LGTBIQ+: Impure in the Church

Recently, James Martin, well-known United States Jesuit and writer, sent a letter to Pope Francis with the three questions that he most often receives from Catholic LGTBIQ+ people (lesbians, gays, transexuals, transgenders, bisexuals, intersexuals, queer and other sexual identities and orientations).  A few days ago the Pope’s response was published. Here you have the questions […]

Reflections on the diocese and the Church after Munilla

Bishop José Ignacio Munilla presided over the diocese of Donostia-San Sebastián from 2010 to 2022. The following is a response to the questionnaire proposed by the editor of RELIGIÓN DIGITAL, but is intended more as an in-depth reflection on the situation of the Catholic Church in general: 1) What has Monsignor Munilla left behind? After […]

What God, what Jesus, what Christianity?

Text of my intervention at the (telematic) I International Congress “Beyond Religions”, organised by GABRIELLI EDITORI in collaboration with ADISTA (April 2, 2022). I propose 10 points for reflection that I consider fundamental in these times of transition towards a non-theistic, post-theistic or transtheistic philosophy, theology and spirituality. This last term, “transtheistic”, is the one […]

Harmony

Harmony comes from the Greek word harmodso, to join. There is harmony wherever there is equilibrium, proportion, conjunction of different elements, as it occurs in a proportionate building, well combined with itself and the environment. Or in music, a harmonic made of different but coordinated sounds. Dawn, greeted by a concert of blackbirds, thrushes, robins, […]

Stop the invasion, promote politics

Brutality, atrocity, inhumanity, barbarism… entire dictionaries would not suffice to describe what we, powerless, stunned and anguished, are seeing these days on the plains and in the cities across Ukraine, in the heart of civilised Europe. How on earth did we manage –yes, in the first person plural– to reach this point in the 2020s […]

The truth will set us free

I am talking about the sexual abuse of minors that occurred within Catholic institutions in Spain. They are not 4 or 33 cases in the Basque Country, or 58 in Navarre, or 1246 cases in the Spanish State. They are very many more, a lot more, as it will be clear once they are known. […]

To Pello Zabala, my travelling companion

My dear Pello, I am dedicating this brief, humble, heartfelt tribute to you. In a way it is a futile attempt, because there are so many who have already praised your gifts and achievements better than I am capable of doing; so I congratulate everyone. I gladly endorse all the praise. So, I will be […]

The end of religious orders and the future of their properties

Franciscans and poor clares, benedictines, mercedarians, Jesus’ companions inspired by Ignatius of Loyola, carmelite men and women, passionists, Marists…. an endless list. They were instituted to relieve, accompany, educate, heal, and care for those who are alone or have nothing. Or to devote themselves to “contemplative life”, “working and praying”, deeply living in profound communion […]

Foreword

The pages I am presenting to you, dear reader, are much more than just a series of pertinent, well-documented, up-to-date reflections on spirituality. They are the reflective testimony of a lifetime. They are true words of witness. They exude the breath of life. Félix Placer, a free, dedicated man who at the age of 84 […]

Shepherds in Bethlehem on their way to peace

At the end of the Christmas festivities, I return to the narrative in Luke’s gospel about the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem, shepherds that look for, find, and build peace. We see ourselves in them. And to better see ourselves in them, let’s say it again in case it is still necessary: all the […]