I found the words I heard a few days ago from a young priest from Ceuta both surprising and deeply sad. Jesús Francisco Molina said: “The Church is not an NGO.” “The Church’s main function is not to care for those in need; it is certainly one of its main functions, but the Church is […]
Lecture given at the EHU (University of the Basque Country) Summer Courses, 2026 (continuation and final) 8. The Jewish and Christian Biblical Tradition The Judeo-Christian Bible is a world in itself; it contains everything. There are texts that celebrate old age as a blessing from God, and texts that lament the burdens of old age […]
Lecture presented at the EHU (University of the Basque Country) Summer Courses, 2026 (continuation) 7. Contemporary philosopher and literature a) Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) Arthur Schopenhauer is considered one of the most brilliant philosophers of the nineteenth century and one of the most important figures in contemporary Western philosophy. His last work, unfinished and published posthumously, […]
Lecture presented at the EHU (University of the Basque Country) Summer Courses, 2026 (continuation) 3. Traditions of India: Hinduism and Buddhism a) Hinduism Within the great mystical and wisdom tradition of Hinduism, whose oldest texts date back to around 1500 BCE, the teaching of the four Ashramas, or stages into which human life is divided, […]
* Presentation at a summer course at the EHU (University of the Basque Country), 2026 The Latin term veterus (old) and its derivatives in the Romance languages (viejo, vieux, vecchio…) originate from the Indo-European root wet, meaning year. It was used to designate agricultural produce from the previous year. Yet, there are products that gain […]
What Pope Leo XIV most wanted to avoid has nevertheless taken place, and very soon, under his authority: a solemn decree of excommunication. The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970 with the aim of restoring within the Catholic Church the tradition that, in his view, had been broken […]
In a month’s time, Pope Leo XIV will travel to Spain under the motto: “Lift Up Your Eyes.” Naturally, I do not know what he will say in his many addresses, but the motto is beautiful, and gestures often speak more eloquently than words. In this case, the gesture lies in some of the visits […]
Just listened with emotion to a dialogue on France Inter between two people who “should” be enemies, but who, transformed by empathy, recognize each other as sisters. They are Aziz Abu Sarah, 46, a Palestinian peace activist and conflict resolution trainer, and Maoz Inon, 51, an Israeli peace activist. “I lost my parents on October […]
I am reproducing here a text written in response to a question posed by Denis Guénoun, following my recent meeting in Paris with the Foyer de l’Âme community, a reformed parish of the Liberal United Protestant Church of France. Denis Guénoun was born in Oran (Algeria) in 1946 and brought up in an agnostic Jewish […]
Reflections on the film “Los domingos” With great interest and no small amount of discomfort, I watched “Los domingos” (Sundays,) a film directed by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, who also wrote the screenplay. It is a great film, recently awarded the Golden Shell at the San Sebastián Film Festival. It tells the true story of […]