More of 80 Spanish bishopsalmost all of those who are an active part of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE), met this Tuesday with Pope Francis. The exceptional meeting, convened almost a month ago, had the official objective of addressing the situation of the seminars in Spain, although it coincided in time with the publication in Spain of the report of the Ombudsman which reported thousands of sexual abuse allegedly committed in ecclesiastical settings. In the end, however, not even this matter nor the political situation Spanish have been addressed during the meeting with Francis, according to the prelates. The Vatican has not issued a statement about the meeting.
The official reason for the meeting was to address the situation of the seminars in Spain
Only one topic was the focus of the meeting: the situation of seminars in Spain. More specifically: there would have been talk mainly about how to reorganize these centers in the face of the decline in birth rates and the vocations crisis that the Spanish Church suffers, according to what the priests have reported. “One has to adapt to this new reality”they have warned.
“It has been a cordial dialogue and not a slap on the wrist”summarized the president of the EEC, Cardinal Juan José Omellaabout the meeting, which lasted five hours, two of which the Spaniards were accompanied by the Dad. “We have left everyone delighted”, added the cardinal who, in the subsequent press conference with the media, seemed relaxed and even joked. “It has not happened nothing serious In Spain, I have perceived more fear in journalists than in us,” he said.
“Nothing serious has happened in Spain, I have perceived more fear in the journalists than in us”
In relation to the seminaries, the president of the Episcopal subcommittee for Seminaries, Jesus Vidalalso present at the press conference, tried to calm things down: “There is no no Spanish specificity”, he assured. He added that the situation “is very similar to that of Italy and other countries in Europe”.
Currently in Spain there are 86 seminars but only 55 of these are training houses, Vidal reported, without specifying, however, whether some of these places will close. Nor has anything “specific” been mentioned about the seminaries of the Neocatechumenal Way [que en España cuenta con 15 seminarios]”.
Expectation
The appointment had awakened a lot expectation in Spainwhere some media and observers had linked Francisco’s call directly to the issue of the abuses. The reason is that the announcement of the appointment came just after a report by the Ombudsman on pedophilia which suggested that 1.13% of the population has suffered abuse in the ecclesiastical sphere.
The Vatican did not deny it, but from the first moment it gave as the main reason for the call the latest review on the situation of the seminars. A matter, in any case, related to the problem of pedophilia, since it is in these places where future priests they have to be formed also in abuse prevention. In this context, the Secretary General of the EEC, César García Magánhas highlighted that the national ‘Ratio’, that is, the roadmap of the Spanish Church for seminaries, has been evaluated on paper “very positively” by the Holy See.
The presence of the Pope in the meeting it was in the air until the last moment, above all, due to Francisco’s recent health problems. It was not until this Tuesday that the Vatican confirmed – in a one-line statement – that the appointment was among the Argentine Pontiff’s activities that day, but without giving any other details. It was not even reported what timeor for how long, the Pope would speak before the bishops.
That said, the Spanish episcopate arrived in Rome with another circumstance as a backdrop: the changes that, little by little, the Pope is carrying forward within the Spanish Church, since several prelates are scheduled to retire soon. An example of this is Francis’ recent decision to add to the group of Spanish cardinals Jose Cobothe archbishop of Madrid, known for his progressive style and close to that of the current Pope.