Spanish Bishop Defends Immigration and Women’s "Ordination"

Archbishop Joan Planellas, 69, of Tarragona, Spain, said that it was "not very appropriate" of Archbishop Jesús Sanz Montes, 70, of Oviedo to call Muslims "moritos" earlier in August. Moritos means 'little Moors' and is often used in contemporary Spanish to refer to Muslims, especially North Africans.

Monsignor Planellas talked to ElPais.com on 24 August. He lectured Archbishop Sanz, saying: "He knows what he has to say, but he disagrees with the majority view of the Episcopal Conference."

Then, Archbishop Planellas accused the critics of being "people who claim to be Christian and who are against immigrants".

Right-wing parties "want to return to a reality of closed spaces": "Christians on one side and everyone else on the other. But social reality is not like that. We have to find spaces for coexistence among all of us."

When asked about priestesses, he claimed that "the last Synod had left the question of ordination open". "It depends on dialogue at the universal Church level because there are different sensibilities." He continued: "We need to explore this further and continue making progress."

From Leo XIV, he expects to “follow in the footsteps of Pope Francis": "He is more reserved, but on the big issues he is continuing in the same vein. He has been very clear on issues such as migration, and he has a lot of experience of understanding the realities of poverty and precariousness. I am very hopeful."

When asked about celibacy, Monsignor Planellas gave a vague response: "It is a Church law that aims to encourage greater devotion."

Commenting on the interview, InfoVaticana.com made a strange insinuation: "It's clear that Planellas wants to move quickly through this issue [of celibacy] without dwelling on it. We understand that he does not want to be asked about his private life."

Picture: Joan Planellas i Barnosell © wikicommons CC BY-SA, #newsQkdqfxkssu