Catalonia: Spanish Bishops, respect for minorities, but “restoration of constitutional order” and social peace must be guaranteed

At the end of the Plenary Assembly of the Spanish Bishops (who gathered in Madrid from 20 to 24 November), the secretary general and spokesman for the Bishops, Fr. José María Gil Tamayo, presented its outcome at a press conference today. The Spanish Bishops’ position on the situation in Catalonia is the one set out by Cardinal President Ricardo Blázquez Pérez at the opening of the Assembly, namely a distancing from the regional government’s “break-away” which occurred a few weeks ago and support for the “restoration of the constitutional order”. The exchange of views during the plenary was held in a climate of “trust and serenity”, Fr. Tamayo pointed out. The primary concern of the Bishops is to ensure peaceful coexistence even at the social level. “Respect for minorities”, Fr. Tamayo explained, should find a way to express itself while also “respecting the Constitution that regulates our living together”. The Church, for her part, “wants to carry forward her mission of reconciliation and peace”.