“Many of us feel what happened in Spain, especially in our beloved Catalonia, on October 1st like a stab, causing deep pain, driven deep into our hearts”. This is the image used by the archbishop of Valencia, cardinal Antonio Cañizares, in his weekly letter to the diocese, to condemn the pro-independence referendum of October 1st. The cardinal says he is extremely worried at what happened and sure that he shares the feelings of most Spanish and Catalan people, “because we love and need Spain, because we love and need Catalonia; because we want the best for both, united, the best that cannot be either one”; “because we believe that Catalonia cannot exist without Spain, nor can Spain without Catalonia”. According to the cardinal, “unity and plurality are possible and compatible, as is proven by a century-old history”. Cañizares does not mince his words: what happened was “very bad”. And he calls people to overcome “the disappointment, sadness and evil caused”, even if “it is big”.
The cardinal likes to point out that he is not speaking “as a politician”, because that is not his role, but “as a citizen” who wants to remind the “principles” that have given life to that “common project that we are, something that includes different people and populations, a common, enriching venture that we call Spain”: “The principles and beliefs I refer to – Cañizares explains – are the principles of reason and therefore they are Christian principles too, that come from the Gospel, that call us not to break up or divide, but to be united and inclusive, which must not be confused with the absorption or eradication of legitimate peculiarities, nor is it the imposition of one above the other, or the search for a particular interest in everyone’s interest, but is the acceptance of the common good, of the best for everyone”. Lastly, the prelate calls people to “ask for forgiveness, to forgive and all together to cure the wounds caused, to get back from the wrong steps, and to focus on a new future”: “One must put back together, correct, rebuild, look ahead and walk towards the goal of being all united, effectively and hopefully”.