“We must study history to know it better and better; and once we have read its pages, we must learn its most important lessons: everybody’s life in common within legitimate differences; the declaration of one’s identity in a non-aggressive way, respecting other identities; collaboration among all citizens to build a common house on the foundations of justice, freedom and peace”. On 19th November, those words were spoken by the president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, Msgr. Ricardo Blázquez, while he opened the Plenary Assembly of bishops, which is going on until Thursday. Taking into consideration the beatification of the 498 Spanish martyrs, happened in St. Peter’s on October 28th, and the civil war which covered Spain in blood in the thirties, the bishops declared: “Let’s recall history not to confront ourselves but to learn from it either the correction of our bad deeds or the courage to go on following the right path”. “Martyrdom – he added – is like a test unmistakably proving the quality of a Christian. The moral and spiritual stature of man reaches the supreme dimension in martyrs”. According to the bishop, “the death of martyrs gives peace and reconciliation to everybody”. Therefore, “before the wear of time and against the danger of routine, the integrity of martyrs invites us to overcome mediocrity”. Today, “migrations are a characteristic of our epoch”. Yesterday, those words were spoken by Msgr. Ricardo Blázquez Pérez, president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, in the prolusion of the plenary assembly of bishops. He referred to the presentation for approval of the new writing of the document “The Church in Spain and The Migratory Pastoral”. Then, the bishop listed a few data: “As for our country, the migratory phenomenon changed its direction in the last few years. We went from being a country of emigration to being one of the European countries with the highest rate of immigrants”. This change of direction “took place in a short time. The figures are clear: in ten years, the number of foreigners went from 542,314 in 1996 to 4,144,166 in 2006”. According to the bishop, “the integration of immigrants needs a patient and continuous effort, both by the country welcoming them and by the workers and their families. Immigrants must see their work and human rights acknowledged. On the other hand, they must respect laws and the legitimate traditions of the country receiving them”. If everybody works “on the search for integration of immigrants – he concluded, – the possible buds of rejection and exclusion will be easily suffocated”.
