Women and men, their eyes wide open, entered the Silence and watched attentively. They heard the Ineffable, they saw the Invisible. And, without being perfect, they became witnesses, heretical prophets, peaceful subversives, friends of life, of joyful goodness.
Desmond Tutu, a light for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day
/in Dawns, Witnesses to Light /by José ArregiDied on December 26, the day after Christmas. He fought on all fronts: against apartheid, homophobia, inequality, racism, violence, racism and any violation of rights, as well as against a strict religious morality (which, for example, condemned euthanasia, contraceptives…). He always fought for peace and justice. And he was never complacent towards his Church, nor […]
We remember you, José Ellacuria
/in Dawns, Witnesses to Light /by José ArregiA year ago José Ellacuría went from this life (1928-2020) to shapeless Life. I celebrate this day in communion with those who continue loving him most and remembering him, bringing him to memory, to Life. This morning, very early in the morning, I have received this email from the person who was closest to him: […]
Ángel Mari Unzueta, travelling companion
/in Dawns, Witnesses to Light /by José ArregiIn 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 […]
Theologian Bishop JOHN SHELBY SPONG died
/in Dawns, Witnesses to Light /by José ArregiJune 16, 1931 – September 12, 2021. Thank you, Brother John Shelby Spong! for your free, innovative, inspiring, prophetic theology! There are few theological giants who shape the way that entire generations relate to their sacred texts. Bishop John Shelby Spong, through his intelligence, kindness, and love of scripture, did just that. Bishop Spong […]
To Andrés Ortiz-Osés. Obituary
/in Witnesses to Light /by José ArregiI remember you, Andrés, in the corridor of the University of Deusto, your smile like that of a young boy and ingenuity in your eyes, philosopher in walking sneakers, on the verge of saying an aphorism or a paradox. May you rest in peace, tireless hermeneut of the invisible in the visible. Disolution as […]
Michel Berhocoirigoin. The death of a righteous man
/in Dawns, Witnesses to Light /by José ArregiAt the age of 69, before his time, Michel Berhocoirigoin left us quietly and peacefully. He was a big soul of the Basque country. Farmer, trader unionist, militant of the countryside, peasant of all struggles. He was brought to justice after he had registered in Basque the name of the farmer’s union he had founded. […]
Ibn Arabi
/in Dawns, Witnesses to Light /by José ArregiIbn Arabi (Murcia 1165 – Damascus 1240) was a wise man from Al Andalus (Spain), Sufi Muslim, philosopher and poet. Who speaks as he does, transcends every religion. As he may result suspected of heresy, and in order to avoid convictions, he went into exile successively in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Anatolia and Damascus. There was […]
Martin Mendizabal. Obituary
/in Dawns, Witnesses to Light /by José ArregiThere was hardly any thanksgiving before a meal in the dining-room or a prayer in Mass that before the final Amen Martin would not make a comment: “what nonsense do we say about God!” “But, Martin –I would tell him every time- why do you pay such careful attention when we say those prayers? Think […]
Arcadi Oliveres, tireless conscience agitator. Obituary
/in Dawns, Witnesses to Light /by José ArregiOn April 7th, a day after the theologian Hans Küng, Arcadi Oliveres (Barcelona), died at 76 of pancreatic cancer. Professor of Economics at the University, but above all street activist, scourge of injustice, accomplished fighter against big oligopolies and their executive directors, he favoured social movements rather than political parties. His program: anticapitalism, civil disobedience, […]
I choose to believe in God
/in Dawns, Witnesses to Light /by José ArregiI have no scientific proof that God exists, nor of what there may be after death. By now, when I am into my 80s, my faith is riddled with doubts. I’m bubbling with questions as I face the structural cruelties of the powerful, the suffering of the innocent, the poverty of so many people, natural […]