become an indirect one. All that is above is "fanaticism", a way of thinking in vogue at the time. Comte did not consider himself an atheist but an agnostic: he believed that he had demonstrated that the idea of a God was falsely reached and that this demand had no sense in a scientific society. But it is necessary to fill the gap, because "that which is not replaced is not distributed" (page 121). And he wants to organize the cult of the Umanity. This will lead to a series of rather extravagant initiatives. De Lubac comments: "In pratica porta alla dittatura di un partito, per meglio dire, di una setta. Nega all'uomo ogni libertà, ogni diritto" (p. 187). Siamo nella linea dei "fanatismi dell'astrazione" che poi poi denuncerà V. Havel, or of the projects of "social engineering" that the Marxists will carry out, but in this case, fortunately, they will be almost innocuous.
Dostoevskij prophet
It is interesting to note that the third part of the book is entitled The prophet of Dostoevskij. De Lubac reprende un'osservazione di Gide: in many romances the relationships between the protagonists are described, but that of Dostoevskij also deals with the relationship "with himself and with God"(p. 195). In this inner work, Dostoevskij has been able to represent the changes that the option for nichilism and life without God entails in a person. Dostoevskij is a prophet in this sense: he makes us see what happens in the souls in which new ideas are formed. He allows us to imagine what would be successful in the soul of Nietzsche himself, the soul of an atheist in flight from God.
È interessante notare che De Lubac racconta che, nei suoi ultimi anni di lucidità, Nietzsche conobbe l'opera di Dostoevskij (Memorie dal sottosuolo), con cui si sentisi identificato: "È l'unico che mi ha insegnato qualcosa sulla psicologia" (200 ), Incontrò anche L'idiota, dove intravide i lineamenti di Cristo, ma percepì presto Dostoevskij come un amico: "completamente cristiano nel sentimento", conquistato dalla "morale degli schiavi". And he will comment: "Gli ho concesso uno strano riconoscimento, contro i miei istinti più profondi [...] la stessa cosa accade con Pascal" (p. 200).
When Dostoevskij was planning, at the end of his life, a great opera with an autobiographical background, he remarked: "The main problem that will present itself in all the parts of the opera will be what has tortured me consciously or unconsciously for all my life: the existence of God. L'eroe sarà, per tutta la sua esistenza, ora ateo, ora credente, ora fanatico o eretico, ora ancora ateo" (p. 205). He has not written it in the first person, but through the various characters he has created and has revealed to us the different stages of his believing, atheist, nichilist or revolutionary spirit.
E' passato il tempo per questo libro?
The confrontation between Nietzsche and Kierkegaard remains topical, even more topical the analysis of Dostoevskij which is still moving. But other things have changed. Nazism is incomparable with war. Communism, like a miracle, has expired with the 20th century (since 1989). Feuerbach or Comte were taught in the Faculties of Philosophy before Foucault and Derrida (without any mention of their critics). The political ideologies are incomparable, causing cultural fierceness.
However, the positivist background as the only faith in science survives and spreads, without Comte's eccentricities. There is no positivist cult and priesthood, even if there is the quasi pontifical Magisterium of some "oracles of science", as Mariano Artigas called them. But yes, there is an alleged materialism, which, in reality, has little foundation, given what we know of the origin and constitution of the world. Every day seems more and more an enormous explosion of intelligence, so much so that it is more improbable to differ the theory that there is only matter and that everything was made by me.
Marxism is obsolete, we say, but the immense ideological vacuum has been filled with the same planetary dimensions and the same propaganda and social pressure techniques as the secular ideology, developed after 1968. And this is due, in great part, to the fact that a syndicate, deprived of a political program (Marxist) and of an orizzonte for the future (the society without classes), has made a moral pretesa that rejects or at least copre the hard past. De Lubac, like the majority of his contemporaries, compressed the entire classical sinistra, would be perplexed. From the revolutionary left-wing we have moved to the libertarian left-wing (inspired by Nietzsche) and from there to a new ideological machine that, by dismantling the foundations of our democracy, makes its integrity a virtue. Since the end of the eighteenth century the intolerance is not Christian, but anti-Christian. And on this new umanesimo is worth the diagnosis that De Lubac finds in Dostoevskij: it is possible to ipotize a world without God, but it is not possible to do it without going against the human being. Dostoevskij, the prophet, has not imagined this drift, but has announced "Only beauty will save the world. "
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I remember when the girl from the sea encouraged me by telling me that there were many people praying for me, and I also joined in that cry: "Hail, Star of the Seas".
July 16, 2021-Reading time: 3minutes
-Don't go to sleep! Hang in there, Cheikh, they're coming".
The girl's voice sounded both sweet and energetic in that drifting cayuco, in the darkness of the night.
It reminded me of my sister Fatou's when she woke me up in the mornings to go to school. I was often late, but she would not allow me to miss a single day. "School is our salvation," she would repeat to me. You don't know how lucky we are. That the missionaries have opened a school only half an hour's walk from our home is a good fortune that we can't miss.
My poor little sister Fatou, how much she loved me! She took care of me when my mother died and made sure that I lacked nothing by selling fish at the market. She was hacked to death by the same people who later destroyed the school and burned our houses. Then came the drought, the abuse of the companies that monopolized the fishing business, the drop in the price of gold by the smugglers that made the work in the mine unsustainable....
I tried everything to survive and now I see myself here, lost in the middle of the ocean, falling into the trap of death in my attempt to escape from it. After 20 days in this pestilent boat, with no water and no food, almost everyone has died. And I am about to. In fact, I can't wait for this torture to end.
-Cheikh, wake up, they're coming! -The girl shouted at me again, "Cheer up, there are a lot of people praying for you.
With a lot of effort -when you are dehydrated, even fluttering your eyelashes is like a weightlifting exercise-, I was able to open my eyes and see her. What a surprise I got! She was not as young as her voice sounded, and she was holding a child in her arms. She was agitated, nervous. She kept looking at the horizon with concern. I had no idea that she had embarked with us and, besides, her appearance was not that of someone who had just spent more than two weeks without food or drink; but the child's face did look familiar...
Exhaustion overcame me, and just as I was about to close my eyes again, the little one came up to me and touched my lips with his hand. A torrent of cool water seemed to rush suddenly down my throat, my lips and tongue dry as a shoe sole, and at the same time a glow took them out of my sight.
The flash turned out to be coming from the powerful searchlight of the rescue ship that had just found us. Several crew members came down to check on my companions, took me aboard and confirmed that I was the only survivor. What had happened to that mother and child? I had had them by my side only a few minutes before.
Once in the hospital, I asked through the interpreter about that strange couple that helped me to resist. No one could give me an explanation. A doctor told me that it is normal to suffer hallucinations in the state I was in; but one of the nurses took out a kind of prayer card he was wearing around his neck with an image of a woman and her child. "It is a scapular of the Virgin of Carmen," he told me. She is the patroness of the people of the sea who invoke her in times of danger. Maybe it was she who saved you.
I don't know if it was real or a dream, but I do know that, since then, every night I remember those who may be suffering in the middle of a journey like mine. I remember when the girl at sea encouraged me by telling me that there were many people praying for me, and I also join in that cry while thanking her with the words that the nurse taught me and that were the first words I learned in Spanish, singing to her: Hail, Star of the Seas!
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.
Stella Maris, voice of humanity for the people of the sea on the day of their patron saint
You are not alone, you are not forgotten, is the motto of the Day of the People of the Sea, which they celebrate on July 16, coinciding with the feast of their Patroness, the Virgin of Mount Carmel. Luis Quinteiro, promoter of Stella Maris, and the delegates in Vigo, Mariel Larriba, and Barcelona, Ricardo Rodriguez-Martos.
Rafael Miner-July 16, 2021-Reading time: 10minutes
It was precisely the bishop of Tui-Vigo, promoter of the Stella Maris in Spain, Monsignor Luis Quinteiro, who last weekend presided over the Offering of the sea at the Votive Temple of PanxónThe "Virgen del Carmen", a tribute of faith and devotion that, every year, the four navies -the Navy, the merchant fleet, the fishing fleet and the sporting fleet- pay to the Virgin of Carmen. You can see here at the end the singing of the Salve Marinera and the Offering, after the celebration of the Eucharist.
On this occasion, the Centro Stella Maris de Atención al Marino chose Edelmiro Ulloa, new manager of the Cooperativa de Armadores de Vigo (ARVI), as the offerer on behalf of the entire fishing fleet, to which it corresponded to make the offering in this year marked by the Covid-19. Edelmiro Ulloa thanked the Virgin for her presence as "permanent light and guide to port for our sailors, joy in the reunion of our people and support in their absence, her company in the loneliness that sometimes entails life on board, comfort for those who suffer the bitterness of the definitive loss".
The bishop of Tui-Vigo, Mons. Luis Quinteiro Fiuza, blesses the seas from the door of the Votive Temple of Panxón.
As usual, Bishop Luis Quinteiro responded to the offering by exhorting all the faithful to value, both socially and spiritually, the world of the sea, which "has a decisive importance in our working, economic and social life. Fishing shapes societies that have an incredible strength in their customs and traditions, in their beliefs and in their solidarity, becoming an example for the whole society".
Finally, Bishop Luis Quinteiro blessed the seas from the door of the church with the Blessed Sacrament, which traveled through the naves with the faithful seated in their places, thus complying with the recommendations of the Pastoral Vicariate for places of worship. The Offering of the Sea, which has been celebrated in Panxón since 1939, has become an opportunity to revalue the role of the sailors and to make visible the serious problems affecting their families.
Paths of dignity and justice
In keeping with the theme of the Day, the bishop of Tui-Vigo and promoter of Stella Maris (Apostleship of the Sea) emphasized that "in these difficult times for everyone, and in a very special way for seafarers, the Apostleship of the Sea wants to be close to each of the men and women of the sea to tell you that you are not alone, that you are not forgotten". The prelate recalled that Stella Maris "fulfilled 100 years with all of youand all of us who make up this great family want you to continue to feel the heart and commitment of the Church close to you. We will continue to row together on the paths of dignity and justice, freedom and solidarity".
To this end, "the Church is present in a very close way in the sea parishes, in the sea ports, attending to the sailors and their families, visiting the ships when they arrive with sailors who do not know the language and who need urgent things and the company of friendly people. Stella Maris, the Apostleship of the Sea, wants to promote every day the presence of the Church in every port, in every seafaring town, in all our parishes near the sea, because the light of faith is the best way to fight for the dignity of life of our people of the sea", summarized Bishop Quinteiro.
The largest parish in Barcelona
It is possible that some of those who read these lines are not aware of the evangelization and apostolate of Stella Maris with the people of the sea. Consequently, here are a few brushstrokes today, feast of the Patroness, Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Ricardo Rodriguez-Martos (Barcelona) and Mariel Larriba (Vigo) spoke with Omnes.
At the end of June, the Episcopal Subcommission for Migration and Human Mobility of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE), presented the book The Apostleship of the Sea, a pastoral ministry of the Church going out to sea (EDICE), authored by Ricardo Rodríguez-Martos Dauer (Barcelona, 1948), former captain of the Merchant Marine and professor at the Nautical Faculty of Barcelona.
Ricardo Rodriguez-Martos has been the diocesan delegate of the Apostleship of the Sea of the Archbishopric of Barcelona since 1983, when he was ordained deacon by Cardinal Narcis Jubany, who put him in charge of the Apostleship of the Sea in Barcelona. He has been piloting the activity of Stella Maris in the Port of Barcelona for almost 40 years, is married, and has 3 children and 8 grandchildren. An institution.
In the presentation of the book, Rodriguez-Martos referred at the end "to the thousands of people involved in the Port of Barcelona, to the thousands of people who spend a year aboard ships, and to the pastoral activity that takes place in the announcement of the faith (celebrations, blessing of ships ̶ a very seafaring tradition ̶ , burials, weddings, Masses, an important pastoral activity".
And he told the following anecdote: "taking all this together, in the last assembly we had before the pandemic, the Cardinal of Barcelona, Archbishop Juan José Omella, said: "After what I have heard, I come to the conclusion that Stella Maris is the largest parish in Barcelona".
Then, referring to some of the ideas expressed in the presentation, he said: "All these are elements of the Church going out, and I believe that the Apostleship of the Sea, Stella Maris, in whatever port it works, must try to follow this path. To get involved with gestures and works in the daily life of the ports and ships".
The Catalan author also explained how the initiative to write a book on the Apostleship of the Sea, Stella Maris, of the Church came about: "The idea for this work came about in the following way. A few years ago, at an assembly in Barcelona where we presented the annual report, the then auxiliary bishop of Barcelona, Sebastiá Taltavull, now bishop of Palma de Mallorca, presided over the assembly. After listening to the different interventions where we explained what our activity consisted of, he said: 'What you are doing is exactly the Church going out'.
Since then, Rodriguez-Martos said, "a concern grew in me to deepen this concept. It seemed to me that all the activity carried out in the Apostleship of the Sea was worthwhile to focus it in the light of the Magisterium, of the biblical foundations, of pastoral work, so that it could really be enriched by this reflection and help to progress and move forward. I began to study the Evangelii gaudiumand I became enthusiastic. I am an enthusiast of Evangelii Gaudium and the documents of Pope Francis".
A Pope of whom the veteran seafarer, for so many years in evangelizing tasks, highlights this phrase, to cite an example: "I prefer a Church that is battered and stained by going out into the street, rather than a Church that is sick because of enclosure and the comfort of clinging to its own comforts. This is very inspiring. To go to the peripheries, to get involved with works and gestures, this is indispensable in the Apostleship of the Sea".
Images of Church on the move
Rodriguez-Martos speaks of images that he considers "clarifying of the Church going out" in Stella Maris: the ship visitor who leaves his comfort at home to attend to the crews; the well-known van with large letters STELLA MARIS or the meetings in the port. They are "images of the Church going out. Like when the Church sits down to take part in work groups.
"We are there to represent the social sustainability of seafarers. We must not forget that economic and environmental sustainability are included in Laudato si'. Getting involved in that is also the work of the Church. The important thing is, for me, to be like Stella Maris and to contribute what we want to contribute. And we are listened to. The Church has, in the social and civil sphere, the right and the duty to make itself heard. Sitting as one more. And the Church shares everyone's problems. It is a very important facet of the Church going out".
In the Port of Vigo
Mariel Larriba Leira is the other side of the Rodriguez-Martos coin. But only in chronology, because she took over a few months ago. She is the delegate of the Apostleship of the Sea for the diocese of Tui-Vigo since January. Her predecessors died last year, they were very old. And Don Luis [Bishop of Tui-Vigo] told me: it's your turn. It is an honor. The people who led the Apostleship of the Sea in these decades were people of consecrated life, who were dedicated to caring for the orphans of seafarers, and to all the management of the construction and maintenance of the votive temple of the Sea, which was built by the architect Palacios, and the school for orphans".
"I have been in contact with the world of the sea for years," explains Mariel Larriba. "I have been in charge of fishing issues, I have been in the elaboration of the last strategic plan of the Port of Vigo. I have been spokesperson for Fisheries in the Senate, I have had to take important legislative initiatives. One of them has been the claim of the seafarer's vote, "a matter that is unresolved". We ask you to tell us about it.
"I remember in 2011, in the Senate, I was senator for the province of Pontevedra, and we had presented a report: in the fishing fleet, registered, there were about 16,000 fishermen, of which barely two hundred voted. And they were a very high average. The sailors have a very limited right to vote, they do not vote, they cannot vote, because they are fishing. I collided head-on with the Central Electoral Board. In Spain we are still dragging this along, we are very guaranteeing, and it has to be the person who puts the ballot in the ballot box. There is no proxy voting, no virtual voting, no postal voting... In other countries, yes".
Profile of Stella Maris
"Stella Maris is a worldwide organization, which has been working on behalf of the seafarer for more than a hundred years. We depend on the Dicastery for Human Development, and we are divided in the world by geographical areas. There are more than 300 Stella Maris centers. Spain is a coastal country, and we are divided into two areas, one that includes all the ports of the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands; and what we can call the Cantabrian and Atlantic coast we are coordinated by the oldest, which is Stella Maris UK. Stella Maris was born in Glasgow, and it is Stella Maris UK who coordinates us".
