Cardinal Juan Jose Omella, President of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (SEC), gave an exclusive interview to Exaudi in which he pointed out that, given the social and economic crisis, consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, “the time of brotherhood, of community has arrived, of going out in search of people that are having a hard time, to give them a hand. We need one another; we must never forget this.”
In the course of the interview, the Cardinal who is also Archbishop of Barcelona, talked, among other things, about the participation of the laity, both men and women, in the celebration of the Liturgy; about the need and importance of accompaniment and about real care for suffering people as an alternative to the defeat implied by the option for euthanasia; about the way to live the meaning of Lent and Holy Week in these extraordinary times, and about the Church’s response to the increase of poverty in Spain over the past year.
In addition, Cardinal Omella gave his blessings to Exaudi: ”Our society is thirsty for spirituality, thirsty for God. I hope profoundly that Exaudi will become a speaker of the Church and of the Gospel, in communion with the Holy Father,” he said.
Here is an unabridged translation of the interview’s text.
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Exaudi: The meeting of SEC’s Permanent Commission took place last February 23-24. One of the topics addressed was the implementation of Pope Francis’ Letter for the institution of the laity — men and women — as lectors and acolytes. What does this approval imply, which recognizes the co-responsibility of all the baptized in the Church and, in particular, for the mission of the laity and of women?
Cardinal Juan J. Omella: I believe that the Holy Father’s decision makes more active the participation of all the laity in the celebration of the Liturgy. I believe that it’s a question of normalization of a very concrete situation, given that over the last years women have already exercised this role in Liturgical celebrations. In fact, in no. 103 of Querida Amazonia,” Pope Francis affirmed: “In a Synodal Church women, who in fact play a central role in Amazonian communities, should be able to access functions including ecclesial services that don’t require Holy Orders, enabling them to express better their own place. It should be remembered that these services imply stability, public recognition, and the sending by the Bishop.”
In this connection, in the last meeting of the Permanent Commission of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, we studied the report on this matter, which was elaborated by the Episcopal Commission for the Liturgy in coordination with the Episcopal Commission for Evangelization, Catechesis and the Catechumenate, in regard to liturgical, formative and pastoral criteria on the ministries of Lector and Acolyte. At present, we continue to work on this subject and we will continue to discuss it in the next Plenary Assembly in the month of April.
Exaudi: Another of the points addressed in that meeting and also in your meeting with Pope Francis last October was euthanasia, which law will be approved in the Spanish Senate in the coming months. At a time when there is talk of “not leaving anyone behind” due to the pandemic, can you remind us why it makes no sense to offer proposals of individualist autonomy and to defend a “compassion” that offers death as a solution?
Cardinal Omella: Over the last months we saw how thousands of people, especially the elderly, died alone in hospitals and residences. The only accompaniment they had were health workers who tried to give them some brotherly love in the final moment of their lives.
This is very sad. Undoubtedly, this situation has made us reflect a lot on the way we want to live and accompany people in difficult moments of sickness. I believe that we all, absolutely all agree that we don’t want to be left alone or that our loved ones be left alone. Company is the most valuable thing. Therefore, it’s surprising that in these circumstances the Law of Euthanasia is posed, which takes recourse to death to solve problems, to alleviate those that are suffering. A law that doesn’t include care and accompaniment in the best possible way, but pushes people to throw in the towel and end their existence, does only that.
In face of the suffering that brings people down, we of SEC opt for the integral care of people, which attends to all their dimensions: medical, spiritual, relational, and psychological. We need health centers geared for the good of the person, that take advantage of the beauty of nature . . . We never cease repeating that there are no patients that cannot be taken care of even if they are incurable. We believe that the vaccine against sadness, pain, loneliness, and the existential emptiness of elderly or sick people cannot be only and exclusively euthanasia. This measure would not be either the most just, the most human, or the most fraternal.
To ensure fitting palliative care for all those that need it, as well as the access of all dependent people to economic aid and loans that correspond to them, should prevail in the measures tending to palliate suffering from the programmed death. And, above all, we must ensure that people who are suffering find in their relatives and fellow citizens the closeness and care that alleviate pain, that console and offer hope that arises from faith and gives meaning to the whole of human life, including in suffering and vulnerability.
Exaudi: What do you believe would be the immediate effects of investing in palliative care and offering company to people facing sickness and the end of life?
Cardinal Omella: Without a doubt: we must dignify people who are about to die. Having alleviated physical and psychological pain, we have the duty to be close to them, holding their hand and reminding them that God is always by their side and even more so in this moment of great vulnerability. Induced death cannot become a shortcut to save human and economic resources.
With Pope Francis, we say: “Euthanasia and assisted suicide are a defeat for all. The answer to which we are called is never to abandon those that are suffering; never to give up, but to look after and love to give hope.” Let us all bet on life, on dignity, on hope. Let us bet on God.
Exaudi: Immersed for a second time in a Lent in which the world is affected by COVID-19, in what way can this exceptional time help us to live better the meaning of this liturgical time and also that of Holy Week, especially in a country like Spain where there is a long religious and cultural tradition of procession in the streets?
Cardinal Omella: Yes, this is the second year that we cannot live or celebrate, as we would like, this very special time of our liturgical calendar. Of course, it’s not the same to live it alone as in community, but this is also a good way to deepen our faith and improve our relationship with God.
However, unfortunately, this year, although we can’t take part in Holy Week processions, we certainly can at least take part in person in liturgical offices with the established limitations and precautions. Moreover, thanks to the experience lived last year with the rebroadcasting of celebration on social networks and means of communication, our elderly and our sick will be able to take part actively from their homes, hospitals, residences . . . Let’s not fail to do so, if possible, in the family. Let us organize ourselves to have some time to pray the Rosary and to do the Way of the Cross.
