The good Shepherd does not desire to benefit from the sheep, but rather that the sheep benefit from Him. He does not try to get rich from the fruits they produce, but rather is willing to give his life for them, since they have been entrusted to him.

But, and this is to be said with tears, in the times of confusion in which the World and the Church are now living, there are Shepherds who conduct themselves according to a very different approach; possibly even an opposing one.

What would we say if we saw a shepherd of sheep (taking the expression in its most literal sense) busying himself, for the fun of it or for any other reason, with promoting resentment and division among his sheep? Well, though this would look like madness in the ordinary world, it occurs in the ecclesiastical sphere on a regular basis.

Some days ago, Bishops from a Spanish region which is affected by a separatist spirit and host to the headquarters of one of the most bloody and murderous terrorist groups known, published a collective Pastoral Letter. In it they refer to fourteen priests shot by the Rebel Forces during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). According to the Letter, the current Spanish Church always allied with the right and voluntarily ignorant of the fact that these were executions of martyrs, should ask forgiveness for what was done and offer restoration.

The Letter has caused me profound sadness, which is why I would rather think that these Bishops are ignorant of History. I cannot get either to the bottom of this issue, but I have the certainty that these men were subjected to a serious Court Martial in which they were never charged as priests, but accused of having become soldiers in order to fight against their own Homeland; and also of other crimes. This was very different from what happened to almost seven thousand priests and religious, not to mention a good number of Bishops, murdered in the Republican Zone without any previous trial, but rather simply on a whim.

I think that these Bishops speak of what they have heard or from references. But I speak of what I have seen and lived.

In my town, which at that time was a very small and secluded place, three priests were assassinated without any formality or trial, just shot down inside the same cell in which they had been incarcerated. In a city near my hometown, among others, one of the parish rectors was assassinated: after dragging him through the streets, they cut off his sexual organs and his ears, and finally hung him from the church tower.  The statue of the Patroness Saint of my town was “executed” by a firing squad of militiamen. And I myself got well used to seeing my parish church (in which I had been baptized) converted into a garage for trucks. In addition to those three priests, many laymen were killed in my hometown (after having been taken for a walk) for the crime of going to Mass on Sunday.           

I myself experienced an incident I have never forgotten. We were trying to go on a trip, my parents, my brother and I, when a militiaman pointed his rifle at us, ready to shoot us. My father was a humble man, well known in town, though considered a rightist chiefly because he went to Mass on Sunday. The militiaman looked at us with fury and uttered this invective:

– I don’t know why I don’t shoot all four of you one by one...

I was five years old at the time, but I still maintain a vivid memory of the scene and the face of the militiaman looking at us hatefully.

In the same way I remember the impression I received one day on which all of my family had returned home. My house was very small and modest; actually we were deprived and lived with many needs. To our surprise, we found the house filled with strangers of an unpleasant demeanor. We were told that, since our house had been seized, we would have to share it from then on with those refugees. There were three rooms for everyone, one small kitchen for everyone and one miserable bathroom (with no bath, no room and no running water) also for everyone.

Surely, the aforementioned Bishops did not live these scenes, or any other of the many that I could talk about with horror, since undoubtedly they didn’t even live at that time. But, as I said, I speak of what I have seen and heard. Either way, you can’t help but sense a strange feeling when someone pretends to lecture you on things they have not experienced, when you have had to live and suffer them in your own flesh.

As for the present Spanish Church having to ask forgiveness, maybe we should resurrect the plenary assembly of Bishops of the Spanish Church from that past time, along with two illustrious Popes. All of them officially and solemnly declared that the actions of the Rebel Forces, directed toward preventing Spain from falling into the hands of Stalinist Communism, had the character of an authentic Crusade. Besides, those numerous illustrious Bishops, as well as the two eminent Pontiffs, possessed a degree of prestige probably superior to that of other current Bishops.

Must we subsequently say that the Collective Letter to which I am referring was written with malice? I certainly do not think it was. Undoubtedly its authors are good men and the problem must be sought elsewhere. This is what I will speak of next.