Mariel Larriba continues: "I have come across this tremendous network, and also integrated into organizations of a wider spectrum. In Stella Maris we are the centers of the Catholic Church, but as this Apostleship of the Sea developed a lot in England, in the Anglican Church, as in other Christian confessions, there is an international association, ICMA, where we are the centers of help, of welcome to the seafarers all over the world, of all the Christian churches. There is an extraordinary ecumenical atmosphere, a total collaboration".
Vigo: the challenge of digitalization
The Stella Maris center in Vigo has been inside the port for more than 30 years, in the offices, and the new Stella Maris delegate speaks of two challenges in "the work of welcoming and accompanying seafarers". The first is digitalization.
"The largest number of sailors we see circulating on the docks are those of the fishing fleet, because in the commercial navy they hardly get off the ships, or they go down for a few hours, load and leave. Each port is a world. For example, our port is not for bulk ships, which take several days to load, it is mainly for containerized goods. That's why we have to anticipate. And one of my challenges is to reach these crews digitally, through the internet, to be able to serve them before they arrive at port, to optimize the time they are on land. Empathy is easy when there is physical presence. When there is no physical presence, it is more difficult. For this reason, we have contacted the San Camilo Listening Center in Madrid to attend these crews by telephone".
Added to this is the fact that "the crews we have now are multicultural. That is also why the challenge of digitalization. In other countries, they are well advanced. In Spain we have to get our act together to reach them virtually. The pandemic has made it impossible for us to reach the crews. Their isolation has increased tremendously.
As for working conditions in the fishing fleet, "they have been so hard and so unfair that there are hardly any Spaniards who want to work at sea," says Mariel Larriba. "Except for commanders and officers, almost no one in the crews is Spanish. In the case of the fishing fleet, it is the African coastal countries that are feeding our fleet: Senegalese, Mauritanians, Moroccans. The coexistence in these crews where they do not speak the same language, nor are they of the same culture, must be extremely difficult. The technologies, according to the data we are obtaining, allow them to use their tablets or whatever after work, and they become more and more isolated, and the psychological problems increase. The conditions of loneliness are enormous.
The challenge of the Church on the move
In profiles similar to those expressed above by Rodriguez-Martos, Mariel Larriba refers "to another challenge: the concept of the Church as an outlet, which applies one hundred percent to the port area, because almost all maritime-port cities live with their backs to the sea. Here in Vigo, we are an elongated city, close to the coast, and the port is the whole facade of the city facing the sea, it was a part of which the city had no idea of what was going on beyond".
"We are not a political movement or a trade union movement, but it is a charitable and social work of the Church, helping people. When we speak in terms of sustainability, we are thinking of environmental sustainability. And social sustainability is thought of in socioeconomic terms only. We, who are part of the Port Council, and we are in different working groups, we realize that in the meetings they talk about tons fished, etc., but the word crew member, the person, does not come up in the whole meeting. People are not, in general, the object of attention. There is only a concern for their professional training".
Social and human sustainability
"But if they live far from their families, if they are looking for family reunification, if they have not seen their families for months, if they happen to be hospitalized here because they have had appendicitis, if they are in the hospital alone, if they have been arrested because they are carrying some illegal cargo and end up in prison, they are in prison by themselves, seven or nine thousand kilometers away from their homes. These human aspects are not covered," adds Mariel Larriba.
In his opinion, "the special sensitivity towards this group, because their field of work is unique, that closeness, that specificity, is being lost, and the coverage is increasingly poor. We have the opportunity to be that voice of humanity in the maritime and port area. I believe that Stella Maris has a great opportunity to do that work".
That expression, "voice of humanity", reflects a living reality. We concluded by talking about the Virgin of Mount Carmel. "In the maritime sphere there is a very great devotion to the Virgin of Mount Carmel. And the ports are also spaces for evangelization. There are many sailors who have no spiritual formation of any kind, beyond the four or five rites they have experienced in their countries of origin".
"In the port area there is no oratory or chapel. There are priests, deacons, who work at Stella Maris. I would love to see a small chapel opened in the port of Vigo. In the port of Almeria, which had a mosque, the delegate of Stella Maris managed to open an oratory," adds the Vigo delegate. "I would like to convey this interest in a necessary social and human sustainability, which Stella Maris has been doing, and can develop it much more".
The Drama of Atheistic Humanism, by Henri de Lubac
Published at the end of the Second World War (1944), the lucid essay The drama of atheistic humanism represented a Christian analysis of the ferments that had led modern culture away from Christianity, and which were, in part, responsible for the catastrophe.
It was not difficult to see that both Nazism and communism were children of the anti-Christian side of the modern era. In both, in different ways, they mixed philosophical presuppositions (Feuerbach's in one case, Nietzsche's in the other, and in both, Hegel's) and false scientific claims about materialism (dialectic) or biology (racist). And both pretended to build a new city with a culture without God in favor of a new man. But they fell back on the construction of the tower of Babel, which is also the apocalyptic Babylon, thirsty for Christian blood.
The book is composed of several articles that De Lubac wrote during World War II and the occupation of France by the Germans. Originally, they were separate articles. This is how the author tells it with his characteristic modesty in the foreword. But they had the unity of analysis: "Beneath the innumerable currents that surface on the external surface of our contemporary thought, it seems to us that there is [...] something like an immense drift: Due to the action of a considerable part of our thinking minority, Western humanity disavows its Christian origins and separates itself from God." (p. 9). And it continues: "We are not talking about a vulgar atheism, which is typical, more or less, of all times and which offers nothing significant [...]. Modern atheism becomes positive, organic, constructive.". It does not limit itself to criticize, but has the will to make the question useless and substitute the solution. "Positivist humanism, Marxist humanism, Nietzschean humanism are, more than an atheism properly speaking, an anti-theism and more specifically, an anti-Christianity, because of the negation at their base." (The drama of atheistic humanismEncuentro, Madrid 1990, pp. 9-10).
The essay is divided into three parts. In the first, it deals with Feuerbach and Nietzsche on the death of God and the dissolution of human nature, and compares Nietzsche with Kierkegaard. The second part is devoted to Comte's positivism and his substitute atheism. The third, with the expressive title Dostoyevsky prophet shows how the Russian writer, sensitive to this, had guessed the plot: "It is not true that man cannot organize the earth without God. What is true is that without God he cannot, in the end, do more than organize it against man. Exclusive humanism is an inhuman humanism." (p. 11). As it happens with the whole of De Lubac's work, this book is full of quotations and references and one can guess a serious and immense effort of reading. And a very broad culture. It should also be noted that he always treats with justice the thought of others, with great discernment and irreproachable intellectual honesty.
Feuerbach and Nietzsche
De Lubac describes that the Christian idea of the human being and his relationship with God was a great liberation in the ancient world: "Fatum is over!" (p. 20), the tyranny of fatality: behind it there is a God who loves us. "Now this Christian idea that had been received as a liberation begins to feel like a yoke.". One does not want to be subjected to anything, not even to God. The utopian socialists, from Proudhon to Marx, see in God the excuse that sanctions the unjust order of society: "by the grace of God", as it was coined on the royal coins.
Feuerbach and Nietzsche will break this order. Feuerbach will do so by postulating that the idea of God has been generated by sublimating the aspirations of human beings, who have dispossessed themselves by putting outside the fullness to which they aspire, and thus can no longer be theirs. For Feuerbach, the Christian religion is the most perfect and, therefore, the most alienating. This was like a revelation for Engels or Bakunin. And Marx will add it to his economic analysis: the original alienation is what generates the two basic classes, those who own the means of production (owners) and those who do not own them (workers), and this creates in history the social structure that ends up sanctioned by religion. But it will give it a practical and political twist: it is no longer a question of thinking, but of transforming. A more radical revolution than the French one is needed.
According to De Lubac, Nietzsche did not sympathize with Feuerbach, but was influenced by Schopenhauer and Wagner. The World as will and representationSchopenhauer, is marked by Feuerbach's thesis and enchants Wagner. The Will to powerNietzsche's "The Christian Alienation" is driven by indignation at Christian alienation and by the desire to regain full freedom: "In Christianity, this process of stripping and debasement of man goes to the extreme."he says. And this indignation is present almost from the beginning of his work. It is necessary to expel the fallacy of God. It is not a question of demonstrating that it is false, because we would never finish, it is necessary to expel it from thought as an evil, once we have unmasked it because we know how it has been formed. It is necessary to proclaim with the vigor of a crusade, the "death of God", a huge and tragic task, even frightening, as it appears in Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Consequently, everything must be remade, especially the human being: it is an atheistic humanism. "He does not see," comments De Lubac, "that the One against whom he blasphemes and exorcises is precisely the one who gives him all his strength and greatness [...], he is not aware of the servility that threatens him." (p. 50). De Lubac does not fail to point out that Nietzsche can mock Christian falsehood because in modern Christianity so accommodated there is hardly a trace left of the vibrancy of the Christians who transformed the ancient world.
Kierkegaard has quite a few things in common with Nietzsche: the solitary struggle against the bourgeois, the aversion to Hegel and abstraction, the consciousness of solitary combat with great suffering. But Kierkegaard is a man of radical faith, a "herald of transcendence," of that dimension without which the human being closed in on himself can only succumb to his limits and baseness.
Comte and Christianity
The extensive Positive Philosophy Courseby Comte, was published in the same year that The essence of Christianityby Feuerbach (1842). And as a commentator of the time pointed out: "L. Feuerbach in Berlin like Auguste Comte in Paris, proposes to Europe the worship of a new God: the 'human race'" (p. 95).
De Lubac lucidly analyzes the famous "law of the three stages", which Comte formulated at the age of 24. "It constitutes the picture in which he pours all his doctrine". (p. 100). We pass from a supernatural explanation of the universe with gods and God ("theological stage"), to a philosophical explanation by abstract causes ("metaphysical stage"), and finally to a fully scientific and "natural" explanation ("positive stage"). There is no turning back. All the above is "fanaticism", an adjective then in vogue. Comte did not consider himself an atheist but an agnostic: he believed he had shown that the idea of a God had been falsely arrived at and that this question made no sense in a scientific society. But it is necessary to fill in the gap, because "what is not replaced is not destroyed". (p. 121). And he wants to organize the cult of Humanity. This will lead him to a series of rather delirious initiatives. De Lubac comments: "In practice it leads to the dictatorship of a party, or rather of a sect. It denies man all freedom, all rights." (p. 187). We are in the line of the "fanaticisms of abstraction" that V. Havel will later denounce, or of the projects of "social engineering" that the Marxists will carry out, but in this case fortunately almost innocuous.
Dostoyevsky prophet
Strikingly, the third part of the book is titled Dostoyevsky prophet. De Lubac picks up on an observation by Gide: many novels describe the relationships between the protagonists, but Dostoyevsky's novels also deal with the relationship between the protagonists. "with himself and with God." (p. 195). In this inner work, Dostoyevsky has been able to represent the changes that the option for nihilism and life without God entail in a person. Dostoyevsky is a prophet in this sense: he allows us to see what happens in souls with new ideas. He even allows us to imagine what happened in the soul of Nietzsche himself, the soul of an atheist fleeing from God.
Curiously, says De Lubac, in his last years of lucidity, Nietzsche became acquainted with the works of Dostoyevsky (Memories of the subsoil), with which he felt identified: "He's the only one who has taught me some psychology." (200), He also met The idiotwhere he glimpsed the features of Christ, but soon warned a friend that Dostoyevsky is: "completely Christian in sentiment"won by "slave morality". And will consider. "I have granted him a strange recognition, against my deepest instincts [...] it is the same with Pascal." (p. 200).
When Dostoyevsky was planning, at the end of his life, a magnum opus with an autobiographical background, he noted: "The main problem that will be raised in all parts of the work will be the one that has tortured me consciously or unconsciously throughout my life: the existence of God. The hero will be, throughout his existence, sometimes an atheist, sometimes a believer, sometimes a fanatic or heretic, and sometimes again an atheist." (p. 205). He did not write it, but in the ones he wrote, with multiple names, there is this character discovering us the different states of his believing, atheist, nihilist or revolutionary soul.
Has time passed by the book?
Yes, it has happened. The comparison between Nietzsche and Kierkegaard is still topical, even more topical. The treatment of Dostoyevsky is still moving. But other things have changed. Nazism disappeared with the war. Communism, like a miracle, fell with the 20th century (since 1989). Feuerbach or Comte sound old-fashioned, although they were taught in the Faculties of Philosophy before Foucault and Derrida (without any mention of their critics). Political ideologies have disappeared, leaving cultural wounds.
However, the positivist background as a unique faith in science survives and extends, without the eccentricities of Comte. There is no positivist cult and priesthood, although there is the quasi-pontifical Magisterium of some "oracles of science", as Mariano Artigas called them. But there is an assumed materialism, which, in reality, has little foundation, given what we know about the origin and constitution of the world. Every day it looks more and more like a huge explosion of intelligence, so that it is more implausible to defend that there is only matter and that everything has been made by itself.
Marxism fell, we were saying, but the immense ideological vacuum is being filled with the same planetary dimensions and the same propagandistic and social pressure techniques by sexual ideology, developed since 1968. And this is due, in large part, to the fact that a left, deprived of a political program (Marxist) and of a future horizon (the classless society), has turned it into a moral vindication that redeems or at least covers up the harsh past. De Lubac, like most of his contemporaries, including the entire classical left, would be perplexed. From the revolutionary left we have passed to the libertarian left (with inspiration from Nietzsche) and from there to a new ideological machinery that, upsetting the foundations of our democracy, turns its intolerance into a virtue. Since the end of the 18th century, intolerance is not Christian intolerance, but anti-Christian intolerance. And about this new humanism, the diagnosis that De Lubac finds in Dostoyevsky is valid: a world can be made without God, but it cannot be made without going against the human being. Dostoyevsky, the prophet, did not imagine this drift, but he did announce that "only beauty will save the world".
Next to Porta San Giovanni, which today leads to the homonymous square and the Lateran Basilica, is Porta Asinaria, one of the small gates of the Aurelian Wall; it takes its name from the ancient Via Asinaria.
Johannes Grohe-July 15, 2021-Reading time: < 1minute
The authorJohannes Grohe
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The priest Josep Boira is one of the authors who, every month, brings the richness of Sacred Scripture to the readers of Omnes. A section especially valued that brings the interpretation of the divine word closer to the daily life of each person.
The first question, obviously, focuses on the purpose of the Reasons section, one of the most valued sections of Omnes and of which you are the author. How do you approach the section? What points would you highlight?
-The section has gone through different stages and profiles over a number of years. Currently, more particularly since March of this year, the profile of the section is similar to a brief lectio divina. S
A Scripture text (often a single verse) is presented, its context is given, and some other biblical passage that points in the same direction as the text presented.
The final objective is to offer a possible updating of the fragment so that the reader may feel challenged by the words of Scripture. This is aided by some simple questions that invite reflection on the subject and some brief quotations taken from the living tradition of the Church that comment on the text.
The Omnes section aims to bring Scripture closer to the Catholic faithful, with accessible language and a sapiential approach to the sacred text.
Josep Boira
What is the internal organization of the section and its objectives?
-At this stage, two authors are in charge of the section, alternating each month. Logically, each author has his own style, but the common objective of the section is to bring Scripture closer to the Catholic faithful, with an accessible language, with a sapiential look at the sacred text that helps to understand and discover its perennial novelty, and therefore its relevance for a better understanding of the world in which we live.
In his Apostolic Letter "Scriptura Sacrae Affectus."In the words of Dei Verbum, the Pope recalled that "if the Bible is 'like the soul of sacred theology' and the spiritual backbone of Christian religious practice, it is indispensable that the act of interpreting it be supported by specific skills" How does one approach the study and explanation of Sacred Scripture based on these skills?
