10/10/2013
José Luis Restán. COPE Editorial Director
The Basilica-Cathedral of Our Lady of the Pillar (el Pilar in Spanish) is one of the greatest landmarks of Christian history in Spain. It indicates the starting point of evangelization in Roman times and also the great American mission that shaped Spanish Catholicism in the booming times of the 16th century. But besides this, El Pilar is one of the main Marian shrines of Spain, a place of prayer and peace where the needs of thousands of men and women who come to put their wounded and thirsty heart at the feet of Mary are welcomed every day.
The explosion of a device inside the basilica, rudimentary but nevertheless dangerous, deserves some sober reflection broad of scope, beyond the logical indignation and the necessary condemnation. Not so much for the delusional prose of the self-proclaimed “Mateo Morral Commando” which claimed the attack, as for the breeding ground that is fuelling this hidden violence in a society that seemed to have dissolved its old demons during the Transition of the late 70s of 20th century.
Spanish society today is shaped with a remarkable political, cultural and religious plurality. It has a constitutional framework that promotes what we can call an open and positive secularism, which recognises the contribution of the different faiths to the common good and the centrality of Catholicism in our history, but clearly establishes the non-denominational character of the State. However, after a hiatus in which dialogue and reconciliation prevailed, an aggressive secular narrative has sprouted in the past decade ranging from intellectuals to major political forces, from school to prominent media.
The Church in Spain has cordially renounced any form of inherited privilege from history and only claims the freedom to offer their proposal in the public square, thus contributing to the public dialogue that fuels civil coexistence. Paradoxically, it has been twenty years after the Transition that an aggressive secularist narrative virulently emerged which has unfortunately begun to take hold in certain segments of society. We saw this in some elements of the 15-M movement and also in some university riots that placed the Church in their sight.
The attack on the Basilica of El Pilar required police and judicial treatment. But it also invites us all, believers and non-believers, to a thorough appraisal. On his journey to Compostela and Barcelona, Benedict XVI predicted that Spain could be the space of a new dialogue between a Christian faith friend of reason and an Enlightenment open to the great questions of mankind. Recently, Pope Francis proposed to the agnostic intellectual Eugenio Scalfari to journey together for some time, in search of the truth that responds to the real desire of happiness held by every person. There will always be lunatics or followers of violent ideologies, but depriving them of any intellectual and moral support is a challenge for our entire society.