Xavier Salinas is the new Bishop of Mallorca. His appointment will be one that will be of little or no consequence to the overwhelming majority of expatriates on the island, but his is an appointment that is not without importance.
Salinas replaces Jesús Murgui, a bishop who lacked communicative skills to the extent that he never gave a single interview during the eight years of his tenure. He was excused on the grounds of shyness, but communication, be it with churchgoers or the media, comes with the territory. Or it should do. As a consequence of his reticence, Monseñor Murgui was unpopular with the media, and as a further consequence, the media was only too happy to portray him as having been unpopular with his own priests. He was also portrayed, with perhaps greater justification, as one couldn't be entirely sure what his priests really thought of him, as having been firmly on the conservative and reactionary wing of the Catholic Church.
Monseñor Salinas is a breath of fresh air. He is communicative. He has already given interviews and has said that it is important for there to be a dialogue with society. He has spoken about the difficulties that confront society at the present time and, though he has said that it is not his or the Church's intention to be involved in politics, he has given a clear enough signal that he supports Catalan; it is his native tongue, in that he is from Valencia and so speaks the Valencian brand of Catalan.
While Salinas may suggest that the Church doesn't wish to involve itself in politics, the fact is that the Church does just that. Bishop Murgui, without naming names, did so prior to the last national election with his letter regarding the danger of voting for politicians who supported gay marriage, which could easily have been interpreted as having given the thumbs-up to the Partido Popular. Which is of course exactly how it was interpreted.
Declining church attendance has not necessarily been an indication that society is losing its religion, but it can be seen as a turning away from the institution of the Church. Whenever I have spoken to Mallorcans or Spaniards about the Church, the reaction has often been the same. It is one either of contempt or of a shrug of resignation. The Church is lumped in with politicians in being viewed with suspicion or a lack of trust.
There is a difference between having the faith and having faith in the institution which dispenses it, and the fall in attendance in recent times may well be the result of society finally accepting that it doesn't have to be seen to be attending something to which there has been ambivalence for far longer. It may also be the result of the Church being out of step with changes in society's attitudes. While senior figures in the Church might hope for a return to more reactionary attitudes, their wish is unlikely to be granted. The politicians are nibbling at the edges of these attitudes, as with backtracking on advances made under Zapatero with regard to abortion for instance, but the Partido Popular is in danger of being cast in the same light as the Church - out of step.
Rather like the PP is, perhaps deliberately, focusing on issues that might be better left alone, so the Church's hierarchy would be advised to do likewise. It has a role, a very positive role to play during the times of crisis, a role no better demonstrated than through the sterling efforts of its Caritas charitable arm - so badly needed in a country that cannot and shows little desire to look after its people adequately - and its pastoral function is one that it should concentrate on. Instead, it has found itself embroiled in political matters and in controversies over its finances, one of the more spectacular being its stubborn refusal to pay property tax, an arguably scandalous betrayal of society when society is being hit so hard by all sorts of taxes.
Against this background, the more sympathetic figure of Monseñor Salinas is to be welcomed. If he proves to be, as he has already hinted that he will be, a far more accessible voice in local society, and one of sensitivity to the various difficulties Mallorca faces, then he is likely to turn out to be a popular appointment. But popular or not, just how relevant he is to the majority of Mallorcans, let alone foreigners, is another matter.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Showing posts with label Bishop of Mallorca. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bishop of Mallorca. Show all posts
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Saturday, October 29, 2011
The Bishop, The Politicians And The Gays
If you fancy being a bishop, then having a Christian name of Jesús is probably no great disadvantage. And so it is with the Bishop of Mallorca, Jesús Murgui. But neither his status as bishop nor his Christological appellation absolve him from criticism; he gets it in not inconsiderable amounts.
Jesús Murgui became bishop in 2004, succeeding Teodor Úbeda, who had been Mallorca's bishop for 30 years and who had cultivated a reputation for being progressive. It is a reputation that Monseñor Murgui appears not to share. He is said to be a confederate of the archbishops of Madrid and Barcelona and formerly of the late archbishop of Valencia (Agustín García-Gasco who died in May); these three archbishops have been described as the most reactionary and conservative in the Spanish church.
Monseñor Murgui has another type of reputation, a less than wonderful one among the local Spanish media and also among his own priests.
When the press claims that a typical reaction towards the bishop among Mallorcan clergy is one of sarcasm, this may well serve the press's agenda. Sections of the media are suspicious of him, to the point of being antagonistic. And partly, this is because he never speaks to them. In his seven years as bishop, he has given not one interview to the press. Where his reticence is excused, it is not on the grounds of shyness, but on a wish to avoid getting too political.
The problem for the bishop, though, is that, despite his reluctance to engage with the media, his views are known and they are political (in the current social climate of Spain), while he represents an institution, the Catholic Church, which is anything but indifferent to politics.
The First Estate of the Catholic Church is heavily politicised and seeks to influence the political process, and this is especially so in Spain, despite Roman Catholicism having been abandoned as the official religion and despite also a dramatic fall in church-going. It is this seeking of influence that makes the Fourth Estate of the press so ready to leap onto what emanates from the Church. And much has been emanating, much that will be espoused from pulpits this weekend.