-In the same exhortation of the Second Vatican Council. Dei Verbum The guidelines for a correct interpretation are given: "Since Sacred Scripture must be read and interpreted with the same spirit with which it was written in order to draw out the exact meaning of the sacred texts, it is necessary to pay no less diligent attention to the content and unity of the whole of Sacred Scripture, taking into account the living Tradition of the whole Church and the analogy of faith". These criteria summarize the way to approach the study of the Bible. It is wonderful to discover the analogies within the Bible, the interconnections, the fulfillments of the figures.
How can we not be amazed to discover that the prophet Elisha had already multiplied the loaves, foreshadowing in some way what Jesus did? Even more: after the multiplication of the loaves, we see Jesus praying and then walking on the wind-stirred waters.
The attentive reader can go beyond Elisha and see in Jesus the creator God, who hovers over the waters and saves men from the dark waters. A professor used to tell me with great accuracy that the Bible is the first hypertextmillennia before the technology of linking texts together existed.
Sometimes we Catholics are reproached by our Protestant brethren for a "lack of knowledge" of Sacred Scripture. Is this true? Are we really aware of the importance of the Word of God and of applying it in our lives?
-Thank God, for a long time now there have been many initiatives in the Catholic Church that encourage the faithful to have a loving knowledge of Scripture, at the parish and academic levels; the new technologies have also opened the Bible to many people. Some of the initiatives come from the Roman Pontiffs. Pope Francis has recently written us a precious Apostolic Letter, which you have just quoted: Scrupturae Sacrae Affectus, (whose reading I recommend) on the occasion of the XVI centenary of the death of St. Jerome. Previously, he established the Sunday of the Word of God.
Perhaps some of these initiatives have arisen following the example of our brethren in the evangelical churches. Undoubtedly, there is much to be done, and we will never be able to say that we have done it all, for Scripture will always remain the soul of theology and "the spiritual backbone of religious practice," as the Pope's aforementioned letter states.
The saints are the best interpreters of Scripture because they transcend the written text and arrive, through it, at an encounter with Jesus Christ.
Josep Boira
Do you think that now that we have easy access to the texts of saints and Church Fathers, we can take advantage of this legacy to enter into Sacred Scripture and incorporate it into our prayer?
- We could say that the saints are the best interpreters of Scripture because, with the help of the Holy Spirit, they have been able to transcend the written text and arrive, through it, at an encounter with Jesus Christ. They are our teachers so that the Bible becomes our principal book of prayer.
Pope prays before the 'Salus Populi Romani' after leaving the Gemelli
The Holy Father spent 11 days in the "Agostino Gemelli" University Hospital, where he prayed the Angelus last Sunday and visited children and the sick.
Pope Francis was discharged from the hospital at 10:30 this morning. After leaving the hospital, the Holy Father went to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to pray before the icon of the Virgin Mary. Salus Populi Romani. Francis thanked Our Lady for the success of his surgery, and also said a special prayer for all the sick, especially for those he met during the days of his hospitalization.
The Pope has thus made a gesture of affection for Our Lady which he usually repeats every time he undertakes and ends a trip outside Rome and which he wanted to make once his stay at the "Agostino Gemelli" University Hospital, where he was admitted on Sunday, July 4, to undergo surgery for a "symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon", is over.
The Holy Father has been in the hospital for a little more than a week, a time in which, in addition to the surgical intervention, he has visited the children admitted to the Oncology area of the center as well as other sick people who have been the Pope's "companions" in the hospital during these days. He arrived at the Vatican at around 12:00 noon.
During these days, he has been able to thank the doctors and health personnel for their work and has received constant of affection from all over the world that, as he himself pointed out in the recitation of the Angelus from the hospital "had moved him deeply".
July is the Holy Father's month of rest, so the Pope's activity usually decreases in intensity during these weeks, something that is expected to help the 84-year-old Pope's full recovery.
Jeremiah tells of God's indignation at the "shepherds who scatter and let the sheep of my flock stray".. To these shepherds, who are kings, he promises punishment:"You scattered my sheep and let them go without caring for them. So I am going to call you to account for the wickedness of your deeds.". In the face of the iniquity of those who were supposed to shepherd his people according to God's design, he promises to intervene to gather his sheep directly and give them suitable shepherds. The prophecy of Jeremiah (Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord, "when I will give to David a legitimate offspring; he shall reign as a wise monarch, with justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, Israel shall dwell in safety. And they shall call him by this name: The-Lord-our-righteousness.") is fulfilled with the Incarnation and serves today to introduce the reading of the passage from Mark that recounts the return of the disciples, sent two by two to evangelize.
The simplicity of the Gospel breathes the freshness of those moments in which the disciples feel the need to tell Jesus "everything they had done and taught.". Jesus understands this better than they, who have accumulated physical and emotional fatigue, and invites them to withdraw with him to a secluded place to rest. He teaches them and us the value of rest, the value of relativizing works, even that of evangelization, which should not be an absolute and take the place of God. "Because there were so many coming and going, and they didn't even have time to eat.". He teaches them the ability to detach themselves from pastoral care, to regenerate themselves in dialogue with him and in fraternal communication, the goodness of seeking times and places of rest. To stay, at times, ".themselves alone.".
Jesus teaches as much with gestures and decisions as with words. His apostles learn and remember. Then, throughout the history of the Church, they meditate on those small and significant details of the events lived and told by the Gospel, which are a place of revelation. Even the fact that this attempt at rest is not carried out, will have made generations of faithful and pastors of the Church smile for two millennia. That crowd seeking the Master, so incredibly quick and perceptive, arrives even before the boat to the place where they dreamed of a "desert" to rest. It is that compassion of Jesus, which always moves us, for those "sheep that have no shepherd". Mark says only of Jesus, in the singular, that "began to teach them many things". In this way, he lets his apostles rest for a while, not as they had planned, being alone with him, but listening to him fascinated, mixed with the crowd.
The homily on the readings of Sunday XVI
The priest Luis Herrera Campo offers its nanomiliaa small one-minute reflection for these readings.
The majority of Spaniards recognize that their values have Christian roots, even half of those who declare themselves indifferent or atheists. Levels of trust in the Catholic Church are improving, although they are low, according to a report by analysts Víctor Pérez-Díaz and Juan Carlos Rodríguez presented by the European Foundation Society and Education.
Among the 28 European countries whose adult population identifies with a religious denomination, Spain ranks 22nd, although 75 % of Spaniards recognize that their values have Christian roots, including half of those who declare themselves indifferent or atheist.
An 86 % recognizes the importance of the role of churches (including the Catholic Church) in social assistance, while current levels of trust in the Catholic Church, although continuing to improve, are relatively low, with an average of 3.8 out of 10, behind NGOs, but similar to those of large companies (3.7) and the media (3.9), and clearly above political parties (1.5).
On the other hand, the average importance that citizens attach to religion in their lives receives a score of 4 out of 10 ̶ the fourth lowest position among European countries with 2017 data ̶ , an average that rises to 9.3 among teachers of religis
These are some of the conclusions of the report Citizen and teacher perspectives towards religion, its public presence and its place in teaching, prepared by Víctor Pérez-Díaz, 2014 National Prize in Political Science and Sociology, and Juan Carlos Rodríguez, both from Analistas Socio-Políticos, and presented at the course summer school in El Escorial entitled Religion in Spain today, organized by the European Foundation Society and Education.
The analysts' study is based on two opinion surveys. One of them was applied to a representative sample of the Spanish population between 18 and 75 years of age, and the other was applied to a representative sample of Catholic Religion teachers in general education and in public schools. Both were carried out online.
Course directors, Silvia Meseguer (UCM) and Miguel Angel Sancho (EFSE), have framed this study in the framework of the project Civil society, religiosity and education, commissioned to Society and Education by the international organization Porticus, interested in having information on the situation of religious formation in Spain. Andrés Arias Astray, Director General of the General Foundation of the Complutense University of Madrid, opened the course on behalf of the Rector.
Secularization, a complex process
Víctor Pérez-Díaz described the process of secularization in Spain as "complex, confusing, contradictory and open, with very different tones in Western societies and in the rest of the world".
Juan Carlos Rodríguez, co-author of the report, highlighted some of the conclusions that, in his opinion, shed new light on the public's judgments and perceptions about the public presence of religion. And he affirmed that, "for the first time, the opinions of the public are compared with those of one of the hypothetically central agents in the transmission of the religious perspective, the teachers of Religion".
In the opinion of Professor Rodriguez, the process of secularization in Spain has nuances: the general public recognizes a religious component in people's lives, recognizes the contribution of religious organizations in caring for the needy, tends to accept the current status of the subject of Religion, and even values another possible subject on the History of Religions. In short, "it only remains to conclude that there is, in Spain, a civilized coexistence between those who recognize the weight of religious experience in their lives and those who do not".
Some conclusions
"The variable that best explains the differences of opinion found in the study is that which combines the religious identity and practice of the interviewees," says Juan Carlos Rodríguez. These are classified, according to the report, as follows: 58.7 % are Catholics (17.7 %, practicing and the rest little or not practicing); 3.2 % are believers of other confessions; 11.2 % declare themselves agnostic; 15.7 %, atheists and 10.5%, indifferent. [Fundeu.es points out that "the agnostic does not affirm the existence or non-existence of God, as long as these are not demonstrable. Atheist, on the other hand, is the one who "denies the existence of God"].
With respect to Religion teachers, 86.1 % attend religious services every week or almost every week, something that only applies to 18.7 % of the believing public.
On the other hand, as is well known, the involvement of Catholics in religious rites has been declining in recent decades. The sharpest example in the study is the evolution of the weight of Catholic marriages over the total number of marriages celebrated each year, which has fallen from about 90 % in the early 1980s to 21 % in 2019.
Religion in life
The average importance that citizens in general attach to religion in their lives receives a score of 4 out of 10 (fourth lowest position among European countries with data in 2017), an average that rises to 9.3 among religion teachers, as noted above.
Some 85.8 % have experienced no clear effects on their religious feelings in times of pandemic, and it is striking, according to the report, that only 12 % have felt in need of help, compared to 79.1 % who have not experienced such a need.
58.4 % agree with the idea of excluding religious manifestations from the public sphere (but 97.5 % of Religion teachers think the opposite, something in which they coincide with 63.2 % of practicing Catholics); 71 % prefer that churches abstain from expressing an opinion on political matters, but 73.7 % of Religion teachers think the opposite.
On the other hand, 78 % think that politicians should not openly express their religious convictions, but 70 % of religion teachers think the opposite. Despite this apparent tendency to relegate religion to the private sphere, 86 % recognize the importance of the role of churches in social welfare.
Education and religiosity
Contrary to what seems to be the dominant trend in the public discussion of these issues, only 47.6 % of respondents attach a great deal or a fair amount of importance to the political debate on the role of religion in education, compared to 52.5 % who attach little or no importance to it.
In any case, Juan Carlos Rodríguez points out that "this debate does not seem to have enlightened the opinions of those interviewed, since not only do most of them err in estimating the proportion of students who take Religion, but, beyond the opinion held on the subject of public financing of religious centers, very few (33.8 %) know that such financing also occurs in other European countries. This serves as a cautionary note in interpreting the public's views on policies regarding religion in education and perhaps other related issues.
Moreover, only 27 % recognize some important effect on their religiosity of having taken the subject of Religion at school. However, 44.2 % agree with favoring contact with religious experience at school or in the family. In any case, the population is very divided here, since 55.8 % do not agree.
Religion teachers: majority women
Religion teachers in Spain are mostly women, somewhat older than the average age of teachers in public schools, and have, on average, 1.5 university degrees. They have been teachers for an average of 20.8 years and remain longer in their schools than their colleagues in public education. They value their training positively and combine traditional and modern pedagogical techniques, as do, in general, the majority of Spanish teachers for a long time. However, Religion teachers express some insecurity and uncertainty about their future as teachers.
According to 45% of the teachers interviewed, interest in the subject at their center would have remained stable in recent years, but for 25 % it would have increased and for 24 % it would have decreased. In general, they tend to believe that both students and the rest of the teaching staff see the subject of Religion as less important than the others, a perception that is accentuated when giving their opinion on how their peers see it.
As for the coexistence with their colleagues in the center, 92.9 % affirm that they relate a lot with them and 82.6 % agree that their consideration is similar to that of any teacher. There is a majority (53.5 %) who observe in their colleagues a neutral attitude towards the teaching of Religion in the public school, and there are also more who believe that these colleagues maintain a positive attitude (30.2 %) than a negative one (16.3 %).
The teachers who are aware of the proposals of the Spanish Episcopal Conference regarding the future of the subject (76.7 %) have a good or very good opinion of them, as opposed to 9.5 % who have a bad or very bad opinion of them. 95.3 % think it is very good that the subject of Religion counts for the average grade of the Bachillerato and the EVAU (Evaluation for University Access), and 92.3 % think it is bad or very bad that it does not have an alternative.
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The other day I was talking to a priest friend of mine, and he was telling me that he had asked a certain Church movement to come to his parish to do a certain activity: "Let's see if this way we can attract young people".
I think all priests dream of finding the philosopher's stone to attract young people to parishes. There are parishes that have good programs for young people, or a good catechetical itinerary that leads to youth groups, and that even promote vocations, thank God. It is a model that is based on the parish having a good offer for young people... to come. There are parishes that do not have the capacity to offer these programs, or simply are implanted in places where there are no young people. Not that there are no young people, but that there are no Christian families that can nurture young people in the parish.
The problem here is that what is expected is... for the young people to "come". It is as if Jesus stayed in Nazareth to wait for the disciples to come to him. When we read the Gospel attentively we realize that the formation of the group of disciples around Jesus is not based on a movement of "coming in", but of "going out". It is Jesus who goes out, who begins to preach, who goes to the banks of the Jordan and the sea to look for the disciples; and then it is these same disciples who are "sent out" on the roads, to go from town to town preaching the Kingdom of God.
The question is not how to get people to come to Church; the question is: how do we, those of us who are inside, go out to share the Good News?
The question is not how to get people to come and fill our churches, but how to get the churches emptied (after Mass) of insiders, so that they go out as missionaries.
All this is very clear. For some years now, there has been no more talk about evangelization, the new evangelization, the Church going out, mission, etc.
More than devising and designing attractive programs for outsiders, what is needed is to design processes so that those inside become true missionary disciples as assistants. It is that easy. Or difficult, because it is no longer a matter of someone coming with the magic formula that will fill the parish, but everything happens through a true conversion. Pastoral conversion.
Juan Narbona: "Mistrust in institutions weakens society".
Juan Narbona, professor of Digital Communication at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross is one of the authoritative voices in the field of the study of trust and credibility of institutions.
More than 600 Church communicators recently participated in an online congress organized by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Rome) under the theme "Inspiring Trust". Juan Narbona, one of the organizers, explains in Omnes why trust is a relevant issue for organizations, in this interview of which we now publish the first part. The second part will be published on this website in a few days.
What do you understand by "trust" and can we speak of "trust" in the Church?
-As with other seemingly obvious concepts, trust is not easy to define, even though we all know what it is and experience it every day. I understand it as "a leap in the dark," a commitment based on the hope that the other party's future behavior will be consistent with the expectations generated.
Trust is present in the most ordinary operations of our lives: we drink coffee at the bar without doubting the waiter who serves it, we take a bus with the certainty that it will take us to our desired destination, we work hoping that our company will pay us at the end of the month... We all have an active and a passive role in this regard: we expect to be trusted and we learn to trust others. The Church itself bases its existence on trust - on faith - in God's promises; in turn, it demands trust from its faithful, even though it is often aware that it does not deserve it.
What effects does trust have on individuals or groups?
-Let's think about our own experience. When we are trusted, we feel valued and our willingness to collaborate increases, we are more creative and able to accept risks, because we are fully involved in what we are entrusted with. In addition, it speeds up our time, because we do not feel obliged to account for everything or to justify our decisions...
Juan Narbona
On the other hand, without the oil In the absence of trust, our commitment and relationships creak and slow down to a standstill. A tense work environment, a family where excessive explanations are demanded or a friendship in which every mistake is held accountable are situations in which we drown. Also in a Christian community or in the Church, mistrust of pastors or of pastors towards the faithful can greatly hinder the mission.
