Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Excerpt from the Encyclical Redemptoris Missio: “Among the great changes taking place in the contemporary world, migration has produced a new phenomenon: non-Christians are becoming very numerous in traditionally Christian countries, creating fresh opportunities for contacts and cultural exchanges, and calling the Church to hospitality, dialogue, assistance and, in a word, fraternity. Among migrants, refugees occupy a very special place and deserve the greatest attention. Today there are many millions of refugees in the world and their number is constantly increasing. They have fled from conditions of political oppression and inhuman misery, from famine and drought of catastrophic proportions. The Church must make them part of her overall apostolic concern. Finally, we may mention the situations of poverty - often on an intolerable scale - which have been created in not a few countries, and which are often the cause of mass migration. The community of believers in Christ is challenged by these inhuman situations: the proclamation of Christ and the kingdom of God must become the means for restoring the human dignity of these people.” (RM, 37)
Cuenca (Agenzia Fides) – Spain. Here we are in the land depicted by Miguel de Cervantes: surrounded by old windmills, now completely restored, and brand-new gigantic windmills used for energy. In Cuenca, we are met by the Bishop, His Excellency Jose Maria Yanguas Sanz. We are here to speak about “immigration and the evangelization of peoples.” Not long ago, people left these Spanish lands with suitcases in their hands bound for unknown lands, in search of a hopeful future and a new life, on paths that had already been trodden by many missionaries with their habit, Crucifix, and Gospel. Today, there are more people arriving than departing. They come from the north and south, entire families from unknown lands, parents in search of what they have never experienced in their native lands. The town of Cuenca is beautiful. Medieval-style. Small cobblestone streets and palaces with shields on display.
It’s a Sunday. A Church is holding a wedding in one of the languages of eastern Europe. Meanwhile, in the stately Cathedral, the Bishop enters in procession, followed by his people. Families full of devotion. Tourists behind a rail taking photos; later some of them join in the songs and prayers. The aroma of incense. Light breaks through the stained-glass windows. The organ. Everything leads you live the Mass with devotion. Everyone reaches their places in order. The pews are full. Some people remain standing in the vestibule. Two children run in and settle down at the foot of the altar. They appear as two angels sent from Heaven. They remain there until the end of the liturgy. Their silence, their composure, remind us of the pearl of innocence that we have lost. They are clearly two non-Europeans: children of immigrants. It was not easy locating the Bishop after the Mass. Everyone wants to have a word with him and a blessing for their children and themselves. A word of comfort for those who could not participate. There is a numerous crowd and if it were not for the crosier that rises above them all, it would be very difficult finding the way to the Sacristy. We walk in. The Bishop, who is removing his liturgical vestments, looks at us kindly and says: “The Cathedral is your house and the house of all.” He says: “Please, have a seat.” His words are not mere courtesy, but a sign of fatherly affection. The person before us is not only an authority; he is a Bishop, an Apostle. More than an interview, it is a dialogue that will leave us enriched and with a lesson in hand.
Agenzia Fides: Your Excellency, today, the immigration phenomenon is taking on dimensions that until recently were unknown. It is a phenomenon that has implications for the Church and in her missionary dimension in all its aspects, primarily in the Evangelization of Peoples. In the past, it mainly involved peoples who, from their native lands of Christian tradition, migrated to lands where – if I may say so – our missionaries had traveled beforehand, with their courage, decision, and zealous love for spreading the Word of Our Lord. Today, all that has changed. In lands like that of your diocese, people of all different traditions and histories establish their homes. Evangelization is presenting a new challenge. Are we ready?
Bishop Yanguas: The immigration phenomenon is new for Spain, as is the case in our Diocese of Cuenca, as well as in the other European nations. Perhaps it is not as dramatic as in England and France, but it is of course a phenomenon that one can observe on the streets and in Spanish society. It is a phenomenon that has reached impressive proportions in many areas. Up to 10-15 percent.
On the coast of Levante, Spain, immigration is even more evident. It is a challenge for our society in Spain, and for Cuenca in particular. It is a city that had more of a tradition of migration than of immigration; a city that was not accustomed to receiving people from the outside, from other nations, cultures, and continents.
Agenzia Fides: This certainly must also be a great opportunity for the Church in approaching people of other beliefs and cultures, and in facilitating their encounter.
Bishop Yanguas: If immigration is a challenge from a cultural point of view, as well as from a public and economic one, all the more so from a religious standpoint. The Church has been able to respond to this phenomenon, mainly by renewing its services in the area of attending to the people.
