In 1930, the Spanish intellectual José Ortega y Gasset published what is considered his main work: The Revolt of the Masses. This work contained a thought-provoking subtitle: With a Prologue for the French Readers and an Epilogue for the English Readers, which I have replicated for the title of this Editorial. The title is not connected to the content of the Editorial nor to Ortega’s work: it merely tries to provide the non-Spanish reader with an advance warning.

            Although the content of this Editorial can be generally applied to any country with valid results, it refers mainly to Spain; particularly, to the important event which will take place in Madrid, from March 16 to March 21 of 2011: World Youth Day.

            The purpose of the event cannot be more laudable and all-encompassing: a gathering of numerous masses of Catholic young people from all over the world, the Pope being present, in an act of re-affirmation of one’s own Faith to themselves and before the world: Rooted and built on Christ; firm in our Faith, is the slogan of this Day. It would be difficult to pursue a better objective or to have better intentions.

            Nevertheless, the consequences of any human activity, more so when it is one of such wide-raging scope and important consequences as the one we are commenting on here, must face a number of possible pros and cons, that is, a variety of benefits to be achieved and a series of dangers to be dealt with.

            Therefore, it would be irrational to even attempt to carry out such an event without a previous, in-depth, and well examined analysis.  Such an analysis would have to refer to a project which could anticipate an assessed outcome in which the benefits outweigh the losses, or, to put it differently, the advantages would outweigh the inconveniences. Given the transcendental importance of the event we are commenting, there is no reason to believe that its organizers have not done so.

            However, knowing that, truly speaking, there are few people who have clear ideas about this issue, we shall, in the best spirit of collaboration, offer some personal thoughts that could help anyone willing to go deeper into this subject.

            First of all, while we do not dispute the good intentions that have motivated this event, one must remember that a human action or activity cannot be judged only by the intentions behind it. Since this event falls within the category of an entirely Christian activity with obvious supernatural objectives, it is only fair to analyze it with the criteria used by Catholic moralists in judging human acts.

            These criteria, that is, those used to determine the goodness or malice of human acts, are, as everyone knows, the objective of the action itself, the end sought from the action, and, finally, the concurrent circumstances.

            Following these criteria, and in order to facilitate a lucid train of thought and a clear understanding, we offer some reflections to  whoever wants to examine them; he can accept or reject them, freely and according to his judgment, and always with an added dose of good will.

1) First, let us examine the circumstances that surround and accompany the event we are commenting. The most important has to do with its preparation and, along with it, the corresponding placet of the Civil Authority to celebrate the event. This Authority has given its approval to celebrate a religious event which is of a Catholic nature. Since this Authority is incarnated by a Marxist and Atheist Administration which has tirelessly persecuted everything that possesses a Christian character – especially if it is something Catholic—, it would be naïve to think that the Government has not demanded something in return by way of compensation. The Catholic Hierarchy had better not try to make the Faithful think otherwise. Were they to try, they would surely be underestimating the intelligence and common sense of the Christian people. On the other hand, given the nature of the present Spanish Administration, and the well-known procedures of the ideology behind it, anyone would think that the said compensation must have been of enormous importance. To give the impression to the faithful, on the part of the Hierarchy, that the Administration did nothing more than give its consent for the celebration of the event, adding to it a modest contribution or subsidy, would be tantamount to assuming that people do not use common sense to think. In this regard, the Catholic Hierarchy cannot consider its silence as a sufficient posture, for the simple reason that it could easily give rise to enough speculations so as to aggravate the problem.

We must also take into account here, because it was something public and notorious, the trip to Madrid that the Cardinal Secretary of State made a relatively short time ago and the ensuing strengthening of the ties between the Vatican and the Spanish Government –in spite of its ideology and modus operandi, which, by the way, has stayed its course without any change.

Given the spiritual welfare of the Faithful, the Catholic Hierarchy is the first to be interested in clarifying a situation which, undoubtedly, could lend itself to unfavorable speculations on the part of ill-willed people. The Faithful would be happy to know that the compensation given to the Administration by the Hierarchy was well worth it, taking into account the would-be benefits of the World Youth Day. Otherwise, lucubration would be inevitable. In fact, there are already those who perceive a strange silence in the Catholic Hierarchy in the face of a number of manipulations harmful to the Church, whose instigators are known by everybody.  Since, fortunately, Catholics in general profess devotion and affection to their Shepherds, it would be highly expedient for the latter to clarify a few things in this regard.

(To Be Continued)