Why is it said that confidence is in crisis today?
-An Ipsos survey published at the end of 2020 clearly shows how much distrust of certain experts and institutions has grown. For example, in England - although the data is similar in other European countries - only 56 % of the population trusts priests, when in 1983 that figure was 85 %. Mistrust is even greater towards other professional profiles - such as politicians (15 %) or journalists (23 %) - but it is surprising that the average citizen trusts a stranger in the street (58 %) more than a priest. Good times, on the other hand, for doctors, nurses and engineers, professional categories that receive a lot of trust.
So, we wanted to ask ourselves: what has happened to some of these social authorities? Why do we no longer trust those we considered experts until now? What are the consequences for society? We have also observed that trust is learning to circulate in other ways: a few years ago we would have been incapable of giving our letter of credit online or staying in the house of a stranger we have contacted on the Internet, but today it is common practice. We trust strangers because there are security mechanisms that make it easier. Classic organizations need to analyze with interest these new channels through which trust flows.
What is the reason for the generalized deterioration of confidence?
-In recent years, a generalized climate of suspicion has been accentuated in society. We find it difficult to place ourselves in the hands of specialists who base their authority on historical, subjective or supernatural criteria.
The causes of this change are varied, but the main one is that some traditional institutions have disappointed society. The greatest damage has been caused by those that have lied to their publics. Lying does horrible damage: the Lehman Brothers scandals, the Volkswagen emissions, the confusing statistics of the Astrazeneca vaccine or the coverage of sexual abuse in the Church and other institutions that work with young people are some examples. The problem is that not only do we distrust a specific lying organization, but our suspicion extends to all organizations or professionals working in the same sector.
But there have always been lies...
-Indeed. As early as the sixth century, St. Gregory the Great advised that "if the truth is to cause scandal, it is better to allow scandal than to renounce the truth. Fifteen centuries later, we continue to experience that telling the truth has been, is and always will be a fragile and difficult challenge. Nietzsche wrote a sentence that reflects well the consequences of lying: "What bothers me is not that you have lied to me, but that from now on I will not be able to believe you...". In other words, lying is not only bad in itself, but it cancels our authority to communicate the truth. Lying to save an apparently greater good (the prestige of dioceses or the reputation of their pastors, for example) will always be a temptation, but we have learned that telling the truth is a good that bears fruit in the long run. On the other hand, those who ally themselves with lies must assume that others will always view them with doubt and suspicion.
Are there other reasons for this climate of suspicion?
-Yes, along with lies we could mention fear. The Internet has put into circulation much more information that makes us feel vulnerable. Think, for example, of the news about the Covid vaccines. So many contradictions, so many rumors, so many different voices... have exhausted our will to trust. We no longer know who is right and this generates a strong sense of fragility and helplessness. The same happens with political tension: the discourse is fast, aggressive, emotional, divisive... Politicians exhaust us and we lose enthusiasm for building something together.
In this era of global information, scandals and crises in various areas (immigration, domestic violence, job security...) have weakened our ability to put ourselves in the hands of others. We are afraid, and this is not good, because it weakens social ties, and a weaker society is a more fragile and manipulable society. That is why it is important to inspire confidence again in the institutions that provide the backbone of society and give it cohesion and strength.
How do you rebuild trust?
-Thinking that trust can be "built" is a common misconception. Trust cannot be cooking with a series of ingredients: a marketing campaign, some credible data, an honest-sounding apology... No: trust is not built, it is inspired, and the other party freely gives it to us or not. It is possible, on the other hand, to work to be worthy of that trust, that is, to strive to change oneself, to be better.
How, then, do we "deserve" trust?
-By demonstrating that three elements are possessed: integrity, benevolence and capacity, as already proposed by Aristotle. That is to say, we trust in the person who is consistent with what he says; in the one who shows with deeds that he desires my good; and in the one who is also competent in the field for which he claims trust.
Imagine, for example, that you are going to buy a car. The salesperson accurately describes the characteristics of the vehicle you are interested in and answers your questions correctly. He is capable: he demonstrates that he knows his job. In addition, he suggests that you wait a few days to take advantage of a discount and advises you not to buy a more expensive model that does not meet your needs. In this way, he shows that he sincerely wants to help you. If, in addition, he assures you that he himself owns the model you have chosen, he gains your complete confidence because his behavior is consistent with his discourse.
Each person and each organization can think about how it can improve each of these three elements in order to deserve the trust of others: consistency, otherness and empowerment.
"In the military, a priest gives a reason for the life you are willing to give."
Currently assigned to the special operations command in Alicante, Major José Ramón Rapallo discovered his priestly vocation in the midst of the daily "battle".
Is not man's life on earth a militia? (Job, 7, 1). The phrase from the book of Job probably does not sound new. Even more so for those who have dedicated their lives to the service of others through the Armed Forces, and it was precisely in the midst of this world that the Commander José Ramón Rapallo saw that God was calling him to his service in the priestly ministry and told Omnes about it in an extensive interview.
Although the military ordinariate is well known, your story has the peculiarity of having seen your vocation in the exercise of your military career in which you continue your work. How was the discovery of your call to the priesthood?
-I joined the army as a volunteer at the age of 17. I have already served for 35 years. For a time, I was also an attaché of Opus Dei, a vocation of service in the midst of daily occupations, in professional work. In my case, my profession is a vocational job like the military, where you learn to give up many things and to give your life for others, if necessary.
For many years, I was also a night volunteer at Mother Teresa's house, assisting AIDS patients when the disease was killing them with a lightning strike. More than once, those sick people told us that to go to die at the Sisters of Charity's house was to learn to love with a capital letter. Perhaps it was in this place, in the sleepless nights in their small chapel, that I saw that the Lord was asking the most of me.
Perhaps it was in this place, in the sleepless nights in the small chapel that they have, that I saw that the Lord was asking more of me.
José Ramón Rapallo
What was the reaction of the people around you: family, friends, and also in your own military unit?
-I have experienced the reaction of my environment as naturally as water springs from a fountain. They knew of my religious convictions and, in fact, in many cases they were not surprised.
In the special operations course we all have a nom de guerre, in my case, they decided to call me Templar. For the time being, they still call me Templar and I hope I don't have to hear the "Company Commander calling Raven".
For years I had the desire to study theology and I did it in a non-regulated way. Seven years ago, when I was thinking more seriously about a priestly vocation, while I was stationed in Alicante, the current Commander of the Special Operations Command, José Antonio Barriel, explained to me the existence of a military seminary and the possibility of continuing my studies.
I was assigned to Madrid. My decision was to leave the army, but the rector of the military seminary at that time and the recently deceased Archbishop Juan del Rio, explained to me the possibility of combining pastoral care with my assignment once I finished my priestly formation and that, under no circumstances, would I abandon my military status. I did so and, after five years of seminary and work, on July 25 last year, the feast of St. James the Apostle, I was ordained to the priesthood.
In your case, with a completely "done" life, how did you live your stage of formation for the priesthood, and your ordination?
-Man proposes and God disposes. One can make many plans and think that "he has done everything in life", however, reality surpasses fiction. I remember a pilgrimage to Santiago in which we were a large group and the monks of the Cistercian convent of Santa María de Sobrado offered us one of their cells to sleep in. One of us noticed how small they were and that they had no closet and asked the monk who replied "we don't need a closet because we are passing through".
We Christians are always passing through. What should set us apart is that we know where we come from and where we are going. Mother Teresa's sisters, when they change communities, can only have as personal belongings what fits in a shoebox. The military a little more, what fits in a car, usually a family car, because you accumulate equipment that you then have to use.
I experienced my seminary formation as a stage of interior growth, of discernment, as the pier shrinks while waiting for God to do his work. "I know whom I have trusted". No one has a vocation as a seminarian and ordination seems never to come, it is a question of trust. The procession is carried inside and one thinks, if God is with me, who is against me? God knows best.
How do you understand your life, as a Christian and now as a priest, in the army?
-Accepting the demands of military life, such as due obedience, being six or more months away from your mission family, often in situations of risk and fatigue, constant changes of assignment... we can say that it is something more than a profession.
The militia forges character, it is "religion of honest men" as Calderón de la Barca would say. A way of understanding life based on values that today are not exactly in fashion, such as the spirit of companionship, loyalty, sacrifice and, especially a transcendental value, such as giving one's life for others. For this it is necessary to know what death means: the military summarizes it in death is not the end of the road that we so often pray and sing in the act to the fallen in military units.
Being a spiritual leader is what it means to be a chaplain in a military unit. Knowing how to give reasons for what we do and why we do it.
José Ramón Rapallo
The army, on the other hand, is a school of leaders where the maxim is to serve Spain. Today we talk about many types of leadership: ethical leadership, toxic leadership, leadership in values... But when we talk about giving one's life, we enter another dimension. That is where spiritual leadership comes into play, which neither stars nor stripes give you.
Being a spiritual leader is what it means to be a chaplain in a military unit. To know how to give reasons for what we do and why we do it. It is to speak of the transcendental value of life that you are willing to give and that is so hard to accept, but that in the military is absolutely necessary. Without forgetting that the chaplain is there to serve those who serve.
Currently you continue your work in the Army and you are a priest. What is your day-to-day life like? How do your colleagues welcome the presence of a priest in the ranks?
-Last year, after ordination, I was assigned as parochial vicar to a parish in Alcalá de Henares and collaborator in the military prison of Alcalá-Meco and other units. In these assignments I exercised my priestly ministry until the end of September 2020. In October of that year I was commissioned to Iraq, where I have remained almost until May 2021. At present I have been assigned to Alicante; there is currently a chaplain, I join in a few days and desire to work will not be lacking.
My experience as a military priest deployed on mission has been developed in the last seven months. A task that I consider the fundamental reason for the existence of the religious assistance service, today, in the army, without taking into account the Guardia Civil or Police.
In the Baghdad detachment where I was stationed there was no Catholic pater. Every two or three months the American pater, who was in Erbil, would come for a few days. The Chapel was multi-confessional, although a part was reserved for Catholic worship, where the construction of a Tabernacle was promoted, on the occasion of the beginning of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament that we had every Thursday and which was attended by the whole base and, especially, by a community of Filipino workers.
A very special moment was the visit of the Pope which was a reason to pray especially for the country. We were fortunate to have the Auxiliary Bishop of Baghdad who celebrated the Mass of St. Thomas in Aramaic. We also celebrated several Patron Saints: the Immaculate Conception, St. Barbara, Christmas. During Holy Week, the Spaniards built a cross with which the Stations of the Cross were performed. A choir and confirmation catechesis were organized, where 11 Spaniards were confirmed.
The Holy Mass was generally in Spanish and English. But also in French or Italian, depending on the number of attendees from each country. Since October, besides spiritually accompanying all those who came to the chapel, being available for confessions and particular Mass intentions, I have celebrated several Masses for deceased family members of different nationalities who died during the mission.
More than once, foreign soldiers here in Baghdad have told me how lucky they are to have a priest. I remember a Canadian who told me that in his city there was no Catholic priest and he could only receive the sacraments infrequently. We are not aware of how lucky we are in Spain.
You have participated in various international missions. As a Christian and military man, how do you live faith, hope, charity.... in those destinations where the risk, physical at least, is greater?
-The Pope speaks of a "Church going out", of being in permanent mission. What better example of a missionary than the army, which is permanently prepared to go out wherever it is needed. The military priest, the pater, as he is affectionately called, besides being a spiritual leader, has as his mission to know how to accompany, to know how to listen and to know how to understand. Just the presence of a priest in such distant places is already very important; the vast majority is grateful for it and sees it as something necessary. In fact, all the armies deployed in missions with a sufficiently large contingent have their religious assistance service.
I have been able to see how the death of a family member is experienced in a very different way, being far away and not being able to accompany with presence. Spiritual assistance, in these cases, does a lot of good, accompanying, consoling and listening.
The military priest, the pater, as he is affectionately called, in addition to being a spiritual leader, has the mission of knowing how to accompany, how to listen and how to understand.
José Ramón Rapallo
We priests on mission are fortunate to be available 24 hours a day and to know, very closely, the problems and concerns of those who are there. When you talk to them, as a general rule, there is an interest in knowing and deepening their spiritual life.
You learn to value what you have when it is missing. All of us who are on mission miss our family, but you realize that the bonds created, because of the conditions of life, the distance... are not forgotten.
The liturgy is the space where God makes himself especially present. Many dedicated souls succeed in bringing love into the hidden to surround the arrival of Christ on earth with affection.
Let us take care only of what is seen, because no one will value the rest. In a society that so often lives in the face of the gallery, it seems a feat to give oneself in the hidden to give glory to Him. Proof of this is that the crowds of faithful who come to Sunday Mass appreciate above all the beautiful flowers, the choir singing in harmony, a good preaching or the clear diction of the lectors. But only the priest and perhaps the acolytes notice the cleanliness of the vestments they wear, the whiteness of the purificators and corporals, the purity of the tablecloths. It is not mania, it is affection. It is not obsession, it is love. Pope Francis expressed it this way: "the beauty of the liturgical is not pure adornment and taste for trappings but the presence of the glory of our God shining in his living and consoled people".. Something great happens and we must receive it with greatness of soul. Greatness that has to do with taking care of things that very few people and sometimes no one will value.
Marifé, Inés and Pilar are three of the many ladies in so many parishes who dedicate their time and energy, with enormous generosity, so that the liturgy may have the dignity it deserves. "Few people praise our work and that is wonderful, because it makes us aware that our effort is only for the glory of God."Marifé, who also dedicates herself to watering all the plants in the parish every day so that they are well preserved, says. "The usual thing after Mass is to praise the beautiful songs that have been played or the priest's beautiful homily, but it is never said that the tablecloths were spotless."Inés, who together with Pilar is in charge of washing and ironing chasubles, albs, tablecloths and other ornaments. "Our illusion is that God sees that in this parish we love Him very much."all three say.
Once a week Marifé devotes herself to clean with care and attention the sacred vessels: patens, chalices, cruets, the basin, the monstrance. "It makes me feel like an intimate friend of Christ, because I am touching objects in which He is going to make Himself present and that often leads me to prayer.". A feeling that he experiences not only when he carries out his quiet work, but especially in the celebration of Mass: "it is precious to feel during the moment of the Consecration, for example, something that no one can appreciate in the church in the same way: Jesus comes back down to earth in the sacrifice of the altar and there, very close by, is our loving and hidden work to receive him as he deserves and make him at ease."she says emotionally. Sometimes some parishioners show them sympathy for how hard they work: "I'm so happy.we try to make them understand that this is not the same as cleaning our house or doing the laundry but a task that seems to us infinitely more important, divine."explains Pilar.
This habit of taking care of the little things for the love of God has been educating them: "...".we already have a special sixth sense, because when we go to Mass in other places for a first communion or a funeral, we realize when things are taken care of and when they are not, and that reveals to us if there is love of God in the concrete or if that love is a bit abandoned".says Inés.
These three women devoted to God and the Church have also seen how spending so much time together in the parish has made them grow in friendship. "On Saturdays after work and other weekdays we go to a bar near the parish to have a drink: every day more and more people join the plan and this helps us to strengthen the bonds of friendship with other parishioners".says Pilar. She summarizes her daily life in the joy of serving in the hidden and thus being very close to God.
"Let no one be left alone, let all receive the anointing of care."
Pope Francis prayed the Angelus today from the window of the Gemelli Polyclinic, where he has been hospitalized for a few days following the colon operation he underwent last Monday.
During the prayer he was accompanied by some sick children, patients of the same hospital, who have been, these days, one of the main concerns of the Holy Father.
The Pope's first words were words of gratitude for the "closeness and the support of your prayers"during these days of hospitalization. His experience in the hospital has marked the words of the Holy Father in this first meeting after the colon surgery he underwent last Monday. Referring to Jesus' sending his disciples to heal and "anoint with oil," the Pope stressed that this "oil" is certainly the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, which gives comfort to the spirit and the body. But this "oil" is also the listening, the closeness, the attention, the tenderness of the one who cares for the sick person: it is like a caress that makes us feel better, that calms the pain and encourages us. Sooner or later we all need this "anointing", and we can all give it to someone, with a visit, a phone call, a hand outstretched to someone who needs help".