Let us remember that, many of our brothers in Christian communities of the world must celebrate Holy Week in times of war, of persecution, of epidemics, and of refugee camps. Some communities have been suffering these painful situations for years. The situation we are enduring will enable us to feel again more united to all of them. Let us also share their pain with them and, beside them, let us hope for victory over death and pain, a victory that the Risen One has promised us.
May no one and anything hinder us from being united to the Lord’s Cross to be able also to resurrect with Him to Life and to Hope. May the Lord grant us to be witnesses of hope in the painful situations in which it has been for us to live.
Exaudi: Throughout the health emergency, the Spanish Church has adapted herself to the different scenarios, trying to guarantee the Eucharist and celebrations, such as funerals, with distancing, hygiene, and the absence of social contact. Nevertheless, for part of social participation in Christian worship is dispensable at this time. How do you think Catholics can defend the conviction that the Eucharist is essential for the faithful, together with a compatible Constitutional right with the desire to protect everyone’s health?
Cardinal Omella: Since the beginning of the pandemic, we, in the Church, have had a constructive attitude with all our country’s health institutions. Even in the beginning, when it was not known exactly how the virus acted, we were aware that the pandemic situation we were living was not an easy issue to manage; therefore, we had an attitude of total collaboration with government leaders, with the objective of reducing the contagion and avoiding the churches becoming possible sources of infection.
However, exactly as Cardinal Sarah said some months ago, when he was Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, “no transmission is comparable to personal participation nor can it substitute it.” So, for some months now, we have implemented all the necessary precautionary measures so that the faithful can take part in the celebration of the Eucharist in the safest way possible. And, hopefully, we will all soon be able to return to take part in the celebrations in person without the danger of contagion and with no capacity limits.
Exaudi: While the vaccination campaign in Spain goes ahead, last February 10 you said that “due to the pandemic there are almost one million more poor in Spain,” and you asked for donations for Caritas, which at this time is hard at work. What has been the Church’s response, and that of the faithful and people of good will in face of this new economic and social crisis arising over the past year?
Cardinal Omella: During the first months of the pandemic, the Church tried to be as close as possible to people who were having a hard time. In this connection, we activated different services of care for the sick and relatives of the deceased. On many occasions, we couldn’t be there in person, but we were well aware that the sick, their relatives, and all the people of the health world needed to feel us close to them.
At the end of some months, we realized that there was a notable increase in the number of people and families that needed social aid. In this regard, the efforts of the diocesan and parish Caritas of Spain were, and continue to be, enormous. We cannot leave anyone behind — anyone. Therefore, we are doing everything we can to alleviate these families’ grief. However, all that aid can’t reach everyone, unless we join efforts and work together.
Looking concretely at the case of Barcelona, I would like to highlight some facts. Between the months of April and May, the first response services to COVID-19 helped 10,710 people, double the amount of the same period in the previous year. Moreover, we multiplied times three economic aid for food and times two for housing aid. However, we cannot remain satisfied. The pain of these people and families moves us to work more and more every day.
Exaudi: In his recent address to Ambassadors, Pope Francis reminded them that fraternity “is the true remedy for the pandemic and for many evils that have affected us.” He proposed “brotherhood and hope” as “medicines that the world needs today, together with the vaccines.” What do these words of the Holy Father suggest to you to apply them to practical life, to the present situation, and also to the future?
Cardinal Omella: This pandemic we are living has brought us much pain — very much pain. We have seen how people of all ages died alone, without being able to say goodbye to their family members. We don’t forget this profound grief easily; therefore, every day I dedicate a time of my prayer to these people that have died.
Yet this health crisis has also brought us positive things. Among them, it has put us in front of the mirror and has said to us, clearly, that alone we go nowhere because we are vulnerable. It has reminded us that we are social beings and that we need the support of our dear ones. Moreover, I’m convinced that our relationship with God has also had a new impulse. Throughout the pandemic, the number of Catalans who said they were Catholic increased to 440,000 people. God is always ready to enter our lives.
I am in complete agreement with the Holy Father because it’s true that, thanks to the vaccines, we are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel. However, it’s also true that, from now on, we are going to feel the effects of the economic and social crisis, which will generate much pain and is causing a great increase in social inequality.
If inequality and the growing poverty aren’t corrected, they could be the breeding ground for a social explosion, with an increase of populism and dictatorships, as has already happened in many countries throughout history.
As Pope Francis reminds us: there are no easy solutions to complicated problems. Anyone who promises such solutions is deceiving us and hides other intentions. The solution to grave problems requires much patience, teamwork, and protection of the common good.
The time of brotherhood has come, of community, of going out in search of people that are having a hard time, to give them a hand. We need one another; we must never forget this.
Exaudi: The Exaudi team, Catholic News Agency, recently began its course. Our main objective is to inform, in order to collaborate with the evangelization of the world, strengthening the Church’s unity with the Pope. We ask you for your blessing and prayers and, if possible, to dedicate some encouraging words to us in face of this exciting task on which we have embarked . . .
Cardinal Omella: Undoubtedly, it’s very good news that an Agency such as Exaudi, is born in the times we are living; our society is thirsty for spirituality, it is thirsty for God. I hope profoundly that Exaudi Agency will become a speaker of the Church and of the Gospel, in communion with the Holy Father.
And, to evangelize, is to make it possible for the Gospel to become culture in the midst of the world, as Evangelii Nuntiandi states. May God bless you all and accompany you always.
