In search of light
It's not easy to change the subject, although we spend all day changing topics. The topics barely last ten minutes. It's not easy to go from Pope Francis's funeral and the preparations for the Roman conclave to the assessment of the damage (economic, social, and political) from the great Iberian blackout. The conclave is interesting, but the blackout is now the main news focus. Therefore, I must apologize for not attempting a somersault in this week's video blog: from the Vatican conclave to the power disruptions in the Iberian Peninsula's electrical grid. Splat! No, it's not possible. My fuses might blow.
I asked Jordi Juan, director of La Vanguardia , to participate in the coverage of the Pope's funeral and the subsequent conclave. This was to recall my time as a correspondent in Rome at the end of the last century, and to contribute something I've learned over the past twenty years, based on reading and traveling to a country that has always interested me. I'm deeply curious about the handover at the Holy See at such a delicate moment on the international stage.
In Rome, during the reign of John Paul II , I became interested in Vatican news. This forced me to study and be patient. I remember that some books on the history of the Catholic Church opened my eyes to important passages in European history. We can't understand Europe, we can't understand Spain, without going through the history of the Catholic Church. This is one of the things I learned. Following the Vatican news was a way of following international news from a bird's-eye view.
And I learned to be patient, because that is a hermetic world that carefully filters information. I remember with satisfaction—the journalistic satisfaction of having broken a relevant story—the day I published that the Holy See was freezing the beatification process of Isabella the Catholic indefinitely, so as not to offend the Jewish people while a reconciliation trip by Pope John Paul II to Israel was being prepared. The Holy See had just published an important document entitled "We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah ," in which the Catholic Church apologized for its responsibility in the historical genesis of anti-Judaism, distinguishing Christian anti-Judaism from the Holocaust planned by the Nazis. The document proclaimed that Nazism was an anti-Christian movement, reaffirmed that the Catholic Church had nothing to do with the policy of persecution and annihilation ordered by the Nazi hierarchy, and attempted to salvage the figure of Pius XII ; but it recognized Catholicism's objective responsibility over the centuries in fostering a hostile attitude toward Jews. It was and is a very important document.
Read also Spain, an old Catholic kingdom without popes Enric Juliana
March 1998. A few days before the publication of that document, sources from the Holy See confirmed to La Vanguardia that the beatification process for Isabella of Castile could not proceed despite much insistence from Spain. The expulsion of the Jews from Spain at the end of the 15th century was an insurmountable obstacle. It was impossible to foster reconciliation with Israel and at the same time elevate to the altars the queen who ordered the mass expulsion of the Jewish population. It was not the first expulsion of Jews in Europe, but that decision closed the 15th century and coincided with the establishment of the Holy Inquisition Tribunal in the crowns of Castile and Aragon.
The canonization of Isabella the Catholic—beatification would be the first step—was a highly cherished goal for the Archbishopric of Valladolid and the Spanish episcopal leadership, with the support of the government of the time, headed by José María Aznar. The freezing of the process was a message of appeasement from Rome to Israel. (To complete the context: the father of the current Israeli Prime Minister, Beniamin Netanyahu, born Benzion Milejowsky in Poland, was a noted historian specializing in the history of the Spanish Inquisition.)
The desire to promote the beatification of Isabella the Catholic has been revived by the Archdiocese of Valladolid, now headed by Archbishop Luis Javier Argüello , current president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference. The Vatican has declined to comment publicly on the matter since there is no new information to report, but sources within the Holy See were very skeptical about the matter a few months ago. We will see what the new Pope's approach will be.
In short, I'm interested in Rome, I'm interested in Italy, I'm interested in what's happening in the Vatican, and I'm also interested in the Catholic Church, even though I don't consider myself a member of it. Catholicism was the faith of my parents, and I have fond memories of their beliefs. I believe they helped them live. I'm not a practicing Catholic, but I wouldn't define myself as a convinced atheist either. I respect people's religious feelings and I'm convinced that we must pay attention to this human dimension to better understand the world we live in.
A very large part of the world's population professes some kind of religious faith. Let's not lose sight of this overwhelming reality. The United States, the world's leading power, is a very religious nation. Steeped in religion . We're seeing it now, again. Infinite Russia has returned to the arms of the Orthodox Church, which proclaims Moscow as the Third Rome. KGB Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Putin has been the first to lead the procession: the return of Russian nationalism is not possible without the active participation of the Orthodox Church. In Latin America, a great battle is being waged between the Catholic Church and the new evangelical churches promoted from the United States. The Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was elected Pope in March 2013 to try to win this struggle, which is still alive . The Church of Rome was entering into decline, and Latin American bishops had been demanding a shakeup for twelve years. This is one of the keys that explains Francis's pontificate.
In Africa, Catholicism, Islam, and evangelical churches also find themselves in fierce competition. Hinduism is a complex polytheism that today underlies the powerful nationalist movement that governs India. And in the People's Republic of China, the Communist Party has adopted Confucianism as a reinforcing ideology as the economy grows and society becomes more hedonistic. Confucianism is not a religion. It is a compiled tradition, a moral code that advocates loyalty to rulers, the pursuit of harmony in social life, meritocracy, effort, respect for parents and the elderly, and that defends the stability of the family—and therefore, harmony among the living and ancestor worship. Order, effort, family, and continuity. The main ideologue of the Chinese Communist Party, Wang Huning, advocates a strong return to Confucianism.
Read also Religion must be taken into account to understand the current direction of the world.The world is bathed in religious ideas and feelings. We Europeans are a minority segment of humanity who have intertwined material progress with a distancing from religion. European churches have lost followers, and relaxation centers based on the most diverse Eastern techniques have multiplied a hundredfold in every European city. The East has imitated the industrious acceleration of the West (it has imitated it and is surpassing it); the West tries to relax by looking to the East. And so we could go on. Religion must be taken into account in an attempt to understand the current direction of the world . Political reporting cannot ignore religion. This is my point of view.
We must study and be careful with thematic somersaults. Therefore, I regret that this week I cannot focus on the magnificent blackout, which I was not present for . These days, I have been listening with great interest to the stories of my family and friends. I believe it was a shocking personal experience. People are reflecting on those hours without light and acceleration. Social media fell silent, and the inflammation in people's minds has subsided. To avoid evading the issue, I would emphasize the following idea about what happened: the Spanish energy model was a great asset for the country and for the government; today, that asset is at risk and could be devalued. Therefore, it is very important that what happened be clarified and the relevant corrections be adopted.
In Rome these days, we're searching for light, and in Spain and Portugal, too. They're different lights, but in both cases, it's about solving a mystery. Light to choose wisely. Light to find the weak point in a complex system.
Another final consideration. The Empire would like the new Pope of Rome to obey it in substance, and the same Empire would like Europe to buy more gas (liquefied natural gas) from it in the near future. This isn't speculation; it's one of the demands Donald Trump conveyed to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni about two weeks ago.
We find ourselves at a great crossroads, where everything is connected to everything. We are all one, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for each of us to understand the Whole. That is why we seek the light, both in the Sistine Chapel and in the National Electric Grid.
lavanguardia