The Pope also stressed that "in these days of hospitalization, I have experienced how important it is to have a good health service, accessible to all". In this line, Francis pointed out that "this valuable asset must not be lost. We must maintain it! And for this we must all commit ourselves, because it serves everyone and asks for everyone's contribution. Even in the Church it sometimes happens that a health institution, because of bad management, does not do well financially, and the first thing that occurs to us is to sell it. But the vocation, in the Church, is not to have money but to serve, and service is always free.
Francis also asked for special prayers for doctors and all health and hospital personnel, as well as for the sick, especially "children" and, pointing to those who accompanied him on the balcony, he stressed that the question of the suffering of children is "a question that touches the heart". Finally, he asked for prayers also for "those who find themselves in the most difficult conditions: that no one be left alone, that all receive the anointing of closeness and care".
Stop the violence in Haiti!
At the end of the prayer, Francis also had words to ask that "the spiral of violence in Haiti cease" and urged the Haitian people to "resume a path of peace and harmony" and asked all those present to pray for this intention.
The Holy Father also recalled the need to take care of the oceans "No more plastic in the oceans!" he asked, following the lines of Lautato Si'. Finally, in addition to greeting the pilgrims of Radio Maria gathered in Czestochowa, he wanted to remember the feast of St. Benedict of Nursia, patron of Europe, for whom he asked that the old continent be united in its founding values.
Francis said goodbye reminding the hundreds of people gathered under the window of the Polyclinic as well as those who followed him through the media to "not forget to pray for me".
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"Denying institutional conscientious objection is against the Constitution."
Federico de Montalvo, professor of Law at Comillas Icade and president of the Spanish Bioethics Committee, considers that denying conscientious objection to the euthanasia law exercised by institutions and communities "is unconstitutional". De Montalvo has analyzed the aforementioned law with Omnes.
Rafael Miner-July 11, 2021-Reading time: 14minutes
The law regulating euthanasia, approved by the current parliamentary majority three months ago, came into force on June 25. And this week, the Ministry of Health and the autonomous communities have approved in the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System, the Euthanasia Best Practices Manual. It is so called because it is so named in the sixth additional provision of the legal text.
The law that gives free rein in Spain to the right to die and the provision of aid in dying has been launched. And Omnes spoke to Federico de Montalvo Jaaskelainen, Professor of Law at Comillas Icade and President of the Spanish Bioethics Committee, an advisory body to the government's Ministries of Health and Science. It should be noted that the interview with Professor Federico de Montalvo took place on July 6, one day before the meeting of the Interterritorial Council.
In the interview, the professor at Comillas Icade, who is also a member of the International Bioethics Committee of UNESCO, reviews numerous issues. For example, he points out that there is no right to die based on dignity, but there is a right not to suffer. That what would have been congruent would have been a law on the end of life, guaranteeing this right not to suffer, which derives from Article 15 of the Constitution, but that the most extreme alternative of the end of life has been chosen. That medicine does not respond to the criteria that society wants at any given moment, as happened in the national-socialist and communist regimes, but has to combine the interests of society and the values that it anthropologically and historically defends.
Or that he would never say that those who have drafted and approved this law have done so with the intention of killing anyone, but that they think that the solution to the end of life is euthanasia, while the professor believes that it is through the alternatives: palliative care or any form of sedation. He also defends institutional conscientious objection, and argues for it. Here is a half-hour conversation with Federico de Montalvo.
The Spanish Bioethics Committee, which you chair, formulated a report on the parliamentary processing of the regulation of euthanasia. Could you explain the genesis of the report?
̶ We prepared this report for two reasons. The law in Spain was passed as a proposal. This means that it is constitutional but quite unusual that the party that supports the government, the majority of the Parliament, presents the legal text, and the government does not. Ninety-something percent of the laws that are passed in Spain are bills, because the one who has the legislative initiative in the end is the government. Occasionally the opposition presents an initiative that convinces the government or the parliamentary majority, and it is processed, but it is very exceptional.
So, in Spain euthanasia was going to be dealt with by means of a bill, which meant that it could be approved without the participation of any consultative body, such as the General Council of the Judiciary, the Public Prosecutor's Council, the Council of State... And not even us, when all over Europe, when a law has been considered, or at least the debate on euthanasia has been considered, there is a report from the National Bioethics Committee. In Portugal there is a report, in Italy there is a report, in the United Kingdom there is a report, in France there is a report, in Sweden there is a report, in Austria there is a report, in Germany...
Throughout Europe, when a law has been considered, or at least the debate on euthanasia has been raised, there is a report from the National Bioethics Committee.
Federico de Montalvo
It would be unusual for this to be the first law to be passed without hearing the opinion of a public body, such as the Spanish Bioethics Committee, which is precisely what it is there for.
And then, we also did so because we thought that the fact that it was not obligatory to ask for reports did not prevent it from being done. That is to say, in the Parliament, the Commission that was going to process the law could have asked for our report. The idea was, man, if they are going to call some of us, as was my case (in fact, I was on a list as cited, although it was not admitted), it is better to go with a report. Not me going with my opinion, but this is the opinion of the Committee, which is in this report. That is why we made a report. Because it was unusual that the Committee did not pronounce itself.
Can you summarize two or three ideas from the report of the Spanish Bioethics Committee on the aforementioned regulation of euthanasia?
-I would summarize the most important ideas as follows. First. Conceptually, it is not possible to construct a right to die. It is a contradiction in itself. And in fact, the foundation on which the law is based is contradictory. Why? Because it is based on dignity, and then it is limited to certain persons -as if only the chronic and the terminal ones were dignified-. If I base a right to die on dignity, I have to recognize it for all individuals, because we are all dignified. Therefore, it was a contradiction in itself. That is why we said that there is no right to die based on dignity. Because it would mean that any citizen can ask the State to end his or her life. The State loses its essential function of guaranteeing life and becomes an executor.
Secondly, we also stated that there was an error. Because it was based on a presumed freedom, when in fact the person asking for euthanasia was not really asking to die. He was assuming death as the only way to end his suffering. What the person really wanted was the right not to suffer. And to resolve the right not to suffer in Spain, the full development of alternatives was still lacking.
That is to say, if the problem is not the right to die, as the law says, but the right not to suffer, why am I going to implement a very exceptional, very special alternative, when there are no really implemented alternatives that prevent suffering, which is the essential issue here. What we proposed in the report is that instead of a legal solution, which is what the law proposes, we believed that medical solutions should be explored.
And not medical solutions in the sense of terminality, but also in chronicity. The situation of chronic, non-terminal patients, where there is the possibility of palliative sedation. When a person suffers, what we have to do is to try to avoid suffering, little by little, to mitigate it, and if despite what we have done, that person continues to suffer, it is possible, and in fact St. John of God has included this in an interesting article, the possibility of sedation. Because I cannot allow someone to continue suffering and do nothing. What we are saying is that we have gone to an extreme alternative without exploring it, on the basis of a right that cannot be built, it is a contradiction in itself.
But they also offered some legal suggestions, in the form of legal exceptions.
-Then we suggested that, failing that, if we wanted to explore a legal solution, which we thought had to be the medical one first, there were other alternatives, such as the one in the United Kingdom, which is to continue advancing in what was included in our Penal Code before this law. Our Penal Code creates a very privileged type, with a very reduced penalty, in compassionate homicide. The Penal Code is extraordinarily compassionate with those who end the life of another for love or because they are suffering.
We proposed that, if it was desired, the experience initiated in the United Kingdom should be explored. That the right to die should not be established in general, but as a legal exception to a criminal or privileged type.
We also stated in the report that we were concerned about the implementation of this measure in the current context, when there has been what has taken place: a number of elderly people who have died as a result of the pandemic. This is a society that is going to face a very compromised situation, which is also moving towards aging. And in this context, we did not think that this law was opportune. That this law did not solve the problem, but could aggravate it. Our context is a very special context, and the law forgot it.
How did you make the report of the Spanish Bioethics Committee public?
̶ Whenever we make a report, we always send it to the Ministry, even before publishing it. We send it to three people: to the Ministry of Health, to the Ministry of Science (functionally we are based at Carlos III), and we send it to the director of Carlos III. We always do that. And then we publish it. There is always an act of courtesy.
In fact, Minister Illa [Salvador Illa, former Minister of Health] very kindly acknowledged it and thanked us for our work. He sent me an email as they often do. During the pandemic, for example, Minister Duque [now a former minister], congratulated us for a report, expressly; the minister recently congratulated us for a report on the problem of vaccines, the right to choose; etc.
Before drafting this report, I personally held a meeting with those responsible for Health, a routine meeting that we always had before the pandemic, in order to balance the agenda of the Committee with the interest of the Ministry. That is to say, we can work on things that we consider to be of interest, but it is also good to go hand in hand with the Ministry, and to be able to contribute, as we are doing now with vaccines.
And in that meeting, which was around the twentieth of February, I remember it because just two days later I was going to Rome, just before the pandemic, I told the Ministry that we were going to make a report on euthanasia, that they should know about it. It was not going to be about the law, because they had not asked us for it, but about euthanasia. The Ministry told me that they could not ask for it because it was not a matter for the government or the Ministry, but for the Parliament, for the parliamentary group. We can say that it was not a kind of stabbing, as they say, of a rogue. It was known, and we announced it on March 4.
Do you think that the report could be taken into account in some way, perhaps in the regulatory development of the law?
̶ In this case, no. There is, however, a development foreseen for three figures, which are somewhat novel, and which are justified in a certain way because this law not only recognizes a right -it does not recognize a freedom, but a right-, but also recognizes a benefit, to be paid by the Autonomous Communities. And three developments have been foreseen in the law itself. One is a training plan, within the framework of the continuous training of the Ministry of Health, which is being worked on; a guide for the assessment of disability, which is practically ready as well; and then a manual of good practices, which is in the hands of the Interterritorial Council. These are the three developments.
Why has a manual of good practices been drawn up? Because it was considered that the participation of the Interterritorial Council was very important, given that it is a service that corresponds to the Autonomous Communities. All three are quite complete.
You have stated that the opportunity to develop a law to regulate the end of life has been missed, in some way. Could you explain this?
̶ Yes, I think it is important. It is true that euthanasia, as I was saying before, is the extreme or very exceptional measure. Even for those who are in favor of it. What does not seem very congruent is to pass a law on that measure. The euthanasia law is not an end-of-life law, it is a euthanasia-only law. It does not address the end of life, it addresses the most extreme alternative at the end of life.
I consider that what is congruent, and I have shared this with doctors and other people, is perhaps to pass a law on the end of life, where this process is regulated, where a series of rights are guaranteed, this right not to suffer, which for me is a right that derives from article 15 of the Constitution, and if the majority had wanted, with their legitimacy, to have included a final chapter on extreme situations and euthanasia. But in a general framework of end-of-life regulation. Why do I say this?
This is not only a theoretical question, but also a practical one, in the following sense. A physician now, at the bedside, finds himself with a patient in a complex context in which he does not know whether he should propose euthanasia, or whether he should remain silent until the patient talks about it... It would be strange, because if it is a service, silence about services is something unusual, because if it is a service, the patient will have to be told about it. Secondly, if euthanasia is an extreme, last alternative, once other alternatives have been exhausted, it is one more alternative, or the main alternative... If we had regulated a law with all these possibilities, one could have come to understand that euthanasia is the last alternative in the face of the rest.
Now, as the system stands, one has two options. Either to think that it is the only alternative, because it is the only one that is regulated, or to think that it is just another alternative. To me, someone who asks for euthanasia because he is suffering, without having exhausted intermittent sedation, or other means or socioeconomic support..., to ask for it seems to me quite unusual. In some cases, one can come to admit that in an extreme situation, it may be necessary to help someone who is in extreme suffering. But if that person has not exhausted, has not tried, has not had palliative care or any sedation formula tried with him, how does he know that he really needs other alternatives to dying directly in a euthanasic act? As this law has been left, and only that has been regulated, not the rest of the alternatives, which are the most common, the most feasible, the doubt right now is: what is this?
Personally, I have heard physicians with a long professional practice say that very few people have asked them for euthanasia, and that what they were really asking for was not to suffer. As soon as the pain subsided and subsided, they stopped asking for euthanasia.
̶ That is what all palliativists say. Palliativists say that they have usually had to deal with minority cases, and that none of them have come through. It is true that palliativists work with terminally ill patients, and the problem of euthanasia is not terminality. I believe it is chronicity. The emblematic case is Ramón Sampedro, who was not terminally ill, but chronically ill. But for a chronically ill person to opt for euthanasia without having exhausted other alternatives that allow him to stay alive and with a certain quality of life, seems to me to be quite unusual.
If that law had been passed, a general law on the end of life, and at the end the majority would have demanded the incorporation of a chapter on euthanasia, understood as an exceptional measure in a context. Here we understand that it is the main measure, because it is the only one that has been regulated. We do not have an end-of-life law, but we have a law on euthanasia.
That a chronically ill person should opt for euthanasia without having exhausted other alternatives that allow him to stay alive and with a certain quality of life, seems to me quite unusual.
Federico de Montalvo
Medical specialists have commented that this law will introduce a major factor of distrust between patients and physicians. How do you see it? You are a jurist, and perhaps you would prefer to leave this question to the physicians.
̶ As a jurist, for us in the world of law the relationship of trust, for me, is the most relevant. The doctor-patient relationship is different from other relationships. Why is it different? I have defended it. I am one of those people who do not deny the principle of autonomy, but I believe that the principle of autonomy must be qualified in the context of the disease.
Because the doctor-patient relationship is based on something that normally generates vulnerability, which is the diagnosis of the patient. A person in his life has all the alternatives that life has to offer, and suddenly finds unexpectedly that he has some symptoms, some signs, and in a few days, after a diagnostic process that generates a great deal of uncertainty, because sometimes it takes days or months, he suddenly finds that his air has been cut off, his future has been cut off, as if a wall had been put in front of him. That is a diagnosis of a serious disease.
To consider that this person is fully autonomous is a fiction. That person has to make decisions freely, and in an informed manner, but he/she needs accompaniment and support. This is not a machine that tells me what to do. This is a person in front of me who has to try to empathize and help me in my decision making. That is not lack of realism, it is accompaniment.
The success of the treatment is based on this relationship of trust, because treatments work when the patient trusts them. For this reason, any strategy of concealment has been rejected for years because it generates mistrust. Now, in cancer, any medical oncologist proposes that for everything to work well, there must be trust.
If we see that the doctor-patient relationship is based on trust, when the patient may fear that the doctor will do something that does not correspond to the aims of medicine, i.e., end his or her life, this may affect trust. The patient may doubt that he will not be offered alternatives that are more expensive, because there are no resources, because there are cost-saving measures; that he will be offered a cheap alternative, a drug that lasts a few seconds, instead of drugs that last for days, which are more effective. For me, it is not that it is going to break it, but that it can break trust.
The relationship between medicine and society can be a topic of enormous interest.
-There is one very important thing to remember. Medicine does not respond to the criteria that society wants at any given moment. This happened in the National Socialist regime, where doctors were used to exterminate, and in the Communist regime, where dissidents were admitted to psychiatric hospitals, as if they were a person with a disorder. Medicine has to combine the interests of society and the values it anthropologically and historically defends. This was stated by a group of experts years ago in Spain, in a document.
Medicine has to combine and balance its foundational, historical purposes with the purposes of each moment. What is clear to me is that a physician is not a person whose purposes include killing. Killing is a consequence of a medical act. The physician assumes death as a consequence of what he carries out, never as an end. A surgeon never enters an operating room to kill a patient. It would be aberrant. He assumes death as a certain or uncertain possibility of an act.
When a doctor operates on a patient who is very difficult to get out of the operating room, he is operating on him because he believes that in that case there is a remote possibility that he will make it. But never to kill him. Therefore, we are altering the purpose of medicine, which affects the historical and social role of a physician, but, in addition, this role responds to the principle of trust. If I enter an operating room without knowing that the doctor's purpose is to kill me, I do not enter.