Agenzia Fides: Your Excellency, if I may, the task of attendance to the people can take on many meanings. But, what does it mean especially for the Church?
Bishop Yanguas: Attending to the people means placing ourselves at the disposition of people who have many needs, at the beginning: language and culture. These people are in new workplaces, with difficulties and problems that sometimes involve their basic rights, which are moreover fundamental rights of the person.
The Church’s role in attending persons from the outside cannot be reduced to charitable services alone, although this is needed. The manner of confronting the immigration issue cannot be limited to Caritas. The Church’s mission is to evangelize.
In other moments in history, we have left Europe to go to the new countries on the new continents, with missionaries, to evangelize in those lands. Now, there are many from those lands that come to this “old” continent, to Spain, to this Diocese of Cuenca, and the Church should respond to this challenge to evangelize.
Many of them come from countries of Christian tradition and many are Catholic. Others are Orthodox. Others come from northern or sub-Saharan Africa.
Agenzia Fides: Your Excellency, you yourself have had a wide range of experience not only in pastoral care, but working in Rome, in the heart of the Universal Church. Would you say that we are prepared for this new Evangelization of Peoples here, precisely where Christian roots and traditions are strongest?
Bishop Yanguas: I think that the primary challenge for the Church, the Church in Cuenca, is in preaching to those people who do not share our same faith, the Christian faith, announcing the Gospel to them. They are people that come to a country of ancient and rich Christian tradition, rooted in the faith that has been passed down to us by our ancestors. It is a faith that in shapes and forms has reached technical and artistic altitudes in their diverse modes of expression.
These new citizens that reach our lands, also come with their own values and cultures. The attitude towards all these people should be one of openness. This implies an exchange, receiving the best of each culture.
And better thing can we offer from our culture, from our historical inheritance, than our faith?
And behold, the need to proclaim it and transmit it to our brothers, to these new citizens, transmit that inheritance and tradition that is depicted in works of art, and that has been the catalyst in the development of our societies.
Agenzia Fides: But, how can all this take place on a practical level, given the differences. Aren’t there declared hostilities on the part of certain cultures?
Bishop Yanguas: The challenge of the new immigration issues demand new programs and modes of acting, that can offer – at the same time – a cordial, sincere, loyal, Christian care and a proclamation of the Christian faith that is joyful, heartfelt, and earnest.
It would be an error, a great error, to think of one universal culture or religion that would suit everyone. No. I think that what our times demand, as always, is fidelity to our roots – fidelity to our faith, which is a sincere, joyful, and familiar testimony, aware of the fact that it is a good for all humanity, that the truth of Jesus Chris is above all other truth, that surpasses any other reality in man’s heart. The meaning of “person,” the fundamental rights of the person, the dignity of the person, natural law, are all one in the same.
All this forms a very important part of Western tradition, of those Christian roots in our tradition, in which can be inserted the individual values of those who come to us. This is the means of reaching the heights of those noble values that these people can bring with them. I repeat that, in my opinion, this situation is a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate charity, but it also presents an also-wonderful opportunity to preach the faith to these brothers of ours who come in search of a better means of survival.
Agenzia Fides: Thank you, Your Excellency, and may God be with you and with – if I may repeat your words – your “Splendid Community,” in your ministry. (written from Cuenca, by Luca de Mata)
Biographical Sketch: Jose Maria Yanguas Sanz was born October 26, 1947 in Alberite (La Rioja), Diocese of Calahorra y La Calzada (Logroño, Spain). In 1971, he completed ecclesiastical studies in the Seminary of Calahorra and was ordained a priest on June 19, 1971 for the Diocese of Calahorra. In 1978, he earned a Doctorate in Theology from the University of Navarra, and in 1991, one in Philosophy from the same university. Following his priestly ordination, he ministered as follows: 1971-1972: assistant in various parishes of Logroño; 1972-1976: Professor of Theology a the University of Navarra; 1976-1981: adjunct professor of Dogmatic Theology at the same university; 1981-1989: adjunct professor of Moral Theology; 1988-1989: member of the Research Directors’ Committee of the Theology Department; 1971-1989: pastoral assistant in the parish of Saint Nicholas in Pamplona (Spain) for one academic year, and in various parishes of Logroño during the summer vacations; 1989-2001: appointment to the Congregation of Bishops; 2001-2006: Office Director of the Congregation of Bishops. On December 23, 2005, he was appointed Bishop of Cuenca. He was ordained a Bishop in the Cathedral of Cuenca and is installed in the Diocese, February 25, 2006. (1-to be continued) (Agenzia Fides 24/7/2008)
