Ángel Mari Unzueta, travelling companion

In the tribute that his family and friends paid to him in Urkiola,
 one year after his unexpected death:

 

I greet you, Ángel Mari, in this place that you loved so much, Urkiola, crossroads of paths.

You also had to live at the crossroads of two eras and two Churches, and you opted without hesitating. You opted for a new Church new for the new world that Jesus dreamt of, a Church liberated from the sterile letter and rigid forms, a Church of the poor and injured, a Church far beyond hierarchical and ecclesiastical structures, a Church that equally recognises men and women as its full members, a Church that overcomes homophobia, gender boundaries and other boundaries, a Church that puts compassion and solidarity above all canonical beliefs and norms, like Jesus.

For this reason, the crossroads of paths sometimes became the path of the cross for you, but in spite of it, you never lost the light of your clear eyes and the tenderness in your heart. You learnt to turn the path of the cross into a path of life, supreme wisdom of Jesus.

Now that you are one with the Breath of Life with no origin or end, come with us, Ángel Mari, be our travelling companion at our crossroads and in our paths of the cross.

Aizarna, October 9 2021

Translated from Spanish by Andrea González Tamayo