The problem with this is that, ideally, in the case of an intellectually very powerful, highly educated patient, whose life collapses after a diagnosis of Alzheimer's, and given that he/she is unable to work on his/her intellect, he/she asks for euthanasia (some cases we have seen outside Spain), this is a very specific case.
But when we get to the day-to-day reality in a public hospital, in which a vulnerable patient, with a worse socioeconomic condition, may think that he can be eliminated at his request, well, of course. And on top of that, without any regulation of alternatives, it worries me.
Although it is a very complicated process, what do you think is behind this law? What may be the intention?
-I would never say that those who drafted and passed this law did so with the intention of killing anyone. On the contrary. The problem here is that these people, legitimately, believe that the solution at the end of life is euthanasia. Others of us do not like people to suffer, but we believe that the solution at the end of life is through alternatives. This is the point of disagreement. The problem that these people have, and I sincerely believe that they do it with very good intentions, is that perhaps they have not considered the consequences that a measure like this can have, which is what generates that almost everybody talks about this, but not about the step of legislating. Because there is a lot of talk about this. But the step of legislating it, uff. How many countries are there? It is that the subject generates a lot of concern, the undesired consequences.
I think that those who drafted the law may not have taken into account the consequences that such a measure could have.
Federico de Montalvo
We have dragged on. It would be good to flash on the absence of a palliative care law in Spain, and of a specialty in universities.
̶ This is the problem we were discussing, that euthanasia would have to arise as an exceptional measure in a context of prevalent alternatives, and these alternatives are neither well regulated, nor well implemented, nor well used. There is a problem of regulation, implementation and use. There is still a lot of confusion about palliative sedation.
Some comments on the regulation of conscientious objection in the new law.
̶ Two ideas. First, that conscientious objection is not a right that is in the hands of the legislator. It is up to the legislator to decide how it is exercised. It is a fundamental right, and fundamental rights do not depend on the majority (the guarantee of the minority). And the second, which I have been working on, is that I do not understand why institutional objection is denied. If conscientious objection is a guarantee, an expression of religious freedom, and the Constitution itself recognizes religious freedom in the communities (it says so expressly), then, if conscientious objection is religious freedom, and religious freedom is not only of individuals, but of organizations, communities, why is institutional conscientious objection not allowed?
Is this refusal of institutional conscientious objection implied or expressly provided for?
-It is understood, because the law says that conscientious objection will be individual. The law does not expressly exclude it, but it is understood that, implicitly, by referring to the individual sphere, it excludes it. This is not right or wrong, but it is unconstitutional. Why do the Jewish people have the right to honor and the commercial companies have the right to honor, and for example a religious organization does not have the right to conscientious objection? It is religious freedom, and the Constitution talks about communities. It seems to me a contradiction.
Furthermore, while recognizing all the rights of legal persons (honor, privacy), and even criminal liability, are we now denying them conscientious objection, which is a guarantee of a right expressly recognized by Article 16 of the Constitution? I think there is no need for further arguments.
"The most important thing is to rescue and build the disabled person."
Enrique Alarcón has been a member of the Fraternidad Cristiana de Personas con Discapacidad de España (Frater), a specialized Catholic Action movement, for 43 years. The last four as president. With quadriplegia since he was 20 and a good sense of humor, he explains his work to Omnes.
Rafael Miner-July 10, 2021-Reading time: 11minutes
Sources from the World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that more than one billion people in the world, 15 percent of the population, have a disability. In Spain, this figure is around 10 percent, including all existing disabilities; in other words, around four million people. This is an important segment of the population, many of them elderly, although not all of them.
Frater, focused on the field of physical and organic disability, lives its evangelizing task with intensity. It is currently spread throughout 39 Spanish dioceses, with presence in almost all the autonomous communities, and has more than 5,000 members in Spain, according to its website. It is part of the area of Pastoral de la Salud de la Conferencia Episcopal Española (Spanish Episcopal Conference)and, at the civilian level, it belongs, as a statewide association, to the Spanish Confederation of People with Physical and Organic Disability (COCEMFE), cocemfe.es/ the most important social organization that brings together people with physical and organic disabilities in our country.
Together with the collective of people with disabilities, Frater seeks to achieve a fairer and more inclusive society where human rights for people with disabilities are fulfilled. In June 2017, after the Assembly held in Segovia, some media headlines read: Enrique Alarcón, first man in history to preside Frater Spain. Alongside him, as General Councilor, was Antonio García Ramírez. In effect, Basilisa Martín Gómez left the presidency, and with her, her general team also ceased.
Today, after four years at the helm of Frater, Omnes talks to Enrique Alarcón, who now lives in Albacete and has been with the Fraternity for 43 years. Frater's president was involved in a traffic accident "just when I turned 20, and I have a cervical injury, tetraplegia, and I need assistance. Once I'm in the chair, in the motor, I'm free, but I need assistance to get up. But once I'm in the chair, who can stop us," he says with good humor. Alarcón talks about "what we learn at Frater throughout our lives.
Tell us about Frater. What are your tasks, your challenges...
̶ Frater, by its very essence, is aimed at people with physical, sensory and organic disabilities. In other words, our starting point is not to attend to all disabilities. We understand that personal development is what can enable us, covering our capabilities, motivating the person to assume different perspectives in the face of this new existence that arises, whether the disability is the result of a traumatic situation that occurs throughout life, or if it comes from childhood, it is important that the person is discovering the whole universe of capabilities that we have as people to enable a new way of being and living in a new way, so to speak.
When a person faces disability, either in a traumatic way or from childhood, there comes a time when there is a turning point, where one thinks about where I come from and where I am going, and what I have to do. Another thing is the necessary technical resources.
Frater works fundamentally so that the person is first recognized in his or her dignity. Discovering that he or she is a person with all his or her dignity. A second step is to provide tools and resources for the person to open up to the world, from a cultural, social, educational perspective, and later on, to help them enter the labor market, academically, etc.
How do they do it, how does this process take place in the person?
-All of this is produced through slow, very laborious processes, through the teams, which we call life and training teamsThe aim is not only to provide tools so that a person can be in society, know how to go to the Administration, move in an urban environment, etc., but also to ensure that the person has the necessary personal autonomy to consider leaving his or her own existence, even if it means resorting to all the elements and technical resources that he or she will need.
Enrique Alarcón
In this perspective, Frater works in the field of physical and organic disabilities. There are mental disabilities, intellectual disabilities, guardianship... We do not have guardianship, because what we do is to awaken within the person the self-awareness that you are the one who has to find your own resources to seek your personal autonomy.
So, the tasks of the teams are made possible in the first moments. We are not going to make a first contact with a person who has had an accident and has been left in a wheelchair, or who has a chronic illness, and who has also been left with a disability. The processes begin first with the encounter, the listening, the accompaniment?
Then comes the second step, which is the invitation or suggestion from the same person you contact. Hey, who are you, where are you, and what do you do in your Association? And you see that a person needs something more: hey, do you want to come, we are having a get-together, and do you know us? Then it is when little by little, each person has his own process, through that moment, a person can be integrated into a team, which we call "teamwork". life and training teamsand in these teams, we have a systematized and structured training plan, which we call steps.
Each person has his or her own process, through that moment, a person can be integrated into a team, which we call life and formation teams.
Enrique Alarcón
You talk about achieving a fairer and more inclusive society. What exactly do you mean?
-The training plan opens up perspectives and a focus on what the person is at a psychological level, how society works, its basic elements, associationism, the importance of the fact that we are nothing on our own... Society is built when as citizens we assume that we have a responsibility. It is not just that I have rights; we have rights and we have duties. We are citizens and we live in community, and we all have responsibilities. We have to discover what those responsibilities are.
Because the important thing is, in fact, to be living and discovering the perspective of inclusion.. I am a member of the society, an active member, I am in it, and everything I work for is to improve society. I propose the elimination of architectural barriers, and I do it not because I want them to remove that little step, but because we need a friendlier society, thinking of the elderly, who have mobility problems, of a lady who goes with her stroller, because aesthetically there is a better quality of life in an urban environment that facilitates it. Thus, in the training groups, a global approach is made so that the person discovers his reality and the world in which he lives.
How did you get to know Frater, at what point in your life, and what attracted you most to it?
-There is a very important part in Frater, which is a Christian movement. From the first steps in formation, Frater will teach a person who has an education, a first contact with the faith, and then it is easier. Otherwise, questions arise, because Frater does not exclude anyone because he or she is not a Christian. First and foremost, there is the figure of Jesus.
I myself, for example, had no formation, apart from what it is to be an altar boy or a basic Christian education, I did not have a greater Christian vision. When I was 21 years old, I was invited to Frater, a girl, I went and I found that there was no feeling of sadness, but that everything was a party, joy, communication, basically joy. And then I was invited to a gathering. And I see that there is a Eucharist. So I stay. And suddenly I hear talk of a Jesus that sounded like Chinese to me. Well, who are they talking about? I had never heard such talk about Jesus. They were talking about a living Jesus, a man-God, but inside the tribe human, from the suffering, accompanying the pain, compassionate, merciful, and that the motto we have in Frater told you: get up, stop lamenting, that the world is waiting for you to do your task, and you discover that your task is an evangelizing task, and that your role in the world and in the Church is the response to that motivation that the Holy Spirit has generated in you, through the encounter with Jesus Christ.
Perhaps you could comment on the distinction of tasks and approach in an association such as COCEMFE and what is carried out in Frater, which is Catholic Action.
-In the whole process we've been talking about, and which is taking place from the first steps, the first approaches, is where Frater's identity is being generated. I am also president in Castilla-La-Mancha of COCEMFE, the most important organization in Spain and in the world in terms of physical and organic disabilities, in which Frater is also integrated, like other organizations. We have one hundred associations in the region. What a person with a disability in the region is looking for is that with a specific percentage of disability, I have the right to certain things. Well, they are informed of the rights, what the Administration makes available to a person with a disability. And then, I can ask: are you interested in working? Well, here we have some training courses, we have some workshops, a job bank ..... And apart from these things, this person, at most, if he/she has another motivation, he/she can become a member, belong to the board of directors, etc.
What does Frater do? Frater is a place, a place to meet with life.
Where the person discovers that he or she is listened to in depth, where a silence has the same value as a word. Cultivating silence, cultivating the word, being close to those who suffer, accompanying their lives, is not simply a matter of providing services. We have residences in various places in Spain, but the most important task is to rescue and build the person, and together we rescue each other. And together we build ourselves. And together we discover the inspiring power of the Holy Spirit. And together we discover our apostolic task.
An exciting anecdote
-Frater is specialized Catholic Action. Our characteristic is militant. To give you an idea. You recently attended the national assembly of COCEMFE, where you received an award and a tribute for your 40 tasks of inclusive work. And in the last Frater general committee we had, I commented on something, because it moved me. At the COCEMFE assembly, we were the provincial and regional heads. At one point, a person from a region, who was not from Frater, asked to speak and said: I want Frater's work to be recognized, because thanks to this movement we have achieved social recognition and what we have achieved, because Frater was at the root of the entire associative movement and Frater was there.
I didn't expect that, and it's true. Because we have tried to get out of the comfort zone, how nice we are all together. No, no. Human promotion and social promotion, and above all, the call to evangelize, that is fundamental. Our mentality of being transformers of reality is always implicit. That is why, as this woman was saying, all of us in Frater are involved in different ways in the associative movement throughout Spain, promoting projects, tasks, encouraging social actions...
Our social commitment. We are not going to carry out other social actions that are beyond our physical limitations, but we can be in a city council, as a councilor; in an association, running a secretariat about anything; being in the street and denouncing, when the campaigns of the International Day of Disability come, or any other campaign that is done. Frater is always on the street denouncing, just as it is always advertising.
I hear him speak and I am reminded of Pope Francis, who encourages us to get out of our comfort zone....
-I wish I could. What an infatuation we have with Pope Francis today. In Frater, we have always wanted to be out of our comfort zone. We want to reach out to others, to the suffering person where they are. We don't wait for them to come. For example, how did I grow up in Frater? After a year and a bit of being in Frater, I started to accompany people. The truth is that they were almost all girls who contacted me. And I started going with them (two of them had cars). And where did we go? For example, I heard that a boy from such and such a village had had an accident and was left in a wheelchair. We would go to the village, look for him, and chat at his house.
And what did the relatives say? What were the conversations like?
-The father and the mother might comment: poor thing, where is he going to go, he's a mess... And we had injuries. Some of us, like me, had injuries not only in our feet, but also in our hands... What we did was to try to convince the parents that he was a person who had to overcome his situation, and that they were fundamental for that process. It was all about motivating and educating the parents a lot, making them see...
-First, he doesn't have to be in bed, because the injury he has is paraplegia, and in bed he will get bedsores [ulcers], it's the worst thing you can do.
-And where will it go?
-Man, if you don't fix the bathroom or remove the two steps inside the house, and another big one to get out, where do you want me to go? You'll have to make the environment suitable.
And if at any time they had to ask for help, one was arranged.
It was a very hard task many times. Sometimes they wanted to throw us out of the houses or they didn't want to open up to us. But in other cases, very, very many [Enrique emphasizes the "very many"], in the end the person..., Frater was fulfilled: he or she got up, ended up promoting himself or herself on a social and human, cultural, educational level... And maybe then he or she didn't appear in Frater, but we don't care. What we were looking for, and what we are looking for, is to rescue the person. And we were in a village for several days, or we went to the Paraplegic Hospital in Toledo, because we found out that a girl from a village in La Mancha was there, and something happened to her. We go to help the parents, to inform them, to accompany the girl and then to accompany her in the first processes.
This is Fater's task. As the founder himself said, Fr. FrancoisFrater's task is to go where the suffering is, where the pain is, to be there, to be present. It is true that we are not going to remove the disability, nor the pain. But suffering can be released. And one of the great tasks is to put light where there is darkness, to encourage, to give hope, sometimes a joke, sometimes to talk about anything. Or simply to listen to the silence.
We have been talking for quite a while now. Soon you will have the XI Frater Week in Malaga, under the motto The City was filled with JoyWill there be a renewal of positions and will you run for reelection?
-As a result of all this mess [he speaks of the pandemic], we had to suspend many things. And at the end of August we have Frater Week in Malaga. From August 30 to September 5, at the diocesan house in Malaga. We want to create a welcoming environment, a very close space. We will have several workshops. We will also hold the general assembly there. I would prefer a new team. After four years, it is always good to have a renewal. But experience also tells us that after four years it is difficult for a new team to emerge all at once. Teams usually tend to stay for another year or two. In this case, as I have been a bit sick these two years, I asked for at least part of the team to be renewed.
Is he now more recovered?
-Yes, these are things that are not so serious, but they condition your mobility a lot. In any case, both the General Councilor and I have taken things on board. We have to be honest. After a year and a half in which we have not been able to meet face-to-face, with all the difficulty that this has meant, to the point that it is almost a miracle that the teams have been able to keep going, and the teams have been maintained. Some teams have even grown. A great deal of creativity and originality has developed, for example in the Canary Islands and elsewhere. The monthly meetings, the general coexistence, has been done by whatsapp! Not everyone could do it by videoconference.
A final note about the pandemic in disabled people...
-A big concern at Frater when the pandemic arrived was what happened to the most vulnerable people, who had not left their homes much before, or were in residences, people who were in hospitals, in the worst situation. They could not be reached. Those of us who have our own family are different. But people who are usually alone... Because one of the dramas of the great disability, whether physical or organic, is loneliness. Loneliness is fierce. The loneliness was joined to the grip of fear, the absence of medical check-ups, controls, rehabilitation, etc. All that was cut off.
One of the dramas of the great disability, whether physical or organic, is loneliness.
Enrique Alarcón
Many people have worsened during this time because of having suspended treatments, rehabilitation, clinical follow-up, etc. We have tried to solve this and to overcome the situation with videoconferences, Skype calls, whatsapp calls, non-stop phone calls, etc. The people at Frater were able to react quickly. I was surprised. We even communicated more during the pandemic than before the pandemic....