The Spanish Episcopal Conference, its president is Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela, the Archbishop of Madrid, has recently met. As is customary prior to a national election, it has had something to say for itself, as has Monseñor Murgui. There is little difference between the sentiments of the Conference and those of the bishop, which are being shared with the faithful, three weeks or so before the election.
It will come as no surprise that the bishop is not exactly supportive of issues such as abortion and gay marriage, but what has really stirred things up is that his letter, due to be read out in churches on the island, points to the "danger" of voting for politicians who support gay marriage and to "impositions" by the State. By politicians, he really means political parties, and by implication he lends his support firmly to one party - the Partido Popular.
The PP doesn't need the Church's support to win the election. Though as a party it is identified closely with the Church, it would probably prefer that the bishop, and the Episcopal Conference, in fact kept quiet. Social issues are unlikely to be prominent at hustings for an election that is all about Spain's economy, but they may not be overlooked by much of an electorate which, dissatisfied with PSOE's handling of the economy, has nevertheless broadly agreed with its social policies and with its attitude towards the Church.
For example, an investigation last year by the Mallorcan research organisation Gadeso into religious attitudes found that a majority between the ages of 16 and 59 supported gay marriage. A surprisingly high 35% of those over the age of 60 also supported it. The Church is out of step with social attitudes, just as it has become increasingly out of step with society as a whole and offers waning influence.
One suspects, however, that it sees the election of a PP government as a chance to grab back some influence, hence its pronouncements ahead of the election. For the PP though, it would be a huge mistake if it were to try and turn the clock back. There are unquestionably elements within the PP who would want to do just that, and there is always the suspicion that lurking somewhere in its background is the influence of the mysterious Opus Dei. But as a government it will have enough on its plate without seeking to send Spain back to a reactionary age.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Jesús Murgui became bishop in 2004, succeeding Teodor Úbeda, who had been Mallorca's bishop for 30 years and who had cultivated a reputation for being progressive. It is a reputation that Monseñor Murgui appears not to share. He is said to be a confederate of the archbishops of Madrid and Barcelona and formerly of the late archbishop of Valencia (Agustín García-Gasco who died in May); these three archbishops have been described as the most reactionary and conservative in the Spanish church.
Monseñor Murgui has another type of reputation, a less than wonderful one among the local Spanish media and also among his own priests.
When the press claims that a typical reaction towards the bishop among Mallorcan clergy is one of sarcasm, this may well serve the press's agenda. Sections of the media are suspicious of him, to the point of being antagonistic. And partly, this is because he never speaks to them. In his seven years as bishop, he has given not one interview to the press. Where his reticence is excused, it is not on the grounds of shyness, but on a wish to avoid getting too political.
The problem for the bishop, though, is that, despite his reluctance to engage with the media, his views are known and they are political (in the current social climate of Spain), while he represents an institution, the Catholic Church, which is anything but indifferent to politics.
The First Estate of the Catholic Church is heavily politicised and seeks to influence the political process, and this is especially so in Spain, despite Roman Catholicism having been abandoned as the official religion and despite also a dramatic fall in church-going. It is this seeking of influence that makes the Fourth Estate of the press so ready to leap onto what emanates from the Church. And much has been emanating, much that will be espoused from pulpits this weekend.
The Spanish Episcopal Conference, its president is Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela, the Archbishop of Madrid, has recently met. As is customary prior to a national election, it has had something to say for itself, as has Monseñor Murgui. There is little difference between the sentiments of the Conference and those of the bishop, which are being shared with the faithful, three weeks or so before the election.
It will come as no surprise that the bishop is not exactly supportive of issues such as abortion and gay marriage, but what has really stirred things up is that his letter, due to be read out in churches on the island, points to the "danger" of voting for politicians who support gay marriage and to "impositions" by the State. By politicians, he really means political parties, and by implication he lends his support firmly to one party - the Partido Popular.
The PP doesn't need the Church's support to win the election. Though as a party it is identified closely with the Church, it would probably prefer that the bishop, and the Episcopal Conference, in fact kept quiet. Social issues are unlikely to be prominent at hustings for an election that is all about Spain's economy, but they may not be overlooked by much of an electorate which, dissatisfied with PSOE's handling of the economy, has nevertheless broadly agreed with its social policies and with its attitude towards the Church.
For example, an investigation last year by the Mallorcan research organisation Gadeso into religious attitudes found that a majority between the ages of 16 and 59 supported gay marriage. A surprisingly high 35% of those over the age of 60 also supported it. The Church is out of step with social attitudes, just as it has become increasingly out of step with society as a whole and offers waning influence.
One suspects, however, that it sees the election of a PP government as a chance to grab back some influence, hence its pronouncements ahead of the election. For the PP though, it would be a huge mistake if it were to try and turn the clock back. There are unquestionably elements within the PP who would want to do just that, and there is always the suspicion that lurking somewhere in its background is the influence of the mysterious Opus Dei. But as a government it will have enough on its plate without seeking to send Spain back to a reactionary age.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
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