Along with the investigation of the universe in search of its foundation, of its ultimate cause, there is another way of contemplating that also leads to the knowledge of the mystery of God. These are the ways centered on man, which look inward: they start from the analysis of human psychology, from the deepest desires that nestle within each person, from the great personal questions, in an exercise of reflection and introspection.
In this field we find the questions of meaning and the dreams of the human soul. These are the unavoidable existential "whys" and "wherefores" that beset every human being. It is the yearning for the great goods such as love, beauty, friendship, joy, happiness; with the desire that they be authentic, effective, without limitation, full. It is the cry of the thirsty soul, of the mind that seeks more, that radically desires the great, that is not satisfied with meeting material needs. Only the living and true God, who has thus shaped our appetitive dynamism, can more than satisfy these deep desires. "God alone satisfies" (cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, in: Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1718).
We also yearn for the good of harmony in the community and respect for every person in his or her dignity. It is the sense of morality and justice, which is found in every human being as an innate cry. Only an absolute God can provide the foundation for universal ethical values and norms, including the imperatives of conscience, which are above positive laws. Moreover, only an eternal and transcendent God can do ultimate justice. For, as Benedict XVI affirms, "the question of justice is the essential argument or, at any rate, the strongest argument in favor of faith in eternal life." (encyclical letter Spe salvi, n. 43).
St. Augustine sums up this perspective in a precise and beautiful way at the beginning of his Confessions when he prays like this: "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart will be restless until it rests in you". And he points out that it is about a close, intimate God, who "is more inside me than my own intimacy."but at the same time it is neither subjective nor manipulable, but superior and transcendent: "higher than the highest of myself".
Christ, the fullness of divine self-revelation and self-communication, offers humanity that inner source of light and life capable of satisfying the yearnings of the human heart: "...".He who is thirsty, let him come to me and drink."(Jn 7:37). And he invites the restless soul to inner peace: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Mt 11:28). Ultimately, only the God revealed in Christ promises us justice without delay (cf. Lk 18:8), offers us the divine light of truth that dispels darkness (cf. Jn 1:5-9), and the communion of love in perfect and eternal friendship (cf. Jn 15:15).
"Church and society do not speak the same language but they have to understand each other."
The book "The Path of Reputation. How communication can improve the Church" brings together, in an intelligible way for all the actors in this 'media - Church' relationship, the challenges and communication scenarios in which ecclesial communication is currently developing.
Journalist and priest of the diocese of Pamplona-Tudela, José Gabriel Verahas been the Media Delegate of this diocese for more than a decade and secretary of the Episcopal Commission for Social Communications.
A journey that has given him an in-depth knowledge of the different faces of the information environment and that has helped him to capture the key points of "The Path to Reputation. How communication can improve the Church."The book defends the idea, as José Gabriel Vera points out in a conversation with Omnes, that "the task of those who work in ecclesial communication is to invite both parties to make a greater effort: to communicate more and to understand better.
Often, and still today, there are those who accuse the Church of being wary of communication. Does this distrust exist, and vice versa?
-It is not a distrust of the world of communication, although it may seem so. There are two issues that can lead one to think that. On the one hand, people work in the Church not to appear in the media but to fulfill a mission. They do not do it either for the audiences or to look good. That is why, when the media approaches these people who do so much good, they find that, in general, they do not want to appear in the media, they do not find it interesting. On the other hand, it is true that when someone from the Church sees his Church reflected in the media, he does not recognize it, he has the impression that nothing has been understood and that it is not well treated. And they end up taking the measure to appear as little as possible in the media.
Conversely, I do not think there is suspicion but rather ignorance, prejudices (in the strict sense of the word: pre-judgments). For some media, approaching the Church is like approaching nuclear paste: I will not understand anything, I will not be able to get into it, I take a couple of headlines that fit and I pass the screen.
The task of those who work in ecclesial communication is to invite both parties to make a greater effort: to communicate more and to understand better.
For some media, approaching the Church is like approaching nuclear paste: I'm not going to understand anything, I grab a couple of headlines that fit and pass the screen.
José G. Vera
How has your experience as a journalist, media delegate and secretary of CECS (Episcopal Commission for Social Communications, as it is now called) influenced this book? Could we say that it is a small "manual" for Church communicators?
-The book is aimed at those who, in the Church, are dedicated to communication and those who, in communication, are dedicated to the Church. On the one hand, you find journalists who approach the Church without much knowledge of our history, our structure, our message, our mission. And it seemed to me that telling it in the key of communication could help them to get a small picture of what the Church is, what its core is and how it expresses it. On the other hand, for the communicators who work in the Church, I wanted to present a necessary path that, from the communication point of view, must be pointed out to the Church in order to reach its reputation. A path that has some previous stages and that requires a complete review at each step.
When the Church has a bad reputation or a bad image in the society it serves, the problem is not with society - as is often thought among those who govern - the problem is with the Church itself.
Do you think that there are still those within the Church who have the idea that the role of corporate communications is simply to "cover up the embarrassments" of the institution? Do we learn from crises?
-I think that is no longer the case. At least in the field of communication, within the institution, it is clear. This conviction, which springs from the theory of communication and also from the Gospel, must be extended to each member of the institution, with delicacy and also with determination. It is necessary to explain many times that it is convenient to say things as they are, that it is convenient to tell once and a thousand times what we are and what we do, because the more we speak, the better known we will be and the better we will be able to fulfill our mission.
In this time of transparency, and even more so in the world of social networks, the gospel phrase "what you say in secret will be preached on the terraces" is fully valid. It is not necessary to cover the wounds but to air and disinfect them, even if there are people who want to poke into the wound to make it more painful and harmful.
When the Church has a bad reputation or a bad image in the society it serves, the problem is not with society but with the Church itself.
José G. Vera
Do today's society and the Church speak the same language? In the case of the Church, can it happen that we take for granted or understand things that are not understood at all?
-No, we do not speak the same language, but we have to adapt our language to be better understood. This is a permanent effort of any institution, to be understood by those who do not speak the same language, by those who have a different mental or formal structure, or simply by those who do not know us. Basically, it is also the effort of a father of a family to make his children understand his concerns, his decisions and his projects. To make oneself understood is an indispensable work of communication for the Church.
Moreover, this context of profound change in languages, values and ideologies requires a constant review of our communication to see if what is understood coincides with what we want to communicate.
He believes that we Catholics are perhaps too "modest" to be "modest". influencers of faith naturally within, for example, a life dedicated to fashion, engineering, law...?
-I think that there is, on the one hand, a weakened Christian life, reduced to a moment of the week (or of the month or of the year), making it difficult to express publicly a spiritual life that has little relevance for the person himself. On the other hand, in those persons with a greater awareness of the Christian life, there is a lack of mission consciousness, of being sent.
This is understandable because many of those who live the faith came to it not through an effort that transformed their lives, but through a family, school and ecclesial environment that enveloped everything, an environment in which they were born and in which they were formed. But that environment no longer exists. It is important to realize that the next generation will be Christian if there is a personal commitment on the part of each Christian to ensure that the future is Christian, and the indispensable path is witness. A testimony that in these times is more and more costly, has more consequences in life and can become risky.
In short, it is a matter of increasing the awareness of belonging among Christians and the awareness of mission: I am part of this people and I am sent on a mission.
Banco Sabadell and Amundi promote responsible investments
The investment fund Sabadell Inversión Ética y Solidaria, FI, an investment fund managed by Sabadell Asset Management, an Amundi company, is presented as an investment option in accordance with the principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
Banco Sabadell and Amundi have completed their first year of partnership together. Amundi's strong commitment to responsible investment adds to Sabadell Asset Management's expertise to strengthen the capabilities and investment solutions offered to Banco Sabadell's clients.
Banco Sabadell shows its sensitivity towards the most disadvantaged groups and, as part of its initiative to return resources to society, offers Banco Sabadell customers investment solutions that align financial investment with solidarity through the investment fund Sabadell Inversión Ética y Solidaria, FI an investment fund managed by Sabadell Asset Management, an Amundi company. This fund promotes environmental and social characteristics, and is Article 8 under Regulation (EU) 2019/2088(SFDR).
Sabadell Asset Management has been a pioneer in offering since 2006 a responsible and social impact investment solution, which is also aligned with the principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church. Sabadell Asset Management's expertise adds to the strong commitment to responsible investment of Amundi, the leading responsible investment manager with more than 30 years of experience investing in responsible asset classes and a founding signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment.
In order to select the projects to benefit, for almost eighteen years now, its Ethics Committee has been responsible for identifying and studying each year the solidarity projects aspiring to receive aid, both nationally and internationally. In the last 15 years, more than 25 communities in 9 different countries and 3 continents have benefited from grants of more than 2,000,000 euros. The diversity of the projects selected is noteworthy, both geographically and in terms of the type of institution that receives the aid and the reason for which the aid is requested. Some of the beneficiary groups have been children, civilians in areas of armed conflict, people suffering from any disease, special genetic condition, disability, groups at risk of social exclusion or discrimination (women, immigrants, large families, unemployed, prisoners, etc.), among others.
Sabadell Inversión Ética y Solidaria, FI invests mainly in assets traded in Western Europe and other markets, such as the United States, Japan or emerging countries. Under normal conditions it has an equity exposure of 20%, with a minimum of 0% and a maximum of 30%, with no limits on the capitalization of listed companies. In order to identify responsible securities in the fixed income and equity portfolio, an investment process is followed in which different strategies are combined, such as the exclusion strategy, exclusions based on ESG criteria and exclusions that align investments with the social doctrine of the Catholic Church, and the best-in-class strategy, in both cases applying Amundi's own methodology in the ESG rating of issuers.
Sabadell Inversión Ética y Solidaria, FI is a suitable solution for investors with a medium risk level who wish to invest respecting social and ethical criteria, in accordance with the principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church and with a measurable social impact through the solidarity component of the fund.
Banco Sabadell, from the Religious Institutions and Third Sector Segment, offers the widest offer in the financial sector and the only one fully adapted to the singularity of the clients of these groups, the experience and professionalism of a team of managers distributed throughout the national territory who have the IIRR and Third Sector university certification, which makes them exclusive in training in the financial sector.
The Teresian Way: In the footsteps of the life of St. Teresa of Jesus.
The route linking Avila and Alba de Tormes is the most famous of the Teresian paths. A proposed pilgrimage following the fundamental milestones of the life of St. Teresa of Jesus from her birth to her death.
The "walking saint" is one of the adjectives with which she is known. Saint Teresa of Jesus. The saint from Avila spent a large part of her life traveling through different areas of Spain making her foundations.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the pilgrimage, walking the roads that link the towns linked to her life, is a privileged way to know, understand and enter into the figure and example of a woman who opened paths of holiness with the renewal of Carmel, of which she was the main promoter.
These are the Teresian roads and especially the one that links the towns of Avila (birth) to Alba de Tormes (death), from the cradle to the tomb, which is also the name of the Association that brings together the municipalities of the 22 towns through which this road passes, cultural associations, entrepreneurs and the Carmelite monastery.
In the footsteps of Teresa of Jesus
As highlighted Ana Velazquezone of the driving forces behind the Cradle to Grave AssociationThe pilgrimage through various routes linked to the life of the Carmelite saints, Saint Teresa of Jesus and St. John of the Cross were already being carried out, it was in 2014 when, after presenting this idea to the provincial councils of the provinces involved, the signage and the work of dissemination of this pilgrimage began.
In fact already in 2015, the year of the V Centenary of the birth of the saint of Avila, the route was already fully signposted and, with the birth of the association De la Cuna al Sepulcro, which is responsible for managing and, above all, publicizing this pilgrimage. In its web The booklet contains all the information and documentation necessary to follow the Teresian Way: the spiritual guide, links of interest, map of services, etc.
This road also has its own pilgrimage accreditation: the wanderer. A document that is granted in the Carmel of Avila or Alba de Tormes once the stages have been completed, which can be done in both directions: from Avila to Alba and vice versa. Along the way, the accreditation can be collected in town halls and parishes of the localities and is stamped in each locality.
An affordable route
The route has the peculiarity of uniting two key provinces in the life of Saint Teresa and also has, along the way, points related to Saint John of the Cross such as Fontiveros, where the Spanish mystic was born, or Duruelo, a place that saw the beginning of the reform of the Carmelite friars.
A simple route, with flat stages linking villages very close to each other, which facilitates rest or the possibility of doing it with the family. The two slopes, north and south, are barely more than a hundred kilometers long. As Ana Velázquez points out "it is not a particularly long or intense route, which can be done in less than a week, which facilitates the organization...".
The route runs, at many points, through landscapes of wheat and rapeseed, especially beautiful in spring and autumn, which are the best times to make this route.
Silence, companion of the pilgrim
For Ana Velázquez a characteristic of this route is silence. The same silence that probably enveloped the steps of the saint of Avila, emerges as one of the great protagonists of the steps of the walkers. "It is very impressive, especially at sunset. In those moments when the horizon is very close and the earth meets the sky. I think this landscape, which Teresa and Juan saw many times, could also influence their spiritual life, in that mystical quest for union of heaven and earth".
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After prophesying the death of Jeroboam and the exile of Israel, Amos, a native of Judea, sent by God to prophesy in the northern kingdom, is invited by the official prophet of the kingdom, Amaziah, to return to Judea. His experience helps to frame the nature of the prophet: he is called and sent by God. Amos hears these words: "Seer: go, flee to the territory of Judah. There you will be able to earn your bread, and there you will prophesy. But in Bethel do not prophesy again, for it is the sanctuary of the king and the house of the kingdom.' But Amos answered Amaziah: 'I am not a prophet nor the son of a prophet. I was a shepherd and a cultivator of sycamore trees. But the Lord plucked me from my flock and said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'" The vocation of Amos does not take place for reasons of lineage or science, but only by divine election.
The prologue of the letter to the Ephesians is a blessing that is a paradigm of Paul's prophecy and illustrates seven aspects of God's action with man: God's election, predestination to divine filiation in Christ, redemption in his blood, the revelation of the mystery of the recapitulation of all things in Christ, being heirs in hope, the gift of the promised Spirit and living for the praise of God and for his glory. An admirable synthesis of the message that the evangelizer spreads.
In Mark we read a collection of brief sayings of the Lord, which paint a portrait of the way his disciples evangelize. They are not sent out singly, but with another, with the support of the staff for the weakness of the body and the support of the brother for any other need of fraternity and communion. They have the same power as Jesus to cast out unclean spirits.
The detachment is radical: "He commanded them to take nothing for the journey, neither bread, nor bag, nor money in their purses, but only a staff, and that they should wear sandals and not two tunics. These are not the things in which to find support. Their destination is the home: the place where one lives and loves, where each one is each one, where the family is. This reminds us of the conversions, in apostolic times, of an entire family upon hearing the proclamation of the Gospel. "And if in any place they do not welcome you or listen to you, when you go out from there, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony to them.". They accept not having been welcomed and listened to: they do not go away burdened even with a grain of dust of rancor, judgment or bad thoughts. They leave it in God's hands and forget it. They preach and heal, like Jesus. They anoint with oil many sick people, a symbol of the style of their action, which heals and softens. Anointing that refers us to this Gospel every time we offer it or receive it.
The homily on the readings of Sunday 15th Sunday
The priest Luis Herrera Campo offers its nanomiliaa small one-minute reflection for these readings.
Bishop Lozano: "We expect the participation of different charisms".
Interview with the Secretary General of the Episcopal Council of Latin America, Monsignor Jorge Eduardo Lozano, on the recently begun Ecclesial Assembly of Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Ecclesial Assembly of Latin America and the Caribbean has begun with the listening phase, and with its respective works in the different countries. Specifically, on June 19, the animation team for the Ecclesial Assembly of the Episcopal Conference of Argentina held a virtual meeting of diocesan delegates, pastoral areas and national leaders of Movements, in order to nurture the listening process.
All this "in communion with the whole Church on pilgrimage in Argentina, walking together towards the Ecclesial Assembly proposed by the Latin American Episcopal Council at the initiative of Pope Francis", as mentioned by the Bishops' Conference of Argentina.
Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte, "this listening process, in synodal perspective, will be the basis of our discernment, and will enlighten us to guide the future steps that, as Church in the region and as CELAM, we must take to accompany Jesus incarnated today among the people, in their "sensus fidei" which is their sense of faith. This listening process will take place between April and August of this year 2021, so we ask you to be attentive and request your participation to your ecclesial organisms of reference".
On the occasion of this good beginning of the Ecclesial Assembly, Omnes interviews Monsignor Jorge Lozano, Secretary General of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM), about the topics being dealt with in this process, as well as the ideas that have motivated it and the objectives that have been set.
Mons. Lozano was born in the city of Buenos Aires on February 10, 1955, the first of two brothers. He graduated as an Electrical Technician at the Industrial School Nº 1 "Ingeniero Otto Krause". After studying Engineering for a year, he entered the Seminary in Villa Devoto. He obtained a Bachelor's degree in Theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina.
He was ordained a priest on December 3, 1982 at the Obras Sanitarias Stadium in the city of Buenos Aires by Cardinal Juan Carlos Aramburu, Archbishop of Buenos Aires. Elected auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires by St. John Paul II; he received episcopal ordination on March 25, 2000 in the cathedral of Buenos Aires by the then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio SJ, current Pope Francis, (they were co-consecrators: Bishop Raul Omar Rossi, Bishop of San Martin and Bishop Mario Jose Serra, Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires).
He was appointed bishop of Gualeguaychú by Pope Benedict XVI on December 22, 2005; he took possession of this diocese and began his pastoral ministry on March 11, 2006.
In the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM) he was responsible for the Section Lay Builders of Society in the period 2003-2007, and for the Social Pastoral Section from 2007 to 2011.
During the V General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean in 2007 in Aparecida, Brazil, he was responsible for the Press Office of the Assembly. He was one of the four Argentine bishops who participated in the Synod on the New Evangelization in Rome in October 2012.
Currently, in the Argentine Episcopal Conference, he is president of the Episcopal Commission for Social Pastoral and advisor to the National Commission for Justice and Peace.
A frequent guest on panels, round tables and in the media, he has published numerous articles in the provincial and national media. He is the author of the following books: Tengo algo que decirte (Lumen, 2011);Vamos por la vida (San Pablo, 2012), Por el camino de la justicia y de la solidaridad (2012) and Nueva Evangelización: Fuerza de auténtica libertad -from 2013 and in collaboration with Fabián Esparafita, Claudia Carbajal and Emilio Inzaurraga- (all three from the Colección Dignidad para todos de editorial San Pablo) and La sed, el agua y la fe (La sed, el agua y la fe) (Agape, 2013). Every week, a column-reflection of his authorship is published in provincial and national media.
Appointed by Pope Francis on August 31, 2016 Coadjutor Archbishop for the Archdiocese of San Juan de Cuyo, he assumed this mission on November 4, 2016. He took possession of the Archdiocese as Archbishop on June 17, 2017.
In recent times there has been much talk of ecclesial synodality, how would you define this concept and what is your opinion on this way of walking in the Church?
-Synodality implies listening, dialogue, community discernment. The word synod is of Greek origin, and means "to make a journey together". St. John Chrysostom in the 4th century affirmed "Church and synod are synonymous". Guided by the Holy Spirit, we seek how to take up the challenges that arise for evangelization.
It is a participatory way of working that involves everyone.
Now that the unprecedented 1st Ecclesial Assembly of Latin America and the Caribbean is underway, could you tell us how the idea of the Assembly came about and what makes it unique?
-In May 2019, the CELAM Assembly, composed of the Presidents and Secretaries of the 22 Episcopal Conferences of Latin America and the Caribbean, met. On that occasion, it was resolved to propose to the Pope to convene the VI General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean. The V had been held in Aparecida in 2007. Francis responded that there is still much to implement and assume from Aparecida, and proposed to think of a meeting of the People of God, summoning representatives of the different vocations. From these dialogues, the Ecclesial Assembly was designed.
What is unprecedented is the breadth of the convocation. Assemblies have been held in recent years in the dioceses, or even at the national level. But this is the first time a Continental Assembly has been held.
The Assembly faces challenges in the Latin American Church, what are these new challenges facing the Assembly, for the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean?
-The new challenges and pastoral responses are the object of the Assembly's discernment. They will undoubtedly be greatly influenced by the pandemic we are going through.
Among the objectives that you intend in the Assembly Guide, you speak of reviving the Church in a new way, presenting a reforming and regenerative proposal. What would be your proposal to achieve this objective?
-The proposal for renewal is already being implemented with the participation of all the members of the People of God in different parts of the continent.
Although the Ecclesial Assembly will be in session from November 21 to 28, this time of listening is already part of the Assembly's journey.
In the presentation of the Assembly, the President, Bishop Cabrejos, on behalf of CELAM, affirmed that "the Conference of Aparecida left us a pending task, that of setting in motion a Continental Mission to "go into deeper waters" to meet the most distant and build together". What did he mean by this expression?
-In the Gospel of St. Luke, after the miraculous catch of fish, Jesus invites the disciples to go "out into the deep" (Lk. 5:4), into deeper waters. It is an image that St. John Paul II used to encourage the Church at the beginning of the third millennium.
Precisely in the conclusions of the V Conference of Aparecida, they speak of "the advance of strong cultural influences that are foreign to the Christian people and often hostile. In fact, there are powers that have set out to do away with customs and convictions that have characterized the life and legislation of our peoples". What are these influences and how is this situation in Latin America today?
-The influences are diverse. On the one hand, the strong individualism that pushes us to enclosure and self-referentiality, disengaging us from others. On the other hand, wasteful consumerism compromises the ecological balance.
The listening process, in synodal perspective, which is taking place from April to August of this year 2021, how is it developing and what fruits are expected?
-The listening process is going very well. The deadline is the end of August and there are already thousands of contributions. In addition to the quantities, the idea is to make it a space for community reflection.
If you could make a general assessment, what do you expect from this Ecclesial Assembly, at all levels, for the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean, and for the universal Church?
-I hope that we will achieve the broad participation of the diverse vocations, charisms and ministries. May we listen to the voices of the geographical and existential peripheries.
The style of work can serve as a stimulus for the journey towards the Synod of 2021 -2023, for a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission.
Towards the November meeting
The Ecclesial Assembly of Latin America and the Caribbean began with a preparation process in June 2020, in which a content committee worked to establish and define the contents to be worked on during the following phases of the journey.
Between November and January 2021, the document was drafted and immediately afterwards the Listening process and document were designed.
Between April and mid-July, the Listening process is being developed, with telematic forums in the different countries, which, according to what Bishop Lozano has told us, is being well received and with a wide participation. During the months of September and October we will work on the document and the discernment of those summoned, prior to the Ecclesial Assembly in person in November 2021.
The Assembly itself affirms that it is essential that all women and men who make up the Church of Christ in Latin America and the Caribbean, and who wish to contribute their word and witness, request their participation in the broad listening process. To this end, it is necessary that they consult with their bishops and the respective diocesan organizations, parishes, Caritas, other ecclesial organizations, religious congregations, lay movements and other ecclesial and social institutions, in order to ensure that their voice is heard.
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Prayer for the Pope, both in complicated situations and at all times, is the filial duty of every Catholic.
July 7, 2021-Reading time: 2minutes
Last Sunday afternoon we learned through the media that the Pope had been admitted to the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome to undergo a surgical intervention "...".programmed"for symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon.
The news came as a surprise to all, since, at noon, the Holy Father had prayed the Angelus in good physical appearance and without alluding to his immediate admission to the hospital, except for the traditional "do not forget to pray for me". We were reassured to learn, from the official communiqué of the Vatican press room, that the surgery was "programmed"In other words, the cause of the intervention had been detected in time and, therefore, it was not a surprise or an immediate emergency. This surgical intervention "programmed"This is also reinforced by the fact that the Holy Father is planning a pastoral visit to Slovakia and Hungary from September 12 to 15. Moreover, according to doctors, "diverticular stenosis" is common from the age of 50-60 years and the surgical operation consists in the removal of the affected portion of the colon, without giving it too much importance.
The statement from the director of the Holy See press room yesterday, July 5, 2021, informed us that the Holy Father was in good general condition, conscious and breathing naturally. The surgical intervention had lasted three hours and a hospitalization of about seven days is expected, barring complications.
The Pope is the principle and visible foundation of the unity of faith and communion of the whole Church, both of the pastors and of all the faithful. The mission entrusted by the Lord to Peter (Mt 16:18) continues in the bishops of Rome, where Peter was martyred, who succeed one another throughout history. Peter's successor is the Vicar of Christ and the visible head of the whole Church. The Lord prayed in particular for Peter at the Last Supper so that his faith would never fail (Lk 22:31). It is the duty of the whole Church to unite ourselves to this prayer of Jesus in order to pray for him always and to preserve and increase our union of faith and communion with him, especially in these moments of special difficulty for his health.
A chain of love and prayer wraps around the hospitalized Pope
Once the news of the Pope's hospitalization became known, the entire Church, spread throughout the world, has united in a multitude of forms of prayer as manifested, for example, in social networks.
The recent update of the Pope Francis' medical report from the Press Office of the Holy See. Headquarters reports that he had a good night's rest, had breakfast, got up for a walk and even read some newspapers. Through which, we can probably add, he has savored the "chain of affection" offered by faithful from all over the world.
The Holy Father has been hospitalized since Sunday afternoon at the "Agostino Gemelli" University Hospital in Rome for scheduled routine surgery.
Technically it is "symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon", an operation that involves a few days of convalescence for a full recovery.
No one was aware of this planned hospitalization of the Pontiff, so much so that, an hour before entering the hospital, to which he went accompanied by his driver and a close collaborator, he had prayed the Angelus from the window of St. Peter's Square. Not only that, but he also announced (and confirmed) that on September 12 he will travel to Budapest, Hungary, for the closing Mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress, and then visit neighboring Slovakia.
This "confidentiality" and surprise has aroused apprehension, in any case, both from the international press and among the Catholic faithful, so much so that the live links from the Gemelli Polyclinic of the main television channels followed one after the other over the course of the hours. Official messages wishing him a speedy recovery came from Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, the President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, and even representatives of other religious denominations.
But, above all, once the news of the Pope's hospitalization became known, the entire Church, spread throughout the world, has united in a multitude of forms of prayer, even knowing that it was a routine intervention, as has been said several times. The social networks have collected thousands of reactions and prayers.
The operation, which required general anesthesia, was performed by Sergio Alfieri, director of the Digestive Surgery Unit of the Gemelli Polyclinic, which has performed more than 9,000 operations of the type required by the Holy Father.
Initial post-operative updates confirmed that the surgery "involved a left hemicolectomy" and lasted about 3 hours. However, the Pope appeared immediately in good general condition, alert and breathing spontaneously.
The hospitalization is expected to last a week, so it is likely that next Sunday Pope Francis will pray the Angelus from the tenth floor window of the Gemelli Polyclinic, as St. John Paul II did when he was hospitalized there on several occasions.
European bishops and Abat Oliba sign a cooperation agreement
The agreement signed between the Universitat Abat Oliba CEU and the Commission of Episcopal Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) aims to open fields of collaboration for the development of training projects, programs and activities.
– Supernatural Abat Oliba University CEU and the Commission of Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) have signed a collaboration agreement laying the foundations for the future deployment of joint projects.
The agreement was signed telematically by the Secretary General of COMECE, Fr. Manuel Barrios Prieto, and by the Rector of the UAO CEU, Rafael Rodríguez-Ponga. The event was attended by the policy advisor of COMECE for Education and Culture, Emilio Dogliani, the legal advisor for Migration, Asylum and Religious Freedom, José Luis Bazán, and the Vice Rector for Institutional Relations and Faculty of the UAO CEU, Sergio Rodríguez López-Ros.
Students and research
The agreement provides for the UAO CEU to share with COMECE results and materials born from the scientific and dissemination activity of the university that may be of mutual interest such as some that have already been carried out in recent years in this university related to digital transformation, the environmental paradigm in the magisterium of Pope Francis, religious freedom in the EU, migration and asylum issues, data protection, protection of religious minorities or the role of the elderly in the context of demographic change.
In addition, among the points it is established that outstanding students of the UAO CEU can make visits and academic stays at the headquarters of COMECE (Brussels, Belgium) and the eventual participation of members of COMECE in the summer university of the UAO CEU.
What is COMECE?
– Supernatural Commission of Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) is the organization in charge of conveying to the EU institutions the contributions and points of view of the Catholic Church. It also travels the other way around, informing the different Episcopal Conferences about the general lines of current affairs in the EU.
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The teaching of religion in Spain is undoubtedly relevant. The author offers some profiles of the project Civil society, religiosity and educationsuch as the right to religious freedom, and the protection of cultural rights in the 2030 agenda.
July 6, 2021-Reading time: 3minutes
The religiosity of individuals is a fundamental dimension that has strong repercussions and that culturally defines civilizations among them with a very singular, "European-style" character. The challenge of addressing this issue does not mean addressing the "non-religious", as if those who are not religious do not have to reflect on this question, prejudging that the "problem" belongs only to those who ignore the religious and spiritual dimension of their lives. On the contrary, "talking" about the fact and the religious experience becomes an inclusive bet: for those who believe that nothing of value exists outside this present, for those who believe that one must wield the sword of faith, instead of that of peace as its main fruit; for those who hide under an "anonymous" religiosity; for those who believe that it is useless to believe because it is enough to exercise justice and tolerance, that is, for the one who lives as if God did not exist, complacently accepting, without asking too many questions, the values that religious culture promotes. And also for those who wonder whether in the essence of our humanity there might not be something superior to oneself. And, of course, for those who understand and live this way.
When the team of the European Foundation Society and Education learned of Porticus Iberia's interest in having more information on the situation of religious education in Spain, they understood the importance of facing this challenge not only from a multidisciplinary research approach, but also from the knowledge of our own reality. The project, which began with the title Civil society, religiosity and education started from a study of context, that is, from analyzing the field in which it was to be developed, linking it to Spanish society, without forgetting that, to a large extent, what was concluded here could be perfectly extensible to the European framework in which Western democracies operate. By doing so, its areas of work and its results had more options of becoming a dynamic agent of a conversation on one of the questions that most concerns mankind of all times.
Civil society, religiosity and educationThe project, from a sociological point of view, is a wide-ranging project on the reciprocal influences and relationships between society and the religiosity of individuals, on the presence and relevance of religious fact and experience in the public sphere and in the cultural traditions of peoples, and on the participation of education in the evolution and nature of these relationships.
From the point of view of legal science, it seemed to us important and proper to an order of democratic coexistence based on respect for the Law, to recall, on the one hand, the legal principles that underpin the rights of freedom, including the right to religious freedom in our national and European framework; on the other hand, to seek in the 2030 Agenda an area of protection of cultural rights, to ensure the expression of religiosity in the public space, in the teaching of religion in schools and in the promotion of intercultural dialogue.
The orientation towards the cultivation of the spiritual realm through school declines from year to year: the percentage of students choosing Catholic Religion as a subject drops, a particularly sharp change between primary, secondary and baccalaureate levels. At the latter two levels, students are much less dependent on their parents for their choice and prefer to teach religion to a much lesser extent, especially in public schools. In addition, there is the circumstance of the particular employment status of religion teachers in Spain, the absence of an evaluation of the impact of the teaching of religion in the school, on its quality and training, the self-perception they transmit about their own prestige, their professional insertion in the school and the professional relationships they establish with their teaching colleagues, among other aspects.
Undoubtedly, considering the passage through schools as a unique period for the awakening of questions about meaning is an opportunity for which we are all in some way responsible; not so much for their answers, but for what they will be in the future, as men and women, believers or non-believers, autonomously and freely responsible. In short, all these brushstrokes have to do with a much more ambitious theme: the social perception of the religious fact and the mark left by the school, in part through the formative action of religion teachers.
The authorMercedes de Esteban Villar
Research Director. European Foundation Society and Education
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